Setting up my first rabbitry. Hi! Couple questions.

[Tre3hugger]

@Kusanar hey BYC buddy! Thanks so much for that breeding schedule. That is pretty much exactly what I was looking for! I will certain use it as a jumping off point, and will likely follow it exactly at first until I get into my groove and decide if it is producing enough/too much rabbits etc.

 

[Tre3hugger]

@Baymule thanks so much for sharing your experience and input. It made me both chuckle and think. One thing though. I am pretty sure that mites and lice are species specific. Finding conflicting info about it online though so. However the mineral oil trick is a gem for preventative maintenance thank you! I wish I had the space and caging to go in at with 6 does but that just isn't the case right now. I am going to really focus on getting good stock and take the hiccups in stride. I am new to rabbits, but not animal husbandry. I keep chickens and guineas and dogs and am in school to be a vet assistant.

 

[Hideaway Pines]

I see you have gotten some great input already so will only add a few things. I have been raising my rabbits for 4 years and chickens for 6. I have mine in the same building but mostly seperate...one silky chicken gets the run of the rabbit side. I have had not issues - but if you do not separate them, the note on keeping the chicks from getting on the cages is very important.

I personally found that using large dog cages work for the mom and all her babies. gives everyone more room and allows for a wooden crate for a nest box without crowding mom. I would suggest you not use that feeder you chose, it is not a good one... we tossed all ours like that and switched to this one Pet Lodge Solid Bottom Rabbit Feeder - AF5ML | Blain's Farm & Fleet (farmandfleet.com) They are much better and come in single and double sizes. I personally have two bucks and 4 does, this works great for a good rotation between them. And keep in mind there are times when things do not go as planned... so having back ups is a good idea. I always breed two at at time, so if one mom has issues, the other mom can pick up where she left off. I personally do not breed in the hottest part of summer for several reasons, but breed several times in the early and late part of the year... taking part of June and all of July and Aug off entirely. Depending on the number of people you plan to feed, this produces enough meat to consume and I have also sold some on the side to help cover cost of feed.

I do the back to eden style gardening, and the rabbit droppings are gold for this process. I know you will find it to be a great option for you.

 

[Hideaway Pines]

I forgot to mention I have cal/NZ mix and one Tamuk. The Tamuk breed is fairly new and bred to handle the Texas climate. I have gone through a rotation of rabbits over the years as some are not good moms, or not good rabbits in general, so finding a good source for local rabbits is key, not only for stock but for help/info. Every climate and area has it's own issues... what we deal with in Texas is not the same in Massachusetts.

 

[Tre3hugger]

@Hideaway Pines Thank you for the well thought out response. I will keep that in mind about the feeders.

 

[Rin]

I've raised rabbits primarily for meat for the last 10\12 years. I started out with NZW, tried Standard Rex for a few years, and for the last 2 years I have been keeping English Angora.

First off, you can have real confidence in the KW cages, I got my first cages from them I wanna say back in 2014 when my old cages started rusting through. With them, I got several of their 3-hole (96 x 24 x 18) modular cages and hung it with chain over my chicken run frame. I kept New Zealand Whites in there no problem and the baby saver saved many babies over the years both from inexperienced moms and from a snake attack on one occasion so those are some good choices. HOWEVER. I do not recommend their watering system at all. I paid extra for the autofill and it always overflowed and flooded my chicken run. This was likely caused by a pressure issue because their nipples were also VERY leaky. Edstrom nipple drinkers all day every day. If I have a leak or clog with them it is because of debris and they fully disassemble for cleaning (another great website for cheap bunny supplies too has them: https://www.bunnyrabbit.com/price/edstrom.htm) I've seen those tractor supply feeders and they are super flimsy. The screen looks like it'll rust out in a year. The kind KW sell have lasted me though as have the ones Bass sells (https://www.bassequipment.com/SCResult/Feeders-226)

Now as for your questions:

1) It really depends on what you want to eat. I prefer roasters, which the Rex did a billion times better than the NZW (with less feed). I got high-quality pelts out of it too. If you want fryers though - almost any mix or breed will work. Seriously. Full-on "Meat mutts" are almost indistinguishable from NZW for personal use and your breeders will consume far less feed. Just stay away from "mini" breeds (smaller litters, throw peanuts. Eg: mini rex, Lionhead, holland lops) and "giant" breeds and you should have a decent meal for the feed.

NZW is really only if you are trying to factory farm rabbits because of how "uniform" they are. Always white, always a specific size for packaging. It gets really boring for a homestead though. Like only having white leghorns forever and always.

2) As previously stated, chickens will try to roost on your cages if they can get to um, will steal rabbit feed out of your j feeders. I'm not sure if this has been touched on but be very careful of air quality. Chicken manure is god awful and rabbits are highly affected by strong smells. They don't really share parasites otherwise (rabbits mainly get fleas or ear mites).

