Domestic Rabbit Breeding For Food

[Gin 498]

A friend of mine, now retired, and looking for something to keep active, is looking to breed rabbits for meat. He asked me about best breeds, and rearing cages etc.

I've no idea but thought someone on here may know.

Any info anyone ?

A DVD would be a great help also.

[peterhunter86 8,627]

Its big in spain I seen a documentary on tv about it try you tube

[Chicken_man 1,651]

My brother in law bred New Zealand Whites for meat. Kept them for yrs, easy to keep.

Atb

[Gin 498]

Yes i think thats the way for him to go. Thanks

[gnipper 6,523]

There's loads of vids on YouTube which will help you. I think they recommend a nzw x californian f1 for meat.

[comanche 3,057]

I used to keep a little rabbitry . I think regulations about selling carcases to the public are a lot tighter nowdays and profit would be pretty non-existent for a small commercial outfit . If you just want a few rabbits for the personal pot it would make an interesting hobby though.

My favourite breed was the Californian-big white things with black legs and ears. They had a docile temperament and grew to the size of a small cat if you let them live that long. New Zealand Whites were similar in size but seemed less endearing for some reason.

Both breeds grow fast and get to 10 or 12lbs but its more economical to kill at half that size .

We had a few "improved" commercial hybrids but they could be difficult to handle and didn't do as well under our back-yard conditions as the Californians or NZWs.

If you have a draught-free shed, utilitarian wire cages with just an open topped nest box ,a drinker and hay and pellet racks are Ok from maintenance and hygiene points of view but don't offer much privacy or quality of life to the bunnies. Spacious hutches or even the old fashioned Morant-style A-frame runs might not be so high-tech but give a more pleasant feel to the operation.

If you do keep rabbits indoors it is important to get the lighting balance right ,especially if you want to maximise production in winter. This may mean burning electricity with artificial lighting. Just to add to the equation ;while the does are stimulated to come in-season by daylight hours , too much light can suppress the buck's fertility. Following commercial practices and mating does immediately after they have given birth to maximise production doesn't seen very kind . However, its fine to mate them as soon as the babies are weaned at about four weeks-in fact its a mistake to leave too long a gap between matings as a doe can run to fat and lose fertility if her diet is good and living is too easy.

If you take a more natural approach and rear on grass as well as prepared food the venture will still cost money but could provide hours of interest and at least it saves cutting the lawn.

 

Another breed worth considering is the English. They don't grow as big or quickly as the commercial breeds but are quite meaty and very pretty, spotty things . You might even show a profit as surplus stock can be sold to pet shops or advertised in livestock magazines . Its the breed that my daughter settled on when she got into rabbits and the local pet shop used to throw money at her every time she had a litter to sell.

Edited March 29, 2015 by comanche

[hedgerow pete 25]

the basic set up i used to have up untill a few years back was

 

one buck and three does

each does would do three litters a year on average 8 leverits 24 each times three equals 72 bunnie meals

kill weight was 3.5 kg 200kg plus a year thats a pound of meat a day easily

 

you need as well as the four cages for the breeding stock another two vages for the crop to grow on , in and and another three cages for new breeder stock to come up in.

 

i only ever used new zeland whites

 

cast was a 20kg bag of feed every two weeks and bales of hay and shavings for bedding

 

breeder cages were ply wood and timber frame 500mm high 700mm wide and 1500mm long

grower cages were 1200mmm long and 500mm high and 600mm wide and there was three of them, one for the boys and two for the girls dempendant on how many of a particular sex there was that litter

[Neal 1,873]

My granddad had rows of rabbit cages at the bottom of the garden. His were kept for showing (and cropping the grass on their tiny lawn) but I remember my mum saying that they usually ate one per week...she always went on about picking all the meat out of the heads! Not sure which breed his were but they were mainly black and white with "collie markings" (maybe Dutch) plus some pure whites.

 

I also have a very old pamphlet called "Rabbit Meat Production" by Edwin E. Sutton in which he recommends, as "the most profitable breeds," Chinchilla, Giganta, Beveren, Flemish Giant and New Zealand White.

 

I suppose it's a bit like sheep/mutton though i.e. size doesn't necessarily mean better quality as a lot of smaller breeds may taste better.

[Donna Wildwood 288]

I use dutch rabbits, they aren't the biggest but are great mothers and big enough for the 2 of us. Lovely temperaments too.

i keep mine in 3 meter by 4 meter pens with a hutch to go in when they want to. I don't seperate my does, they get on just fine if they have space. I feed them on ad lib hay, greens and veg and a molasses type mix. Keep em dry with somewhere snug, and let them have room to run about. They'll do you proud.

[courseadog 231]

I started to set this up this year got Californians which are about as good as newzealands

As said above loads of vids on YouTube

I keep them on wire 1"x1" galvanised with wooden boxes at bottom to catch the shit and piss

Which goes on to become the best fertiliser for veg

The wire system keeps them very clean

The ones I have at mo are just about ready to

Start to breed so buy late summer I should be rolling

They are a nice animal to keep for meat and a lot easyer

To sort less agro then chickens to prep for the table