# Best Breed for Meat



## CESpeed (Jul 24, 2011)

I hadn't thought of rabbits as livestock or breeding for meat until recently so I'm researching to see how feasible this is.  I live in Arkansas so it gets very hot and humid here as well as some snow in the winter.  What would be the best breed for meat in my area?  How much meat can one expect to get from a rabbit?  Is there a high demand for rabbits as food?  Is there one breed better than another for meat.  I'm getting a lot of conflicting information as I research so I'm hoping for clarification.  Any information is welcome.  Thank you for your help.


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## brentr (Jul 24, 2011)

I think the conflicting information you're finding is due to varying opinion and no "one" perfect breed for any weather conditions.

I raise New Zealand whites and live in northern VA, where it gets very hot and humid during summer (we're in a stretch of 95+ degree days) and can get cold in the winter.  My rabbits are doing well with shade, plenty of water, and not much else.  I don't have misters, foggers, or any other cooling fans.  I have tried frozen water bottles on hot days, but my rabbits don't seem interested in them.  So I'm pretty comfortable saying NZ are a good heat-tolerant breed.

I'm crossing those NZ does with a Californian buck.  NZ/Cali crosses are a very common and very popular meat rabbit.  Either breed purebred is a good choice also, but many people, myself included, prefer the hybrid for meat production.  You get a good thick carcass with smaller, denser bones, so more of the bunny goes in the pot than in the trash can.

As for demand for rabbits as food, I can't say.  I only raise mine for my family's consumption.  I don't sell any rabbits and I haven't tried to sell rabbit meat.  Others on BYH may have more insight in this area.  I do know that based on what I'd pay in a local grocery store that carries rabbit meat, I'm getting a great deal by raising rabbits myself vs. buying it in the store.

I find my rabbits to be easy to raise with few health concerns.  It is a fun hobby with some great benefits.


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## crazyturkeydesigns (Jul 24, 2011)

Around here (NE Ohio) the most popular breeds are New Zealands, Califorians, and Satins with American Sables thrown in too. All of these breeds seem to tolerate heat very well without any fancy cooling systems, just like brentr said. Florida Whites are starting to get popular too, as they are a smaller high yielding meat rabbit that is pretty tolerant to heat. 
I'd make a list of why you want to raise rabbits. Maybe you just want meat, in which case you might find it easier to crossbreed, or maybe you might want to get into pelts or showing. The sooner you know what you want the better. Think about how much space you have, money you can invest in the project, etc. The more you know the better off you'll be. 
The next thing I'd do is find some local breeders and talk to them. See how they run their rabbitries, handle meat rabbits, etc. I've learned more from talking to breeders than I've ever learned from the computer lol. 
There's not much of a demand for meat in this area and all of the breeders I know raise for themselves and/or for showing. Perhaps you'll have better luck with this if you live in a more populated area. This is another thing I'd talk to the breeders about.
Good luck! 
Maggie

**Oops, forgot to recommend Story's Guide to Raising Rabbits. There's a LOT of info about meat rabbits (even some yummy recipes) with a lot of good ideas too.


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## CESpeed (Jul 24, 2011)

Thank you.  If I go forward with rabbit breeding it will be for meat selling.  I really don't have an interest in showing or pelts.  Raising rabbits never occured to me until someone who overheard I was buying a farm suggested it.  Thank you for the suggestions I will look for farms in my area and pick their brains.  

I welcome more comments and suggestions.


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## homesteadapps (Aug 1, 2011)

Good healthy stock helps too. We raise the NZ Whites and Californians. We also cross these. They have tolerated 95+ temps with high humidity as well as below 0 temps in the winter.


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## hoodat (Aug 1, 2011)

CESpeed said:
			
		

> Thank you.  If I go forward with rabbit breeding it will be for meat selling.  I really don't have an interest in showing or pelts.  Raising rabbits never occured to me until someone who overheard I was buying a farm suggested it.  Thank you for the suggestions I will look for farms in my area and pick their brains.
> 
> I welcome more comments and suggestions.


A growing market for rabbit meat is with those feeding a raw food diet to pets. Emphasize the fact that the rabbits are locally grown, not imported from China.


