# Completely new to meat rabbits.  I need advice on breeds and hutches



## daniel-delarosa (Apr 5, 2011)

I want to get into meat rabbits.  What breed is common to use that reproduces fast.  How big of an area is needed for rabbits? How many rabbits would it take to keep me a steady supply of meat?  Also, pictures of hutches/pens would be awesome!


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## PattySh (Apr 5, 2011)

I have both Californian and New Zealand. I usually cross breed them for meat use. Depends how much meat you want. I recommend you start with a trio and see how you like them.  I'd get a nice size cage for each rabbit and several spares for raising kits. You will need to seperate sexes if you butcher late or grow up some more stock.  Use cages that are big enough to put a nest box in for the mom and big enough for  her and the litter for several weeks.  I am in VT so I have a trio cage that is wooden and wire outdoor hutch) in my barn that I use if I breed in the winter. All my other cages are standard wire hung up on the wall at a height for easy feeding/cleaning.  Some people hang their cages but I don't have room to do that. I have a top layer of cages with pans in them above a bottom set of cages. Hard to get pics of my setup as the room is narrow with cages on both sides. Rabbits don't need a fancy setup. I use pine shavings in the pans to absorb urine and it keeps the room smelling better and is easier to dump out. We compost the waste  (shavings/manure/urine) and use it on the garden.


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## savingdogs (Apr 5, 2011)

Here is a great thread I've been following regarding rabbitry set ups. 
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8658

I don't have photos of our meat rabbit set up but we are just getting started. I think most people choose Californian or New Zealand, but we chose to go with an old, rare heritage breed, Creme D' Argent. Partially because we had access to a lovely starter herd and someone who mentors us in our rabbit breeding and about the breed was the seller. We met here on BYH! I love the color of the fur and hope to make use of all parts of the animal.

We just had our first kits so I cannot say so far how things are going for our meat needs, but we have not found their care to be too difficult or expensive and have already found uses for their waste in the garden. We chose to buy two fairly unrelated pairs to start off, and one of them is somewhat of a show bunny. Since this is a rare and beautiful breed, we hope to sell some as pets as well to offset some of our expenses and eat the culls or non-show-quality kits, especially when we have some extra. This first time I around I bred both does and one kindled and had only three, the other did not and I had to rebreed her. I believe I have at least three pet homes and since with what I could get for a live one I could buy several "meats" for dinner, I will always choose that over processing ourselves since our breed is rare.

We dearly love animals and rabbits as well. We have decided to not ever eat our four original breeders and it makes us feel happier about the whole process. We feel free to name and love them and while I'm handling the kits, I will not name or let myself get attached to them. I think that they all look exactly alike pretty much will help us with that. 

Our ultimate goal is to provide about 1/3 of our meat needs eventually with rabbit since we enjoy eating it and it is bland and versatile as well as healthful. I'd be interested in how many does and bucks we would need to eventually keep in order to keep ourselves supplied in this manner.


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## PattySh (Apr 6, 2011)

I usually  keep about six does ( 3 cali/3 NZ) and two bucks (1 cali/1NZ), my freezer is full and I share with a friend who helps butcher. I also sell trios to offset the feed costs. Rabbit is yummy especially good cooked  in a pressure cooker. We have used it many ways and it's always good. If you haven't cooked rabbit it is very lean and will be tough if cooked fast without liquid. You want liquid in your recipe and look long enough. Marinate if you will fry the rabbit etc. Rabbit and dumplings is a fav here.  Rabbit made like pulled pork in sauce is awesome. Then there are rabbit fajitas. My 5 yr old grandson will tell anyone his favorite meats are rabbit and goat.


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## savingdogs (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks for the cooking tips! That will be one of my next projects, figuring out how to cook rabbit. We are still in the phase of getting up and running.


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## Lorelai (Apr 7, 2011)

savingdogs said:
			
		

> Thanks for the cooking tips! That will be one of my next projects, figuring out how to cook rabbit. We are still in the phase of getting up and running.


