sawfish99
Loving the herd life
Valid enough reasons. I would just consider that if you aren't happy wit hthe growth time/return on investment, you might want to change breeds or go with a different cross.
Good luck.
Good luck.
new to meat rabbit keeping i have a few questions
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loretta212
Exploring the pasture
from what i have read the silver fox and the palomino breeds were made for the purpose of fur and meat so is it the buck you would replace or the does (not that i would "replace" that darn buck is too cute!) hahasawfish99 said:
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loretta212
Exploring the pasture
and if you dont mind can you let me know of some breeds you would choose? i am having a hard time finding them in ct
sawfish99
Loving the herd life
Probably the buck. There are a lot of things to consider. Do you want to be able to sell some young as breednig/show stock for others? Do you anticipate expanding beyond 3 rabbits? It somewhat depends on what else is available around you. While all of you individual rabbits have a meat component to their purpose, how do they do as hybrids? There are a lot of people before who have learned that a New Zealand x California make a good rabbit but you don't hear of a lot Palomino x French Lop.
We are new to meat rabbits, but in the first litters we are raising the differences in breeds are significant. Even for family level production, I can see how it can be a significant feed investment on some to get them to a reasonable harvest weight. At that point, you might as well be buying the meat from someone else local.
We are new to meat rabbits, but in the first litters we are raising the differences in breeds are significant. Even for family level production, I can see how it can be a significant feed investment on some to get them to a reasonable harvest weight. At that point, you might as well be buying the meat from someone else local.
sawfish99
Loving the herd life
Where are you in CT? We are in North Stonington. We have Standard Rex (may not be keeping them as meat because they are definitely smaller), American Chinchilla, and New Zealands. All of our breeding stock was purchased within the past 4 months and within a 1:30 drive of our house.loretta212 said:
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loretta212
Exploring the pasture
im not really concerned with selling any of the bunnies. with the amount of people in our family that would actually eat rabbit we dont need a huge supply. I live in meriden and I do have extra room for another rabbit if it seems like somthing I should do. would the does be ok? they are a very good size
sawfish99
Loving the herd life
There isn't a "right answer" to this. If you are only after some rabbits, just go with what you have so far. Do a lot of reading to learn more, and then decide if you want to change. I have slightly different motives than you - we are producing for our family, but also for sales (breeding stock, meat for others, pets etc).
Even though the breeding stock you have right now have nice personalities, if you find a better buck or doe for a good price, you may want to change you stock. In that case, you can harvest your current buck or doe. If you can't stomach the idea of culling/harvesting the breeding stock, then you will have a problem when the cute little babies are ready to go. Just don't feel locked in to your current breeds if you decide to change. But don't change just because they are not the choices I would make.
If you want to come to our farm sometime and see our setup/breeds, we are about 1:20 away. We have 2 litters that were born 3/1, so they will be ready for weaning soon and available for sale if you want to change plans. Just keep in mind, babies have to grow a long time to be ready to start producing.
Even though the breeding stock you have right now have nice personalities, if you find a better buck or doe for a good price, you may want to change you stock. In that case, you can harvest your current buck or doe. If you can't stomach the idea of culling/harvesting the breeding stock, then you will have a problem when the cute little babies are ready to go. Just don't feel locked in to your current breeds if you decide to change. But don't change just because they are not the choices I would make.
If you want to come to our farm sometime and see our setup/breeds, we are about 1:20 away. We have 2 litters that were born 3/1, so they will be ready for weaning soon and available for sale if you want to change plans. Just keep in mind, babies have to grow a long time to be ready to start producing.
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loretta212
Exploring the pasture
Thank you so much for all the info! and a visit to a farm YES PLEASE haha! my son would love it as well! I think ill give these guys a whirle and see what happenes. If we are not happy with it its nice to know i have someone i can contact for future rabbits and infosawfish99 said:
thanks a l bunchsawfish99
Loving the herd life
You can check out our webpage at www.thesawyerfarms.com. It has contact info if you want to come for a visit sometime. And we are definitely a kid friendly farm.
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
I'm new here too. You mentioned not liking the growth rate using standard Rex rabbits- are you breeding pure or just using the Rex as one of the parents? Reason I ask is we have a Rex doe and plan to use her in our meat herd, we maybe adding a pair of Californians to our herd and would cross her to the buck. We are raising at this point solely for our own use but also thinking ahead if the kids decide to show rabbits for 4-H.
