# Thinking of getting rabbits to raise for meat.  Any advice?



## Mamaboid (Jan 20, 2012)

In a random conversation with the dh last night, I told him that reading all the rabbit posts on BYH has gotten me kind of interested in raising a few for meat for us and our families.  He surprised me.  I thought he would say we didn't need anything more to feed or something along those lines.  He said, well, we have all those cages, you can take the one wall in the shed and line the cages up and you should have room for 2 or 3 pairs.  WOW.  The cages he spoke of are all large bird cages.  As in about 20 parrot cages.  I used to own a pet shop, and have all the cages from when I closed it.  These are the very big playpen type cages for large parrots and would make wonderful rabbit cages.  Wire bottoms, easy in and out large doors, all the things that would make really nice comfy homes for some bunnies.  Now, for meat, what does everybody recommend as far as breeds, numbers, any info that you think I need.  I have raised rabbits before for the pet store, but never for meat purposes.  Thanks in advance.


----------



## SmallFarmGirl (Jan 20, 2012)

I know california rabbits are good. My friend raises some for meat and BOY are those things nice and fat.


----------



## Bossroo (Jan 20, 2012)

Those parrot cages may be nice, however, the bottom wires are not too compatiible to rabbit feet, especially to baby rabbits.  Brocken legs will be the result. One needs to have 1/2" x 1" wire .  Are the  cage side spaces about 1" + , the baby rabbits will go right through that.    If the  cages have trays for paper/ shavings, one will be cleaning cages quite often.


----------



## nerissad (Jan 20, 2012)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> Those parrot cages may be nice, however, the bottom wires are not too compatiible to rabbit feet, especially to baby rabbits.  Brocken legs will be the result. One needs to have 1/2" x 1" wire .  Are the  cage side spaces about 1" + , the baby rabbits will go right through that.    If the  cages have trays for paper/ shavings, one will be cleaning cages quite often.


Ditto to all of this.  Although you can add 'baby saver' as either 1/2"X1/2" mesh around the bottom edge or a 3" tall tin sheet around the bottom edge.

You do really need to provide 1"X1/2" flooring to prevent injuries.  

Rabbits are cold hardy but sensitive to wind and rain. I have a lean to for my shelter with hanging cages. There is one open side where I do my checks and feeding. For that side I have a heavy weightplastic painters sheet hanging when the weather is poor.

I have NZ's in meat production now but have a French Angora I'm looking to cross with my NZ Buck. They are a fine meat animal and create wool. If I was to add another breed I would add an American Chinchilla but that doesn't match up with my long term goals. 

I suppose the most importiant thing would be to provide a good pellet feed 16-18% protein for mommas with babes and milk.

Whew did I get long winded. In short good luck.


----------



## Mamaboid (Jan 20, 2012)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> Those parrot cages may be nice, however, the bottom wires are not too compatiible to rabbit feet, especially to baby rabbits.  Brocken legs will be the result. One needs to have 1/2" x 1" wire .  Are the  cage side spaces about 1" + , the baby rabbits will go right through that.    If the  cages have trays for paper/ shavings, one will be cleaning cages quite often.


No, these cages do not have the big wires, they are small wire, with wire mesh bottoms.  No where near enough to let babies or legs go through.  When I bought the cages for the store, I bought all matching cages so that I could keep any size birds in them.  I also used them to breed and house my rabbits in the showroom and breeding room both, so I know they work.  But I thank you for the information...it is exactly the kind of double checking I need to do.


----------



## Mamaboid (Jan 20, 2012)

"Rabbits are cold hardy but sensitive to wind and rain. I have a lean to for my shelter with hanging cages. There is one open side where I do my checks and feeding. For that side I have a heavy weightplastic painters sheet hanging when the weather is poor."

The shed I will be keeping them in is part of my husbands workshop.  It would be cold but wind free if unheated, and I can regulate the temp if need be.  There would be storage for all my feeds and needs in the same building.


----------



## Citylife (Jan 21, 2012)

I have always believed in using the right tool for the right job.  Hanging cages at Tractor Supply are 30 bucks or so..........  I am sure you can sell those cages on Craigslist for more then 30 each.  
Then you will have the right cage for your new endeavor.  

I think the thing we all suffer the most with is keeping our rabbits cooler in the summer and keeping newborns from freezing in the winter.  I know I do.  There were times last summer I took frozen bottles out to all my rabbits every hour and a half.  

Food for thought.  IMHO raising meat rabbits is a joy.  But, at times a lot of work.