I've been experimenting a lot with this, because we love how rabbit meat tastes, but I was having problems finding uses for it in a variety of dishes. We've really figured out how best to process the rabbits for optimal versatility. We take out the spine and ribs, setting them aside to make stock (and really, rabbit makes fabulous stock). Then we cut off the shoulders and thighs, and freeze those together, because they are best baked, fried, etc. We love this recipe: 
http://www.food.com/recipe/honey-baked-rabbit-or-chicken-302374. 

And then we're left with a nice big chunk of boneless meat, which I've cubed and used in chili, stew, and spaghetti sauce so far. It really is versatile, and in my opinion, more flavorful than (store bought) chicken. And pretty much any recipe that calls for chicken can have rabbit subbed in. I adapted this chicken stew recipe, using my homemade stock and browning the cubed rabbit alongside the onions and celery (my addition): 

http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-stew-22127

I served it over biscuits and it was awesome! I was generous with the garlic and spices. 

...does anyone else think there should be a recipes section where we can share our flops and successes? Or at least a sticky thread somewhere?


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## Lorelai (Apr 7, 2011)

daniel-delarosa said:
			
		

> I want to get into meat rabbits.  What breed is common to use that reproduces fast.  How big of an area is needed for rabbits? How many rabbits would it take to keep me a steady supply of meat?  Also, pictures of hutches/pens would be awesome!


We have a pair of Californians and a pair New Zealand Whites, along with two mixed breed does (some combo of New Zealand Black and Flemish Giant), and one NZB/FG/Cali doe. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend giant breeds for a home meat rabbit operation, I would say that our mixed breed does seem to produce the best for us. I'm not sure if the purebreds are too inbred, or what, but so far they haven't produced nearly as well. That said, the does are still new to motherhood, so we'll see how they do as they have more litters. Our Californian buck is really enthusiastic and throws big litters. We like having the ability to produce cross breeds and purebreds; I think eventually we'd like to do what another poster up thread mentioned, keeping the cross breeds for the freezer and trying to sell some of the purebreds, perhaps as pairs or trios, to help off set feed costs. Right now we have five does and two bucks. We have them on a rotation, where we breed a doe every fifteen days, so we end up with two litters per month, roughly. We find it's easier on the does to rotate them this way. We have more than enough meat for our small family of two, with some left over to barter for eggs and beef. It works out nicely, all in all.


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## savingdogs (Apr 7, 2011)

Lorelai said:
			
		

> savingdogs said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What about a thread devoted to recipes using home grown meats? You should start one. I don't have any great recipes to start a thread with, I'm a beginner, but I'd like to read a thread like that.


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## Boyd (Apr 30, 2011)

hutches are 2x3, the larger grow outs are 4.5x3


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## rabbitgeek (Apr 30, 2011)

I have an article about raising meat pens and fryers which includes general info about breeds, breeding, etc.
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/meatpennotes.html

Have a good day!
Franco Rios


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## hoodat (May 1, 2011)

There are so many variables it's hard to give flat answers.  First of all take your climate into consideration. Extreme Winters or very hot Summers both call for inside shelter of some kind. Rabbits do not tolerate high temps very well so will need some cooling in Summer. Adults will take almost any amount of cold if they have a shelter box to get into but you will lose a lot of kits to cold weather. Build your setup with this in mind. It's best to plan and do it right the first time. If you live in an area with milder weather you can do it all outside with only overhead shelter from rain.
As far as breeds go, NZ white or Californias are the usual choices, with Floridas good if you have a small family or are limited on space. Floridas are almost like smaller versions of NZ whites.
Another faactor is what choices of breeds you have in your area. It's great if another rabbitry is nearby so you can get new blood in once in awhile. All rabbits are edible, it's just that some are more efficient than others.
Personally I pay little attention to breed. Mine are mostly "meat mutts" mixed breeds that I looked over and chose for good meaty bodies. They are a lot cheaper and I'm convinced that mixed breeds are usually more robust and less prone to diseases.


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