ELeVan ~ Honaker Farm Journal

[elevan]

We're still deciding on a breed of rabbit. We want a breed that is generally docile and has a high meat to bone ratio.

 

[Hens and Roos]

We have Californian rabbits- so far we are happy with them- of course we are only raising for us. They are pretty mellow for the most part- the does can be a little more moody, the bucks are super friendly. We did have 1 doe who was on the mean side and she didn't last long- she would get after you the second you came to feed and the kids didn't like that(neither did I) We haven't weighed them at 4 weeks etc. to check rate of gain as we are also picking out ones for our kids 4-H projects and we have to process them when we have time.

We added the French Angora rabbits this past year as my DD wanted to learn how to spin and work with fiber. They have quite the personality- the buck(in my avatar) is like a small puppy- just super friendly, the doe is a bit more reserved-she is due Feb 2nd so we don't mess much with her right now. I have heard that they can be used dual purpose but not sure they would have much meat as everything is directed at the fiber.

The other breed that might be interesting to raise is the American Blue- trying not to add another here

Good luck- keep us posted on what you figure out!

 

[elevan]

We're leaning towards Californian or New Zealand. There are apparently only 2 state inspected rabbit processors in Ohio. One supplies products to the Harvest store, so I might go with them.

We're up in the air on goat breeds too...boer...kiko...kinder...

 

[SheepGirl]

Are you going to be raising breeding stock or just market kids? If just market kids then I would get crossbreds but if you want to raise breeding stock then get purebreds or registered stock so you can sell them for more.

But I personally prefer Boers They are just so pretty and regal looking. Maybe you can take a road trip to Rolls and get some of her boer babies...

 

[elevan]

Market kids. Our goal is to supply the Harvest store with goat meat. Rolls is on my list

 

[jodief100]

If it is just for meat, go with a Boer buck and kiko or dairy does. That cross is the fastest growing cross. You can sell bo-ki does for a decent price too. It has to be a boer buck and kiko does, not the the other way around.

 

[autumnprairie]

I would also say boers or cross with kiko,

 

[elevan]

My mom and her husband decided to run off to New York state for a few days this weekend and asked me to take care of her rabbits for her. B looked at her and with his most evil laugh Bwahahaha! told her that we would eat them all for Easter dinner! Gotta love that kid and his cryptic sense of humor.

 

[Hens and Roos]

my DS(9) wanted us to serve rabbit for Easter dinner!

 

[elevan]

Well, it ought to be interesting to see how this one pans out. For about 2 weeks we've had a hen laying her eggs in a small dog house that our cats use to sleep in (the cats have use of 2 small dog houses)...the cats rarely use this one in particular. Well she started setting on the eggs the other day. The day after she started setting one of our cats had a kitten by the fence. After the kitten was dry and well fed and content the mama moved her to... you guessed it - the dog house where the chicken was nesting. So now I have a broody hen sharing a small space with a mama cat and her kitten. When those eggs hatch this could turn into a disaster or it could be something quite special. We shall see. I'll try to get a picture of this crazy situation.