Bacog
Chillin' with the herd
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Which breed would be good for just meat? I am not going to show them.
Which Breed for Meat??
- Thread starter Bacog
- Start date
animalmom
Herd Master
Well, I like a real nice California crossed with New Zealand. I've raised this cross for several years and have not been disappointed.
I also have some breeding Altex and while they look fabulous I have not harvested any so far. Plan on doing that this week. Altex are suppose to be better than the old fashioned Cali/NZ crosses.
I read here on BYH that some folks like the Dutch, the Florida White is suppose to be good, smaller, but good with a better meat to bone ratio. Probably any rabbit can be used for meat, what you may want to look for is the meat to bone ratio and any special needs for the rabbit breed. I don't know, but I wouldn't think that little breeds like the dwarfs would have much meat on them to begin with, and some large breeds like the Flemish Giant have a higher bone to meat ratio.
It all depends on what you want to do... is the meat for you and your family, or your dogs, how much room you have, how much time you have to devote to the rabbitry, what part of the country you live in as heat can be a problem for rabbits, and I'm sure a few other points.
You ask a dozen rabbit breeders what they like and you can easily end up with two dozen answers.
Bottom line is what are you wanting to do?
I also have some breeding Altex and while they look fabulous I have not harvested any so far. Plan on doing that this week. Altex are suppose to be better than the old fashioned Cali/NZ crosses.
I read here on BYH that some folks like the Dutch, the Florida White is suppose to be good, smaller, but good with a better meat to bone ratio. Probably any rabbit can be used for meat, what you may want to look for is the meat to bone ratio and any special needs for the rabbit breed. I don't know, but I wouldn't think that little breeds like the dwarfs would have much meat on them to begin with, and some large breeds like the Flemish Giant have a higher bone to meat ratio.
It all depends on what you want to do... is the meat for you and your family, or your dogs, how much room you have, how much time you have to devote to the rabbitry, what part of the country you live in as heat can be a problem for rabbits, and I'm sure a few other points.
You ask a dozen rabbit breeders what they like and you can easily end up with two dozen answers.
Bottom line is what are you wanting to do?
Sycamore27
Exploring the pasture
Avoid dwarf and giants breeds, aside from that it depends on your needs.
Any decent sized rabbit can be used as a meat rabbit really, but some breeds have larger litters, grow faster, convert feed to muscle better, and so on.
New Zealands are a staple, super easy to find most any where. Californians come in close behind in popularity from what I've seen, lots of people keep a mixed herd and eat NZ/Cali crosses. Altex are supposed to be more meat for their bone weight. Creme d'Argent is another meat breed I've seen some people rave about. Florida Whites are good if you want a bit smaller meat rabbit, as are Dutch and standard Rex.
Personally I have American Chinchillas, we just got started with them and we love the fur color and texture of them and intend to use the hides, they are a fairly large breed, and I am also interested in maintaining the heritage breed. Silver Fox are another heritage breed that is a good meat rabbit.
Ultimately it depends how much rabbit meat you want to get, both in general and off of one carcass, how much space you have to work with, and what you can find or want to spend on your start up stock.
For instance, we wanted a nice consistent colored fur to work with and a fairly large harvest size because my boyfriend eats a lot of meat in one sitting and I like to make stews and such for a few days leftovers. I also love keeping heritage breeds going and have found them to have more desirable traits then common mass production breeds. In my area I got lucky that someone breeding for their own meat needs was selling off some extra am Chin kits or I would have had to reserve fairly expensive kits a two hour drive from me to get Am Chins or some Silver Fox. If I wanted NZs I could have found them everywhere, Calis I could find crosses but no pure stock, and there isn't much else around here other than dwarf breeds.
Good luck in your selection!
Jessie
Any decent sized rabbit can be used as a meat rabbit really, but some breeds have larger litters, grow faster, convert feed to muscle better, and so on.
New Zealands are a staple, super easy to find most any where. Californians come in close behind in popularity from what I've seen, lots of people keep a mixed herd and eat NZ/Cali crosses. Altex are supposed to be more meat for their bone weight. Creme d'Argent is another meat breed I've seen some people rave about. Florida Whites are good if you want a bit smaller meat rabbit, as are Dutch and standard Rex.
