What breed would you recommend...?

[Sara Ranch]

The solar panels are in back, facing one end of the house. I *think* the house is situated front facing ne/east, back facing sw/west. The back definitely gets the afternoon sun big time. The front gets the sun until about 10-10:30 am in the summer. And not usually much before 6-7 am.

The animal activity (most of the livestock) is in the back of the house, away from the road.

Lol - I notice how no one is commenting on the rats.

 

[Baymule]

I kept rabbits long ago. About 300 counting litters. I bred 10-12 does at a time so if a doe rejected a kit or the whole litter, I could foster the kits on other does. A dab of vanilla on her nose and on the kits does the trick!

I prefer hanging wire cages in a barn or shed. There must be plenty of ventilation, I left one side open with heavy wire over it to keep out varmits. I also had a chicken coop attached to the rabbit barn with the ability to close them off if needed.

The chickens ate the dropped feed, scratched and turned the poo, ate fly larva and kept down flies. They also gave the rabbits ear mites, so once a month, all rabbits got several drops of mineral oil in each ear.

I raised Satins. I had red, white, chinchilla, black and Siamese colors. I showed and sold the best for show, culled the ones not good enough for show, sold as fryers or ate them.

I fed them pellets in feeders that hung on the wire. They had heavy crockery bowls for water. I also fed them a grain mix of whole oats, barley and milo in a crockery bowl. My favorites demanded cookies.

 

[DutchBunny03]

If you just want optimal meat production, a NZ/Cali hybrid is the way to go. Extra rabbits will get sold off(rabbits are adorable, someone is bound to want them).
I live in an area where is gets to be below -20 F on a regular basis, and no problems with having rabbits outside in wire hutches yet. But heat will be more of a problem. Put the hutches in the shade, and use fans if possible. What also works is putting a frozen bottle of water in the hutch with the rabbit. It will eventually get the idea, and sit next to the water bottle.

About hutch design: all wire or mostly wire works just fine. I use wire for the sides, top, and bottom, and wood as a frame(much sturdier than all wire), with a removable nest box in each hutch. You could do built in nest boxes, but they are much harder to clean. And a dirty nest box is a place for mites and bacteria to infest litters of new babies. That's one reason i cannot recommend all wood hutches. They are a breeding ground for disease. No matter how "cruel" wire might seem, it will save your rabbits in the long run.

Sunlight is crucial. If you can't have sunlight, use lamps that imitate daylight, but sunlight is the best kind of light to have. Having rabbits in sunlight also usually allows ventilation, which is crucial.

When buying rabbits, whatever you do, DON'T BUY FROM A HOARDER. The rabbits may be cheap, but can have mites, diseases, etc., to bring home to your rabbitry. Check Craigslist, the ARBA breeder listings, and go to state or county fairs to find some descent rabbits.

Pellets are not absolutely necessary, but very helpful, in rabbit raising, especially if you want optimal meat production. Even if you don't want to feed pellets to all the rabbits, at least give the pregnant does, lactating dams, and growing kits pellets. The best pellets to get are 16% protein. The higher protein grower pellets are just a waste of money. On top of pellets, concentrates(oats, barley, etc.) are good, especially for putting weight on growing fryers. And, of course, unlimited hay and water(the hay used for feeding horses works just fine; no need to waste money on expensive special "rabbit" hay).

Healthy rabbits have bright eyes, glossy coats, well-furred footpads, no nasal discharge, and behave healthy. To check if a rabbit has snuffles(a disease that will kill all your rabbits in a week), check the front paws of the rabbit. If they are covered in dried mucus, the rabbit has been using its paws to wipe its nose, and is sick. Also check the ears of the rabbit. If the skin is crusty or bleeding, the rabbit has ear mites, which are a pain in the neck to get rid of. Run your hand down the rabbit's back. If it feels firm, but smooth, the rabbit is a healthy weight. If you can easily feel the individual vertebrae, the rabbit is not a healthy weight.

 

[Pastor Dave]

When I was a kid, our hutches were outside in summer and dropped waste to the ground. We had rats that tunneled under and made dens. We exterminated them. In winter, we put them in the garage in hanging cages. Never had rats there.

Skip ahead 20+ years. I have them in a shed and have traps set for mice. I catch one every once in a while. I have not had any sign of rats. Barns do get them, and where feed may be scattered loose here and there.

I have mostly New Zealand Whites. Dutch bunny 03 said best meat combo is Californian and NZW. I agree with her. We eat approx 1.5 per week. I was only getting an order for 1 to 2 per time I butchered. Mine were stacking up even though I use crock pot to make it in various recipes, grill them, and grind for sausage, etc. I am going down to 2 does and a buck. If you advertise, you could probably sell some. It is lean, low in cholesterol, and good protein.

 

[Sara Ranch]

Wow! Thank you! I feel much more confident now about getting rabbits and being able to properly care for them and nurture them.

The plan is slowly revealing itself in my head...can you see it? See the plan?

 

[Baymule]

Yep.

 

[rd123]

We tried the colony method and it turned out to be a disaster. The major problem is unmanaged breeding produces more problems that cost money in the long run.
It has been a while, but in our area (Southern Oregon) to get the best fryer price from the dealer who came into our area wanted 8wk old fryers from 4.5 to 5.5 lbs. Anything less or heavier was paid the lesser price of stewer rate.
The only way we found to get maximum feed conversion was to breed registered bucks from good stock with does produced from the same quality bucks.
If you are raising rabbits for your own meat supply it doesn't really matter except you will be paying more for feed in the long run. If I were to do it all over again I would start with registered bucks and does from a quality breeder. It might be more expensive, but good insurance for a successful operation. Also keep good records and be ready ahead of time for the stock you are about to purchase. With rabbits things happen fast and it is easy to get overwhelmed because they are so good at making little rabbits.

 

[Sara Ranch]

Thank you.

I've done a little research on purchasing "registered" stock.