----------



## brentr (Jan 21, 2012)

To your question about meat breeds: Ditto the posts about Californians.  They would be an excellent choice.  New Zealands are popular also.  Lots of folks mix the two for meat production.  If the thought of just plain white rabbits bores you, look into American Blues, Silver Fox, or Red and Black New Zealands.  Best suggestion I can give is don't spend big $$ on your breeding stock if you aren't sure you're in this for the long haul.  You can always upgrade later.  And for a backyard meat operation, you likely wouldn't notice a big difference other than the cost.

Make sure you have a use for the manure.  Even a couple rabbits will produce enough that you'll need to plan for how get rid of it - compost, garden, whatever.


----------



## nerissad (Jan 21, 2012)

Mamaboid said:
			
		

> "Rabbits are cold hardy but sensitive to wind and rain. I have a lean to for my shelter with hanging cages. There is one open side where I do my checks and feeding. For that side I have a heavy weightplastic painters sheet hanging when the weather is poor."
> 
> The shed I will be keeping them in is part of my husbands workshop.  It would be cold but wind free if unheated, and I can regulate the temp if need be.  There would be storage for all my feeds and needs in the same building.


I wish I had space in a shed for my buns! Sounds like you are set up for a successful operation .


----------



## Mamaboid (Jan 22, 2012)

brentr said:
			
		

> To your question about meat breeds: Ditto the posts about Californians.  They would be an excellent choice.  New Zealands are popular also.  Lots of folks mix the two for meat production.  If the thought of just plain white rabbits bores you, look into American Blues, Silver Fox, or Red and Black New Zealands.  Best suggestion I can give is don't spend big $$ on your breeding stock if you aren't sure you're in this for the long haul.  You can always upgrade later.  And for a backyard meat operation, you likely wouldn't notice a big difference other than the cost.
> 
> Make sure you have a use for the manure.  Even a couple rabbits will produce enough that you'll need to plan for how get rid of it - compost, garden, whatever.


Thank you for the breed info.  White rabbits are ok, and like you said to start, until I see if this is something that I want to get into in any big way, that would be fine.  As for the manure, would you believe I have a brother and sil that drive 30 miles one way and PAY somebody for their rabbit manure to use on their gardens and flower beds.  My brother is a garden and flower NUT, and they haul manure about every month, winter and summer.  Plus, we have the chicken, goat compost pile that we put on our own garden, anything left over from brother's use would just go onto that.  It is a very good point tho, nobody thinks of the poo when they think about raising animals.  Not til you get buried under it, anyway.


----------



## mama24 (Jan 22, 2012)

I'm just getting into rabbits, too. I bought 2 California bucks, knowing that we only needed one. We know now which one we're keeping, so I think we will be having fried rabbit later this week to see how it goes. They're so cute and fuzzy, I'm having a hard time. But I know from hunting rabbits that it is going to be easier cleaning them than it is my chickens, which I also use for both meat and eggs. I got 2 New Zealand does to breed with my California buck. The NZ are bigger, but the cross should give nice fast growing babies with hybrid vigor. I built my own cages, it wasn't hard. I think your parrot cages will work. I would rather have something bigger so the rabbits have more room for play and exercise, but I am going with what works and what we can afford for now, so I did 2 24x36" cages and 1 36x36 for now. My bunnies are still babies so I won't be breeding them anytime soon. I'll make a bigger grow out cage when the time comes.


----------



## AZ Rabbits (Jan 22, 2012)

I would recommend any of the standard meat rabbits:
- New Zealand
- Californian
- American Blue or White
- Palominos
- Satins
- Champagne d'Argent

My personal favorite is first the American Blues and next NZW's.

Or you could get into hybrid breeding, but keep in mind it doesn't follow through on 2nd generation, only 1st. Some of these would be:
- Altex buck with NZW doe (or with Cali/NZW mix doe)
- NZW buck with Cali doe (this is the optimal mix, not NZW doe with Cali buck like some think). Although this increase in meat is very minimal, but adds up over a long time.

For numbers, it depends on your herd desires. A bare minimum would be a trio (1 buck and 2 does), but this is risky. But it's also a safe start to learn the rabbit breeding ropes. 

A more sustainable herd would start at 2 bucks and 3 to 5 does. With 2 bucks and 5 does, you could constantly be watching for the star breeders and save replacement breeders from their production. You should always be striving to replace your herd with better stock from their litters. So you'll need extra cages for your upcoming stars as well as grow-out cages.

Good luck!


----------

