# Changing of the breeds



## Citylife (Sep 5, 2012)

I started into my meat production about 3 1/2 - 4 yrs ago.  I started with very good quality Florida White meat rabbits.  They truely fit wonderfully for a first time rabbit breeder.  I have a bad back injury, so the size was also right.  Like so many, we learned many things about  raising rabbits the hard way.  Even though Storeys Guide was always right there ready to be looked at again!  
As our herd grew and we were eating more rabbits and had more friends interested in our sustainable living venture.  We decided it was time to take bigger steps and produce more rabbits.  A big litter of FW's from my does was 8 kits.  Raising an average of 5 or 6 would be my guess.  We never lost a rabbit in the summer, but boy would we loose kits in the winter time.  So, back to larger litter sizes.  I have now choosen NZ's with a CA buck.  I would also like an Altex buck for my program.  
So far, I am very happy with the stock I have.  I am looking forward to the winter breedings.  I live in KC and pretty much breed year round.  In the hottest and humidist time of the year is about the only time I back off on breeding.  My new set-up is turning out to be very usefull and will allow for it much easier then having them outside.
I have some very nice kits that were just weened and have been put out to pasture to butcher size.  Or till someone wants a nice breeder.  The big litter I have right now came from a heavy milking attentive CA doe.  I couldnt be more pleased from her.
The only other rabbit I am adding to the lot is American Blues.  And I have my first Jr. Does and am looking for a buck.  I feel like a little kid when it comes do raising the Blues.  si
Why am I writing this?  To show that sometimes starting out small and getting things figured out, is best.  As you find out what your needs are, its easy enough to change.  As many state on here.  Once your serious about rabbits, you do tend to go the age old breeds who were raised for productive, efficient, production.  So, now I have my big girl pants on!
Hope this didnt bore anyone.  And I hope its ok to post this in this area.


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## shan777 (Sep 5, 2012)

great post. Thanks .
I started with NZW's and Cali's and am very happy with them . How hot does it get there for you? I would love to continue to breed over summer here in Oz but doubt I will be able to. Good luck with your new breeds and bigger venture!


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 5, 2012)

We have American Chinchillas & our set-up is similar to yours. We are newbies too. In fact, we are newbies with a few different farm animals. Just started collecting them last September but we are having fun & the animals are all thriving. We have 11 Nigerian Dwarfs, 5 American Chinchillas (3 are our breeders & 2 are reserved for someone), 2 Tamworth pigs & an assortment of about 25 chickens including 3 roosters (plus 6 baby chicks we recently hatched from our hen's eggs in the incubator) Yeah, things are busy around here.... LOL


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## Citylife (Sep 5, 2012)

shan777 said:
			
		

> great post. Thanks .
> I started with NZW's and Cali's and am very happy with them . How hot does it get there for you? I would love to continue to breed over summer here in Oz but doubt I will be able to. Good luck with your new breeds and bigger venture!


Shan777-  We had 3 or so weeks this summer of 100-107.  Note in the pictures there is a floor air conditioner.  If you look at my page you will see my old outdoor set-up.  It was great!  But not in the heat.  There were days I had to take frozen bottles out every hour-two.  It was almost a full time job on those hot days just keepng them alive.  My new place had a 13x25 shed and that is now my rabbit, chicken and goat barn.  So far it's working well.  I think in the extreme heat and cold it's best if you have some kind of indoor facility to house them in.  So far, its seems go be much easier to care for them.


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## Daywahyn (Sep 7, 2012)

I am in Iowa and have a friend who raises American Blue rabbits.  I can send you her info privately if you'd like.
Rachael.


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## lexibot (Oct 27, 2012)

I hear ya i started with junker breeders now i have full blooded new zealand whites. I personally love colors but i am raising meat not pets. These work Well for me.


