How do I start to raise rabbits for meat? Any tips?

[lunaticfowlboy]

I have decided I want to keep my own rabbits for meat, but I’m not sure where to start so I decided to ask on here. I know raising animals is hard because of all the necessities like food,water,shelter,health, etc. But I’m absolutely sure I’m ready to take that on, I just need a bit of help from people who know about the subject. Do I need a breeding pair? How many hutches do I need? Do I let them free range during the day? What diseases should I look for? What do I feed them? HELP!!!

 

[Jacob]

Contact your local 4h is a great start. They should be able to help you out. They can help you with any questions you might have. Buy young breeding stock now. Raise them through summer. Cheaper that way. Buy some proven breeders at the end of summer. Less frustrations over breeding to start. We started with young stock and it took a while for everybody to get up to speed. Do not over feed! Good luck.

 

[HTAcres]

Make a short list of breeds you might like to try. Then set about finding out what is available to you within the distance you are willing to drive. Ask, as above, extension office (they are most likely to know folks breeding for show but those can be helpful too), at farm stores, look on craigslist (carefully), on FB if you use it, ask friends who have any other kind of homesteading - ie someone who raises quail might know someone who raises quail and rabbits. It is better to get rabbits that have been bred in a similar climate to yours and in the manner you want to raise them - inside/outside, in colony or cages etc. If you are super lucky, you will find a good breeder within a reasonable distance who doesn't mind answering your questions.

Check the ARBA site (arba.net) - if there happens to be a show near you, anyone can attend. Walk around and ask questions. Most people love to talk about their animals. The specifics are going to be a little different for showing than for home meat breeding but you will still learn a lot and start to be familar with different breeds.

A breeding trio - one buck, two does, is a good place to start with at least one of them from a different "line" - ie not the same parents. If you are using hutches or cages, then you need three of them. Mine are 36in wide, 30in deep and 18in tall and they feel like they are a decent size for my medium size meat rabbits where my bucks are about 9 lbs at maturity and my does about 10lbs.

One nice thing about rabbits is it is easier to improve on quality as you go along than it is with larger livestock but it is still good to start with decent quality breeders, and by that I mean they are good for your purpose, not that they necessarily have fancy pedigrees.

 

[ladysown]

First... make sure you have housing for them. Build them out of GOOD cage wire (1/2 by 1 inch) DO NOT use hardwire or chicken wire. Neither is suitable for bunnies. Always, always, always, have ONE empty cage. You'll need that cage for illness, quarantine, and emergency bunnies. Get that cage empty again within 30 days.

As to the bunnies. Think about what you want to raise. Do you want generic meat rabbits (which is an excellent place to start) or to you want to raise pedigreed rabbits? there are pros and cons both ways. Generic meat rabbits can make for excellent meat rabbits, and are generally cheaper than pedigreed, and give you room to make mistakes without losing your shirt. It also gives you time to suss out what pedigreed rabbits you might want to raise and where to find them. Do realize there is ALOT of ignorance out there and many people will call anything white and larger than the 6 lbs a New Zealand. Learn how much a meat rabbit should weigh (8-15 lbs), look at pictures online, and do the best you can.

That said, 6 lb meat bricks can provide a lot of meat.

Whether to get young stock or old depends on what is available to you. Regardless of what you get, ask a LOT of questions. If older stock ask why they are selling them, if they raised their litters, and how many kits survived to weaning. Check their teeth, for clean eyes, ears, and feet. Check genders (lots of pics on-line to help.

If young stock, check their liveliness, do they want to move, and when they move do they do so well? Check eyes, ears, teeth, and overall cleanliness... minding they are babies and sometimes they poop on each other. Check genders and realize that mistakes in gender happen frequently due to the Sex Change Fairy (this fairy is very real despite what folks might say). Some bunnies mature late, other bunnies have gender problems. Again, lots of pics on-line to help you out.

Food: Pellets are easiest, but many like to give additional feeds like veggies, weeds, hay, mixed grains etc. Others will feed things like that calf manna, cooked pumpkin, and papaya as well. Do some good research.

Rabbits ask for little in life: Shelter, clean water, and good food. They like to have extras like large places to run in but they aren't necessary for raising rabbits well. You need to figure out what you have in the ground you have. Bugs can live in the ground forever. For instance, around here I don't put my rabbits on the ground as then they'll get intestinal coccidia. It lives in the ground here I think.

You'll also need to consider predation. EVERYTHING eats bunnies. Rats, coons, possums, mink, foxes, coyotes, domesticated dogs, birds of prey, crows, weasel etc. And even if you live in town ALL those predators exist. Though perhaps not mink. If you live in the country you'll have other predators to consider. Rabbits only defense is flight... and if they can't run and hide... they are food. It is up to YOU the owner to keep them safe. Think about it all ahead of time. Depending on where you live botfly and fly strike is something to be alert to as well.