Californian or New Zealand?

[aksrabbitgirl]

I would say five six does and two bucks. I breed flemish giants I have six does and three buck really I only need two bucks but I have three lol.

 

[VickieB]

I really like the way you had it broken down to the point of breeding a doe every 2 wks & butchering half a litter per wk. I have 4 in my house & I'll most likely end up giving some to my mom & my grandpa here & there. I would like for us to eat rabbit 2 to 3 times per wk if we can. So what do you suggest? Right now I have 3 does & a buck but I have room for a few more if need be

I have 4 does and 2 bucks, which would be plenty enough to easily feed 4 adults 2 to 3 times per week. You can actually do well with just 1 buck, but if something were to happen to your buck you could find yourself in a quandary... If you have access to another breeder and able to quickly get another buck, then limiting yourself to one buck probably wouldn't be a problem.

I like having 4 does because if I keep them to a routine, it means they get bred every 2 months. (I re-breed when their litter is about 3 1/2 weeks old.) If you want your rabbit to have more of a break between litters, throw in another doe, and that will give each doe another 2 weeks before re-breeding.

I shared in another thread that I cull my litters down to 6. (there are 3 adults in my family right now, so the six works great for me.) I know with that size of a litter that the babies get all the milk they want, and I don't have babies starving. I find that kits from the smaller litters do grow out faster, and I'm much more likely to reach my 5 pound mark from anytime between 8 weeks and 9 weeks. If I do a litter of 8 (since there are 4 in your family that's what I would try to do... It's still a small enough litter that you shouldn't see much of a difference in size of the kits, if at all...) this is what my kitchen would get on a weekly basis if I dispatch half (4) a litter a week:

8 large back legs
the backstrap and tenderloins of 4 rabbits
8 small front legs
4 large livers

With this you could make 2 meals out of the large legs alone (1 leg per serving which is very doable with a 5 pound rabbit)

You could make one or two meals out of the backstrap/tenderloin depending on how you cooked it.

You can make one meal out of the liver. I've just started this and have really enjoyed it. Fried rabbit liver and onions is wonderful, much better than chicken or beef. The liver from one rabbit is large enough to make a serving. Another really nice thing about the liver is it doesn't have to rest, so I cook the liver up the night I dispatch the rabbit, and let the rest of the meat brine in the fridge overnight.

Save up the smaller front legs, and at the end of the month you can do a night of Buffalo Wings (my son's favorite)


So, you see, if you really wanted you could make 4 or 5 meals a week for 4 people from 4 rabbits.

 

[Ebers]

That's prob what I'll do I know a lady that breeds californians & black new zealands I could get another buck & a doe. By the way you said you brine your meat overnight what do you use for brine?

 

[VickieB]

Salt water... I use one of the crisper drawers in my fridge. I put the meat in and then cover them with salt water (apr.1/8 cup and enough water to cover the meat). I set the drawer on the bottom of the fridge, instead of on the rails. I'm a little nervous that the weight might be more than what the drawer and rails were made for.

If you're dispatching at 8 or 9 weeks, you probably don't need the salt in the water. I'll try not adding the salt this next time and see if it makes a difference.

Another thing you might want to consider... if you have a meat grinder (I have one with my Kitchen Aide mixer) you can grind up the tenderloin/backstrap pieces, mix it 50/50 with lean ground beef and cook it anyway you would have your ground beef. It makes for a VERY LEAN ground meat, and all those picky eaters in the house have no idea what you've just done while they are scarfing down their "ground beef" dinner...

 

[Ebers]

Please let me know if not using the salt makes a difference I'm very interested in the difference since you normally use it

 

[Chickadee5002]

Hello everyone! I was wondering can you put 2 NZ does together? Or 2 NZ Bucks together? I didn't know if you should put them together or keep all of them separate. I am hoping to get some here really soon!

 

[happy acres]

I wouldn't, simply because they may fight. Also it would make it harder when you wanted to breed them.

 

[SA Farm]

I wouldn't, simply because they may fight. Also it would make it harder when you wanted to breed them.

x2 Usually you can keep two sisters that grew up together in the same cage for several months, but once puberty hits between 6-8 months, territorial issues can come up. Even if they got along fine all that time, they could fight. Best not to risk it

 

[Chickadee5002]

x2 Usually you can keep two sisters that grew up together in the same cage for several months, but once puberty hits between 6-8 months, territorial issues can come up. Even if they got along fine all that time, they could fight. Best not to risk it

Thank you! I just wanted to make sure I had enough cages for everyone before I got them

 

[Ebers]

Update: I've ended up with 4 does & 2 bucks. 3 new zealand does & a flemish cross doe. 1 buck is new zealand the other is a californian. I have processed 7 buns so far & have 17 new babies born this week & I'm very pleased with the way things have been going thanks to all the wonderful advice I've gotten on this site