Personally I have American Chinchillas, we just got started with them and we love the fur color and texture of them and intend to use the hides, they are a fairly large breed, and I am also interested in maintaining the heritage breed. Silver Fox are another heritage breed that is a good meat rabbit.
Ultimately it depends how much rabbit meat you want to get, both in general and off of one carcass, how much space you have to work with, and what you can find or want to spend on your start up stock.
For instance, we wanted a nice consistent colored fur to work with and a fairly large harvest size because my boyfriend eats a lot of meat in one sitting and I like to make stews and such for a few days leftovers. I also love keeping heritage breeds going and have found them to have more desirable traits then common mass production breeds. In my area I got lucky that someone breeding for their own meat needs was selling off some extra am Chin kits or I would have had to reserve fairly expensive kits a two hour drive from me to get Am Chins or some Silver Fox. If I wanted NZs I could have found them everywhere, Calis I could find crosses but no pure stock, and there isn't much else around here other than dwarf breeds.
Good luck in your selection!
Jessie
VickieB
Loving the herd life
I started raising rabbits for one reason only: clean, healthy, affordable meat. I've only been at it for 10 weeks but I've loved my rabbits. The lady I bought them from called them Production White, and they are definitely a production rabbit. I have 4 does and 1 buck. All four does have had their first litters, 11 kits, 10 kits, 10 kits, and 9 kits. So far I've only lost 4 of the kits and my oldest are now 6 weeks. The production white is a cross with the Altex and the New Zealand White. They were bred to be good moms, large litters, and good temperament. All of mine excel in those areas. The only thing I'm needing now is an Altex buck. (I've read that they will produce even meatier rabbits)
secuono
Herd Master
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Lots of rabbits were made for meat. Many people swear by meat cross mutts and many of them also breed their own mixes for the best meat rabbit that works in their set-up.
Silver Fox
Californian
New Zealand
American Chinchilla
American, white/blue
Florida White
Champagne D'Argent
Palomino
Beveren
There are more, but these above come to mind first.
Silver Fox
Californian
New Zealand
American Chinchilla
American, white/blue
Florida White
Champagne D'Argent
Palomino
Beveren
There are more, but these above come to mind first.
Citylife
Loving the herd life
I started out with high show quality Florida Whites. I wanted a smaller meat rabbit as I have a bad back injury and didn't really want the larger rabbits. The FW's were great for that, but............ they were show rabbits not bred to reproduce more then twice a year. Bad choice.......... needed FW's from meat stock. So, after about 2 years and thinking about getting out of rabbits we chose to change breeds as we were not getting enough for our own consumption. It was a hard decision, as we had so much time, money and ourselves invested in them.
So, we got four NZW does and buck. Got a CA buck and a 1/2 and 1/2 CA/NZW doe.
Now days, we have a good turn around and often have 45 buns in the barn at a time. My freezer has rabbit, I sell a lot of breeding stock and things are going strong year round. The evolution of our rabbitry has been fun to watch. And most of all......... I am glad we didn't give up.
We have added 7 Amercian Blues to the rabbitry and have a litter of 10 kits @ 11 days old right now. Not to say the other meat or breeding stock we have available.
As stated earlier........... figure out how much meat you want from rabbits and adjust your stock for your needs. There is a lot of useful information here. Glad to have you in this wonderful forum!
So, we got four NZW does and buck. Got a CA buck and a 1/2 and 1/2 CA/NZW doe.
Now days, we have a good turn around and often have 45 buns in the barn at a time. My freezer has rabbit, I sell a lot of breeding stock and things are going strong year round. The evolution of our rabbitry has been fun to watch. And most of all......... I am glad we didn't give up.
We have added 7 Amercian Blues to the rabbitry and have a litter of 10 kits @ 11 days old right now. Not to say the other meat or breeding stock we have available.
As stated earlier........... figure out how much meat you want from rabbits and adjust your stock for your needs. There is a lot of useful information here. Glad to have you in this wonderful forum!