3) You will for sure want to breed your does 2 (or more) at a time. Especially with maiden does. Even with skilled does, sometimes a litter just flops and they have a singleton while your other doe just had 6... you can just sneak the singleton in with the 6. Otherwise, the loner would for sure die. This also opens up the mom that had it to be bred right away (does are most receptive/fertile immediately after birth). Alternatively, sometimes you just get a grossly large litter and there's no way the mom can feed them all so you need to spread it out. I once fostered a single litter out across 4 different moms because the birth mother had a huge loss in condition after randomly having 12... way more than her usual, in the middle of FL summer. She was fine though, just needed a break. On that note, rabbits do best in colder weather vs hotter. Make sure whatever stock you get comes as locally as possible from someone succeeding WITHOUT A/C. My English angoras come from Florida stock so will breed all summer long, clipped or not. No matter how hot it gets, my bucks have never gone sterile.

 

[Tre3hugger]

@Rin Thank you so much for sharing your valuable experience. What you said about meat mutts and starting stock really assuages the stress i've been feeling about selecting starter rabbits. For my purposes, I don't think breed will matter all that much.
Also, good tips about breeding two at a time. Seems to be the general consensus. Maybe I will get 3 does instead of 2. If I had 3 does and 1 buck, what breeding schedule would you use?
Thanks again!

 

[Rin]

I'd breed all three at the same time still personally. I keep babies with mom until 6-8 weeks (depending on how crowded the cage looks). I also introduce the mom back to the buck the same day I move the babies out. This leaves her cage vacant for a bit so I can do a heavy-duty cleaning of her cage (I like to use diluted Nolvasan S for disinfecting cages), this prevents any kit diseases and parasites from cropping up. You can alternatively breed her once her kits are 4 weeks for a more intensive breeding plan.

You'll have plenty to cull when the time comes regardless of your preferred schedule. Honestly, I find the schedules to be sort of case by case. I'd speak to your stock source on what works for them since the specific breeding lines can affect this too. Some does will also breed best if it's done back to back. I had one girl who was a nightmare to breed unless it was done the same day as kindling. She never had an issue with this and was frequently a foster mom because of it. If you missed her right after kindling, she went right back to being almost impossible to breed. I used her kindling schedule to set the schedule for the rest of my herd. Others will absolutely lose condition if not given breaks though.

It's also about how frequent and how many you want to cull. A good doe will give you 6-8 buns that will make it to cull size. With 3 rabbits, this should in theory pack your freezer with at least 18 every 2.5 months(once you get it going). A rabbit meal almost every 4-5 days. It adds up.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

@SA Farm Thanks so much for the reply! That is just the schedule I was planning to follow, but at first I will probably alternate does. Call them A and B. So breed A. 4 weeks later A kindles litter 1, breed B. 4 weeks later ween A, B kindles harvest 2. 2 weeks later Breed A, harvest litter 1. 2 weeks later, wean B. 2 weeks later harvest litter 2, A kindles, breed B.

This will give does a 4 week break in between litters, hopefully elongating their effectiveness a bit. If I find this is not enough meat I can intensify the breeding but I think this will be a manageable way for me to get used to the rabbit game and breeding rotations etc. Seem reasonable/doable? Thank you again for the input!

I am just now reading through this thread. I am a new rabbit breeder, my first litter is 4 weeks old.

I am in west Texas where heat is the main issue (though last week we were frozen) so I chose a composite breed called TAMUKs that were bred in Texas for the heat so have large upright ears and short fur. Also good moms, quick maturity, good bone to meat ratio and, for fun, lots of different colors. But probably not your best choice!

I wanted to make a comment on breeding schedules - just something to consider. I have had several mentors suggest breeding at least two does at the same time so that you have an option if something goes wrong with a litter as kits can be put with another doe.

 

[HornyToadAcres]

SO MUCH helpful information in this thread, thank you all!

Rin talked about chicken smell - over the Great Freeze of 2021 I put my small flock in my rabbit trailer as they don't have a proper coop and hardly ever need one. Worked well, lost not a one but THE SMELL. lol Thankfully trailer is not airtight and I only had to have the chickens in there for 4 days.

Because I was blessed with a free pair of TAMUKs (we had a very hard 2020) just before Christmas, I ended up just buying a few Dumor cages at TSC (my poor TSC card) and I wanted to report that overall they have worked very well for the price. They don't have kit guards (I used coastal hay liberally to get through first litter) and the latches are not secure so I put lead clips that hubby had on them. I am mentioning for other newbies who get ahead of themselves as they are readily available in many areas. I also used my dog crates (someone mentioned those, can't find it now) and I will be using a large metal one for my growout for now.

thanks for all the feeder suggestions - I am still using scrounged pyrex bowls