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## Ms. Research (Aug 1, 2011)

hoodat said:
			
		

> CESpeed said:
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I have to agree with hoodat.  There are many people with reptiles that need to get something for them to eat.  Also, zoos are looking for food as well.   Definitely emphasize the fact that your rabbits are locally grown, not imported from China.   I try to buy "American" made as much as I can.  Just look what China is doing with lead paint and toys.  Have no idea what they feed their rabbits.  But you do.  

Good Luck in your new venture.


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## CESpeed (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you.  Someone also suggested that convalesent hospitals would be interested as well.  I'm very excited.   I guess I need to start pricing housing.


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## Ariel72 (Aug 4, 2011)

You are going to want to check on the regulations about producing food for human consumption.  The rules can be difficult to follow and often common sense doesn't even come into it.  I'd hate to rain on anyone's parade but many farmers' dreams have been destroyed by intrusive regulations.  Regulations can be made that no one knows about, but are still enforced with the fervor of a drug sting.  You may want to look at a book by Joel Salatin called "Everything I Want to do is Illegal" (Wars from the local food front).  Its eye opening, humorous, and scary.  

Raw pet food can be a good idea.  There is a real movement for raw natural feeding of pets called BARF...lol.  It stands for bones and raw food...or biologically available raw food.  You may also get by with selling someone a live rabbit and butchering it for them for free.  There can also be some crazy rules about selling pet rabbits, so be careful.  I try to protect myself by selling only to people I know or who are referred to me by them.  (At this time I'm only selling free-range chicken eggs.)  I try not to advertise publicly.  

Am I paranoid?  If I am, its not without reason.  A lot of these regulations come under the new "food safety" laws.  Trust me, safety is not the goal of these people.  I didn't know if you were aware of these things, and just didn't want you caught unawares.  Another idea I had was buying rolls of wire and making a few cages to sell.  If my test ones don't sell I'll just use them myself so I'm not really out anything.


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## CESpeed (Aug 4, 2011)

If you don't like the regulations, you can thank the people who are willing to kill you, me and anyone else with unsafe, contaminated food for the sake of making a dollar.  Considering that people can (and do)  DIE from unsafe, contaminated food I LOVE food regulations and have already begun researching USDA regulations and becoming a USDA certified farm.


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## Citylife (Aug 8, 2011)

I use the Florida white as they are a solid block of meat with a head and hide.  They are easy to process and handle as their size is do-able for anyone.
I have a male that throws very nice personable rabbits that makes all care easier.  
My adults eat right around a 1/2 cup of food per day and the adults with kits are free fed around 1 1/2 cups per day.  The meat is amazing!
And the cost is do-able.  My animals have a very good life and only one bad second...  much better then the rest of our food.
Storeys guide to meat rabbits is a good investment along with "you can farm"
Off the grid is not  a bad thing....


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## Lorelai (Aug 9, 2011)

Citylife said:
			
		

> I use the Florida white as they are a solid block of meat with a head and hide.  They are easy to process and handle as their size is do-able for anyone.
> I have a male that throws very nice personable rabbits that makes all care easier.
> My adults eat right around a 1/2 cup of food per day and the adults with kits are free fed around 1 1/2 cups per day.  The meat is amazing!
> And the cost is do-able.  My animals have a very good life and only one bad second...  much better then the rest of our food.
> ...


I'm always so fascinated when you talk about your Florida Whites. I've never seen any for sale in my area, but next week is fair week, and I'm making the trip pretty much only to check out the rabbit barn.  But who knows what we might find! I would love to know how big your litters are, what age you butcher at, how much they weigh before butchering, and how much meat you get on average per rabbit once it's dressed out.


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## lexibot (Oct 27, 2012)

I also have nzw in southern missouri (100 miles from ar border) this year it got up to 125 degrees while i had ice bottles which mine love the rabbits will survive in mid 90s with hardly an issue, but because its more comfort i gave them their air conditioning around 85 degrees


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## Citylife (Nov 8, 2012)

Lorelai said:
			
		

> Citylife said:
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Thanks Lorelai.  
Most of the litters in my experiance were 5-8 kits.  I would butcher at 12 weeks and processed product was about 1.5 lbs. which feeds the two of us twice.  Not bad is all I can say to that.
I have switched breeds in the last 6 months.  Demand has become higher and I wanted rabbits with more kits.   I do not normally weigh them before butcher, so my guess is about 3 lbs.  
I raised the FW's for over two years and enjoyed them, now for my new venture.


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