# craigs list find UPDATE PICS post 16!!



## collector (Dec 5, 2010)

I was looking thrugh the local CL And I came across an add for NZ's for free. the ad says they are young adults maybe 8-9 mo's old there are blacks, reds ,.and whites. the add says that they have to be caught i think they live under a shed or something. We have been wanting to get meat rabbits so I was wondering if you think it would be worth trying to catch them or not. I am 44yr old so I might feel a little funny running around somebodies yard and crawling under stuff( Hey I'm not to proud to do it though) do you think they might be to wild to cage up, or keep caged?
 Think maybe we would be better off just buying some ready to breed?
 thank you for any advice.


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## DianeS (Dec 5, 2010)

I'd do that in a heartbeat! Can't hurt to go look and see if you can catch them. If you can't catch them, then it isn't like you've paid anything. Same thing with if you see them or catch them and don't like their looks, you also haven't paid anything and can walk away. 

I'd get a big fishing net, the kind they use to lift the BIG fish out of the water, and use that. I'd have some easy to use containers to dump them in, too - like medium sized dog crates. 

I'd get them all, too, if possible. Keep the whites (or the best looking ones) for breeding if they look good, and process the rest.

And again, if they turn out to be impossible to keep caged (although that's doubtful, cages are strong) then you just process them and start over later. 

Looks like a no-lose situation to me. Let us know what you decide to do!


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## Calliopia (Dec 5, 2010)

I would try live traps and see if you can catch them that way. You probably won't have much luck just nabbing one by hand but if traps aren't an option you might try setting up some cornering areas where you can funnel the rabbits to a certain point and then enclose the area.


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## collector (Dec 5, 2010)

DianeS said:
			
		

> I'd do that in a heartbeat! Can't hurt to go look and see if you can catch them. If you can't catch them, then it isn't like you've paid anything. Same thing with if you see them or catch them and don't like their looks, you also haven't paid anything and can walk away.
> 
> I'd get a big fishing net, the kind they use to lift the BIG fish out of the water, and use that. I'd have some easy to use containers to dump them in, too - like medium sized dog crates.
> 
> ...


Dianes, do you think that the blacks and reds are not worth breeding . The add says there is only one white one it is a female. there are six black ones gender unknown, and two brown ones gender unknown. do you think that these are cross breeds and not worth messing with or what. I am sorry for the questions I just dont know much about meat rabbits yet am trying to learn.


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## collector (Dec 5, 2010)

Calliopia said:
			
		

> I would try live traps and see if you can catch them that way. You probably won't have much luck just nabbing one by hand but if traps aren't an option you might try setting up some cornering areas where you can funnel the rabbits to a certain point and then enclose the area.


Calliopa, I went back to the add it says if interested they will catch and cage themselves. I am wondering if It would be worth it to take them. I am glad that I dont have to catch them myself if I want them, I am still recovering from my last "domestic animal safari" LOL


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## rabbitlady4433 (Dec 5, 2010)

Catching loose rabbits can be fun.  Once we had a pair that somehow managed to escape and were loose in our back yard.  I'm sure our neighbors found it amusing to see me and my husband running frantically in our pj's at 7 in the morning!  By the end of that excursion we realized that it's much easier to kind of herd them into a spot they can't get out of and nab them.  I would do if I had the chance, free is free.  And like the above said, if they don't work out dinner's on the table!


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## DianeS (Dec 5, 2010)

collector said:
			
		

> Dianes, do you think that the blacks and reds are not worth breeding . The add says there is only one white one it is a female. there are six black ones gender unknown, and two brown ones gender unknown. do you think that these are cross breeds and not worth messing with or what. I am sorry for the questions I just dont know much about meat rabbits yet am trying to learn.


I don't know enough to answer your question. I just know that all the debates on color that I see seem to recommend the whites. But a lot of the reasons seem to have to do with what people do with the pelts afterward - white pelts seem to be easier to sell, and the leather on the back looks more consistent. It has nothing to do with the meat or size. 

That said, I just started this meat rabbit adventure myself. I got two NZ bucks off Craigslist Friday for $5 apiece, and they're reds.


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## CrimsonRose (Dec 5, 2010)

colors shouldn't matter the meat will all be the same... professionals raise the whites because the pelts are easier to sell and processors like the white hair because it cleans up easier (if you skin a black rabbit you see every last black hair you leave behind... white hair is harder to see)  

I would definitely go for it! It's free rabbits! If they haven't been handled they will be jumpy when you pick them up to breed them and such... but if that is the case you will only need to handle them every few months so not a huge deal... jumpy bunny can still be decent moms and give you lots of meat... you can try to tame them over time by petting them each time you feed them and coaxing them with treats like small banana slices... If they are still too hard to handle... then keep a few of the offspring they will be ready to breed in 6-7 months and handle them from babies so they will be more tame...