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## mickey328 (Oct 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing!  I hope we can follow right along in your footsteps   We're planning to start with rabbits in the spring.  We don't have any indoor space, so they'll be outside with a solid lean-to sort of roof over the cages.  We plan on 2 does and a buck and 4 cages to start with.  We are planning to just supplement our meat ration for the 2 of us, so at this point don't plan on any expansion, but I learned a long time ago never to say "never"  LOL

Were you able to find your breeding stock locally?  Seems around here nearly all rabbits are for pets or show.  The few ads I see for meaties are for Flemish, which to my mind is just way too much bone.  I'd really like to start with something like a Cali and FW for does and maybe a Rex or AmChin buck.  I'm hoping for some of that hybrid vigor.  I'm not really worried about the cold, since it's hardly subarctic here in the winter, but we do get some hot, hot days in the summer, so we'll definitely not breed during July and August.


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## lexibot (Oct 27, 2012)

Try Craigslist? I had to travel 40 miles to get good stock. Make sure you get a look at the sellers breeders. My new breeders weigh 2x the amount in less time compared to my junkers. But these come from good stock.


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## mickey328 (Oct 27, 2012)

I wouldn't mind travelling to get good breeding stock; in fact I rather suspect we'll have to.  I'll post on CL when we're ready, but in looking at the ads on there, they're pretty much all for pets.  Oh well, we still have time.  We're hoping to bring them home in Jan or Feb and breed in Feb or March, after giving them a month or so to settle in.  I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact someone earlier and maybe "reserve" some for that time, would it?  I'd rather get mature stock to begin with so we don't have to feed them for 6 months first, but that may be the way it'll have to be.


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## Citylife (Nov 8, 2012)

Where are you located Mickey 328?


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## secuono (Nov 9, 2012)

If you are loosing kits in Winter, you need to figure out what's going wrong with the nests or where there could be drafts or freezing air getting in. 
There are very low cost heat fans out there that cost pennies a day to run, it might help a ton.


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## mickey328 (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm in Northern Colorado.  I did finally find a breeder down in Denver (about an hour away or so) who has Silver Foxes, and am thinking I might just go with them.  From what I've read, they were one of the "standards" till the NZ's and Cali's came along.  I really like the idea of helping to preserve a heritage breed.  Hoping to get cages ready and start in January or February.


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## Roll farms (Nov 9, 2012)

Great post!

We have silver fox but dh likes to keep a NZ doe around to breed to for his meat pen.


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## mickey328 (Nov 9, 2012)

We're planning for meat as well.  I was thinking of NZ's at first and keep changing my mind, LOL.  I'm sure we'll experiment more after we get some experience under our belts.


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## Lorelai (Nov 9, 2012)

To the OP: Great post. It's better to start small, test the waters, and expand later, whether that means simply adding more breeding stock or obtaining higher quality, specific breeds, etc. We started on Craigslist, with pretty much whatever we could find, and that worked for us. Knowing what I do about rabbits now, I probably wouldn't recommend that as a first option, but I understand that for some it's the best way to start. And I'd rather people start! 



			
				mickey328 said:
			
		

> I'm in Northern Colorado.  I did finally find a breeder down in Denver (about an hour away or so) who has Silver Foxes, and am thinking I might just go with them.  From what I've read, they were one of the "standards" till the NZ's and Cali's came along.  I really like the idea of helping to preserve a heritage breed.  Hoping to get cages ready and start in January or February.


You should see if you have any rabbit shows around your area. We are fortunate to live about 1.5-2 hours from a town that hosts many rabbit shows in Western Washington, and we were able to network with the best New Zealand breeders in the area. And they didn't charge an arm and a leg for their rabbits! For example, we bought a beautiful BOB broken black New Zealand buck from Jean Harris for $45, 8 months old and ready to breed. I love him. We've paid between $35-45 for does and bucks at the shows, and they've all been at least four months old at time of purchase, with really beautiful conformation. We don't show, but we want the qualities that the judges look for, and we know we're getting that from these breeders. They also have tattoos and a full pedigree, which can be handy to have. So I really recommend hunting up a show and seeing what there is available. Another perk of going that route is you might gain access to breeders who might be just a little too far to consider driving to on a normal day, but hey, the show happens to be in a town that meets in the middle, so to speak.


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## Alice Acres (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm not sure about your state and county, but checking with your 4-H program might also be a good place. 
Here in MN they have a very active rabbit project and these kids raise some superior rabbits.


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