Edgar 1 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Hi all, I would like some advice about keeping rabbits for meat. What breeds to get, where to get them from, breeding, housing, feeding. I have kept chickens, ducks and ferrets and make their houses myself but I don't know much about keeping rabbits for meat. The reason I want to is because there are fewer rabbits about now because of myxi so I don't like to hunt them too much until they recover. But I still want to have lots of rabbits for the table. Any help much appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RN-Rabbit-Control Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Backyard rabbit farming can be one of the most profitable small livestock enterprises going. You can feed them for very near nothing, you don't need acres of land, theres hardly any smell or noise. It has been said that if you keep 1 buck and 3 does and you manage them right, you can eat a rabbit three times a week all year round. New Zealand Whites and Californian Rabbits and crosses between the two are the only ones that are really suited to growing for meat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sexy_Shot 5 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 id love to do this, but saying this ma dad said no three years ago Cheers Trevor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Taker 1 Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Hi all, I would like some advice about keeping rabbits for meat. What breeds to get, where to get them from, breeding, housing, feeding. I have kept chickens, ducks and ferrets and make their houses myself but I don't know much about keeping rabbits for meat. The reason I want to is because there are fewer rabbits about now because of myxi so I don't like to hunt them too much until they recover. But I still want to have lots of rabbits for the table. Any help much appreciated. YEARS AGO ME AND MY DAD BRED RABBITS TO EAT. WE BOUGHT A BELGUIM HARE AND A FLEMMISH GIANT RABBIT AND BRED THE TWO.BEFORE YOU KNEW IT WE HAD RABBITS EVERYWHERE TO HOUSE THEM YOU JUST NEED A SHED AND PUT SOME PENS INSIDE THE SHED.BUT I MUST WARN YOU YOU WONT BELIEVE HOW MUCH THESE RABBITS EAT AND DRINK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edgar 1 Posted November 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I've been reading about different breeds and apparently the really big rabbits like flemish giants eat a lot more than the medium sized ones but don't convert their food into meat as well. So I'm going for medium sized ones. I'm building a wire floored run so they can eat the grass and they can also eat potatoe peelings, carrot top ect. Thanks for replies everyone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eulb36 0 Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi all I have been keeping new zealand rabbits for a few years but lost 20 to mixy this year. I keep them on grass with the hutch above the wire run. they are fed pellets morning and evening with a big handful of weeds. The only problem has been the occasional runny bottom which is washed then live yogurt is fed to them through a syringe. Good rabbits good meat return. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edgar 1 Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Sorry to hear that. I will try to keep wild rabbits away from them to prevent the spread of myxi. Also will give them flea powder regularly. I live in a fairly remote part of Scotland and the local pet shop only has English or Dutch rabbits. Does any body have any experience with these? Cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RN-Rabbit-Control Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 Sorry to hear that. I will try to keep wild rabbits away from them to prevent the spread of myxi. Also will give them flea powder regularly. I live in a fairly remote part of Scotland and the local pet shop only has English or Dutch rabbits. Does any body have any experience with these? Cheers. They will fatten ok, but the carcass size will be considerably smaller, and they will take longer to finish, also will want more feed to get them up to a decent size as they are not bred specifically for meat. I do a bit of work for a petting zoo and they hatch a dozen chicks every weekend through the summer for the kids to look at, they give me them when they are around a week old, these I fatten for my own consumption, as a rule traditional breed chickens take roughly 24 to 26 weeks to get up to the 5lb mark, compare this to a Cobb-Vantress Cobb500 which can get up to 5lb in 35 days because they are bred to be eating machines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steviemann 5 Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Sorry to hear that. I will try to keep wild rabbits away from them to prevent the spread of myxi. Also will give them flea powder regularly. I live in a fairly remote part of Scotland and the local pet shop only has English or Dutch rabbits. Does any body have any experience with these? Cheers. They will fatten ok, but the carcass size will be considerably smaller, and they will take longer to finish, also will want more feed to get them up to a decent size as they are not bred specifically for meat. I do a bit of work for a petting zoo and they hatch a dozen chicks every weekend through the summer for the kids to look at, they give me them when they are around a week old, these I fatten for my own consumption, as a rule traditional breed chickens take roughly 24 to 26 weeks to get up to the 5lb mark, compare this to a Cobb-Vantress Cobb500 which can get up to 5lb in 35 days because they are bred to be eating machines. Now that is amazing!!! My friend got given some cobbs from a farm a while back. Smelt very strong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ratty789 0 Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 Hi all, I would like some advice about keeping rabbits for meat. What breeds to get, where to get them from, breeding, housing, feeding. I have kept chickens, ducks and ferrets and make their houses myself but I don't know much about keeping rabbits for meat. The reason I want to is because there are fewer rabbits about now because of myxi so I don't like to hunt them too much until they recover. But I still want to have lots of rabbits for the table. Any help much appreciated. I breed rabbits for the table and butcher in my teens about a 120 rabbits at any one time, new zealand whites are the beed recomended by most butchers , quick growers, and decent size, be careful feeding to many greens especially cabbage family, keep hutches of the floor to help keep the myxy fly away Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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