Wanting to start with a few meat rabbits

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Randy

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Hi everyone. I decided to join Rabbit Talk because it is stellar for the help with what I am interested acomplishing. I am interested in raising some meat rabbits on a small commercial scale to see what it is like. I do have extremly limited experiance with rabbits as I have only ever had pet rabbits (although for a good number of years and a couple of them were meat breeds). Also I have quite an experiance with agriculture and the bussiness side of things given that I have grown up on a dairy farm.

I intend on starting with possibly up to 10 does and raising the litters to sell as meat. So being compleating economical is my goal. After doing some research I have decided upon aquiring New Zealand Whites. (Yes I know many of you find them to be so boring because they are entirly white :D and for your love and dedication of other breeds.)

So here are my first questions:

Where can I buy good stock to start with? I am trying to locate others with meat rabbits that have NZW in Southern Ontario. I am willing to travel within Southern Ontario to look at and potentially buy some does and bucks.

Where can I sell meat rabbits in Southern Ontario? I'd like to find out a market for them before I purchase any. If I can sell them for human or pet/animal consumption or other that is fine with me. Also what weights are wanted and the selling prices?

I plan on making cages but if anybody knows of where I can buy suitable cages for cheaper than I can make,the info would be apreciated. Thanks for reading. :)
 
Welcome. Can't help with breeds, but NZW are a good meat rabbit and if you get tired of white they do have other colors in NZ's. As far as cages the cheaps way I've found is buy the wire in 50 to 200 foot rolls and get some J clips and build them. There not hard to build and you can make them any size you need. Good luck :D
 
Welcome to RabbitTalk, Randy! :welcomewagon:

Glad you came out of lurking mode! This is the best rabbit forum anywhere (disclaimer: I might be a little biased)!

White, white, and more white may not be that interesting, but there are plenty of members here who raise NZW rabbits anyway. :) I have one, myself.

Cages:

http://www.bassequipment.com/default.aspx
https://www.woodyswabbits.com/ (They calculate shipping after you put in your order, and then email you with the total so you can okay or cancel it. It's a bit clunky, but you can end up paying less in shipping that way.)
http://klubertanz.com/ (Even wire rolls for you to build with.)
 
Welcome, Randy!

Go ahead and get your NZW...you'll get something else eventually, anyways :)

I second the idea of buying rolls of cage wire and building your own. Having the ability to customize cage sizes depending on your particular setup is awesome.
 
Hey, I'm all about the white. They are commercial breeds for a reason. Plus, they help you stay focused on your meat production goals without getting sidetracked by all the pretty colors (because I do that). Welcome to the forum.
 
Hi! I don't have much to add except, welcome to the forum!!! If you ever need transport from Michigan to Ontartio, I might be able to help out...my ex and my son live in Brantford and I visit often. :) Would be no big deal to throw a few rabbits into my carrier and just bring them along with me. ;)
 
Thanks for the links Dood. I had been looking at canadianrabbit.ca earlier but the other two sites I didn't know of. Now i have some reasonable prices on supplies. I'll comepare to other sources. Kyle@theHeathertoft thanks for the offer, I only live 60-90 mins northeast of Brantford. If come across stock or a buck from michigan I want i will definatly consider it.

I plan on making some cages now, just need to do some pricing and what not.The wire i will be using will most likly be 14 gauge and be 1"X2" for sides/top and 1/2"X1" for floors. I think I will make the does cages 30"X24"deep and 18" high or would 36X24" be better for commercial production? I want to make my grow out cages 36"X24"X18" high. Apparntly I can keep 8-10 in there up to 5lbs. Less if they get a bit bigger. I read that some people suggest sorting the males from the females in the grow out cages. Since that would cut the number in half, could I mix litters or would that lead to issues wich would result in twice the number of cages I need,but i could make those cages smaller since less are in a cage. Also I plan on stacking the cages so how much room should be left inbetween the cages for the manure trays or something like that.
 
I am pretty sure 30 x 24 is permitted for bucks but a does min. cage is 36 x 24.

The Codes of Practice for livestock in Ontario are changing so you should double check with your local OFA on what cage size is legally required before building them.

36 x 24 will hold a litter of 8 for a few weeks but I would never keep them so confined until they are 5 pounds (and pretty sure it is legally too small)

8x5 = 40lb of rabbit in 6 square feet !
 
My biggest concern about the size of a cage is the amount of space a rabbit has and the effect it has on health, growth rates and other production factors. I just don't want to be ending up with cages that are overly adequate in space as it requires more wire(this means a higher cost)and more space needed(also a higher cost if I am ever to build a barn in future).

I am considering makeing double or tripple cages or possibly larger to reduce the cost of wire needed(putting dividers in the cage). What are the pro's and cons of this as well anything else I should be aware of?

Given the cage is of an acceptable space requirement (square footage), what is the narrowest i can make the cage? Say I increased the length of the cage and decreased the width. The longest side will have the door thus face the aisle.

I did consider the amount of weight in a cage, especially for the grow outs. The weight to cage size ratio wouldn't be a concern as long as the cage can support that weight, having 2 or 3 slats under it helps spread the weight. But I definatly do not want overcrowding.

I will continue looking into the sizes my cages should be.

Also there is an upcoming on farm auction this saturday, it isn't a rabbit farm but the description says :Possibly 20-25 New Zealand rabbits and others, qty of cages. I'll take a tape measure with me and examine the cages, if they are a decent size I may bid on them if they are cheap enouph.
 
Hey Randy - I'd look at Grandview Rabbitry (http://www.grandviewrabbitry.com/) as someone else has suggested.

You can buy unassembled cages that have the doors mounted - so it is more cost effective and saves a lot of time cutting mesh. It's also enjoyable putting the cage together with j-clips. I'm a HUGE DIY and found this the best solution. His wire already has baby saver welded in it as well.

PM me with your location. I just ordered some more cages - so if you are close I can pick them up for you.
 
Well I never got around to going to that auction sale, I was too busy haying. I'm now just busy haying and combining grain for a while whilst ontop of learning about rabbits. I'm still searching for all the possible companies that will buy rabbit meat.

Thanks for the suggestion and offer CanaidanRabbit. I've been looking at the site and others for material. I think it will be cheapest overall to cut the wiremyself.
 

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