Had one minirex doe (litter of 8 kits with my small dwarf buck), kept one doe, put rest in the freezer including the doe. Handling wise and hutch wise she was a bit to big for my preferences. Dwarf, 1600-1800 grams adult about, so big/too big for the breed standard, is wat i breed for meat here and that suits me fine. But single person household. This size fits my hutches, hands, cookpot and freezer well and i still want to do this at 80+. I found dispatching the minidoe on the limit for easy dispatch with broomstick method. Had no problems as such, but prefer slightly smaller animals if it is adults. Bodyshape is more important than size to be suitable for meat and i find that with power reliability possibly becoming an issue on top of the mess that increases exponentially with more kits, smaller does and smaller litters work better for me. Rather have 4 twice a year per doe and 8 does, than say 3 does with 12 2-3 times a year. Both too have enough genetic spread and spread litters to just go direct from hutch to pot if needed rather than have continueous overflowing freezer, and the one i have is plenty, no room for extra apart from cost of buying and use these days. But i started out on the premis that if quail are big enough to eat, then so are bantam chickens and dwarf rabbits and not a fan of the bigger is better idea.
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If she's already 3lbs at 9 weeks you might hope she's a false dwarf... our Mini Rex false dwarf does were always my preferred breeders and often can get to 5, even 6lbs as adults. Mini Rex are smaller than Rex, but they have a nice compact build and can certainly make meat rabbits, just smaller, like @tambayo says. Think Cornish game hen rather than Cornish cross.
Cosima
Well-known member
I only have 2/2.5 kg rabbits and even though they are small you can definitely eat them.
Redeemed
Member
Info please Group Name
i raise holland lops and dwarfs (along with some meat rabbits which MOSTLY go for dog food) and the lops and dwarves work just fine for my meals... making groups soups/casseroles/etc which is what I tend to do.
Buknee
Bella Rose Rabbitry
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Hey, I am redeemed also. But it's not my RT name. Haha....
The FB group that I am in that has lots of transporters is: WA/ Idaho/ Oregon/ Alaska / Western Montana Meat Rabbits | Facebook
It is a PNW group. Not sure where you live. If you join it, feel free to connect with me on there and I can connect you with some transporters. I am Bella Rose Rabbitry
Redeemed
Member
Southeast Kentucky here. Thanks for the link.
Buknee
Bella Rose Rabbitry
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Check with Fancy Paws Pet Transport. I believe she goes to Kentucky. If not, she most likely knows someone who does. There are a lot of transporters out there. Just make sure they are insured.
KelleyBee
Well-known member
I am a breeder of Silver Fox and I am located in southwestern PA, if that helps. I have had people up from Kentucky for my rabbits.