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## wYs Ranch (Dec 6, 2010)

just a thought....  create chanels and pen area with some plywood, make it along a fence or somewhere you can herd the rabbits into it easier, then have someone by a "gate" you can shut to keep them from escaping.   

This will make it a little less stressful for the rabbits and yourself.  Also must have some one to video the whole thing for some good laughs later!  LOL!...    

I'd also wear gloves and long sleeve shirts, they're bound to kick and scratch!


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## collector (Dec 6, 2010)

wYs Ranch said:
			
		

> just a thought....  create chanels and pen area with some plywood, make it along a fence or somewhere you can herd the rabbits into it easier, then have someone by a "gate" you can shut to keep them from escaping.
> 
> This will make it a little less stressful for the rabbits and yourself.  Also must have some one to video the whole thing for some good laughs later!  LOL!...
> 
> I'd also wear gloves and long sleeve shirts, they're bound to kick and scratch!


I should of had a vid camera on alot of my animal wrangling adventures, it gets down right hallarious sometimes. and i always end up with alot of bumps and sore spots.


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## collector (Dec 6, 2010)

I called the ad they still have the rabbits they gave away the white one and one of the browns they still have 6 blacks and 1 brown left. It is 110 mile one way . We have about 20" of snow here and they are north of us in the snow belt area of the Idaho panhandle. I will have to take my old pickup it has 4x4 and they are out in the boonies. I hope the old truck can make the trip, its a lot further than the dump, feedstore, or hardware store, that I usually use it for.


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## doo dah (Dec 7, 2010)

let us know how it goes!


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## collector (Dec 8, 2010)

Well we went and got them, There are 4 bucks and 2 does. One of the bucks got torn up pretty badly by the red buck when they kept them in the same hutch overnight. His ears are chewed up and he has many bites on his body, one so bad on his back that a hunk of meat is missing. they are 9 months old how much should they weigh, they were free range.  They are fairly tame and easy to handle, surprising for freerange. what should we be looking for as far as body shape and such for breeding. Not sure yet what we are going to do with them, hoping for some advice and ideas here I will try to post some pics tomorrow.


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## DianeS (Dec 9, 2010)

Yay! That's so cool that you got free rabbits. I wish I could find a deal like that over here!

You ought to be able to find some photographs of rabbits who won prizes (at fairs and such) to compare body shape and size with yours. And of course be on the lookout for a rabbit that just doesn't look "right", maybe a leg is twisted out or the two sides of his body aren't identical, things like that are things you would not want to pass down to offspring. 

Keep us posted.


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## DianeS (Dec 9, 2010)

Wow, I found this today by accident:  http://braggnrights.tripod.com/culling.html 

Its an article about how NZ rabbits are judged. Points for this or that, how they should look, how the body should sit and move, fur type, etc. And references to the ARBA handbook for more information.

Hope its useful to you!


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## collector (Dec 9, 2010)

Here are a couple of pics of the rabbits. one pic of the red rabbit he has some black around his face and underside. Also there is a pic of one of the black ones, all of them look the same. what do you think?


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## mamato3 (Dec 15, 2010)

They look healthy for free ranging. Im guessing they should weigh 8 to 10 pounds. My pure nzw weights around those weights


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## dbunni (Dec 15, 2010)

This is just my experience with NZs ... broken blacks & blues... my does push the standard of 12#s.. most range in the 11-12 area.  Bucks are about a pound less.  Anybody in the 9-10# range is carefully watched and often culled/sold.  Both for show and meat producing issues.  i have found that the smaller does & bucks often produce animals that do not reach a good weight for processing by 10-11 weeks, and in turn struggle to make senior show weight.  Most of my show juniors are pushing senior weight by 6 months.  But, once again, this is just my experience.


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## Bunnylady (Dec 15, 2010)

The color of your "red" is  called Tort, Tortoise, or Tortoiseshell. It is not a color that New Zealands come in, though the color could pop up after a couple of generations of breeding Blacks and Reds together. There is also a large rabbit breed called the Cinnamon, that is actually Tort in color.


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## Lorelai (Dec 15, 2010)

I'm totally new to this, but does anyone else see some Flemish Giant in the black one around the eyes and ears? I have a doe who is very likely half Flemish Giant, half New Zealand, and she looks a lot like the black bunny in the picture. She's also very friendly and just had a dozen kits with only one casualty in the first 10 days. But I digress... they do look extremely plump and healthy!


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## collector (Dec 15, 2010)

thank you all for your responses, I am just keeping them quarintined for now to make sure they dont have any illnesses or anything. the one that took the beating was brought inside to have his wounds cleaned and treated. He is healing well and went back out with the rest on sunday.
They all seem fairly docile and easy to handle for being free range. That is a releif the last thing I wanted was to get scratched and bitten by these guys. 
I will be sure and update with how they are doing.


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