Let's see your meat rabbits. After cooking is fine.

Here's some of my rabbits.

Californian


New Zealands










Champagne D'Argent









Keith

Great looking rabbits.

Awwwwwwe.. you aren't going to eat them!

They make more quickly and efficiently.

Keith

Which ones do the best in hot weather ?

That's a lot of hasenpfeffer.

What do you do with their fur?
My meat rabbits are still running around, they are ready about mid October

Of those shown, Californians and the Champagne D'Argents take hot temperatures the best. I also have Florida Whites, which do well in the heat too. Direct sunlight in hot weather, without shade, will kill rabbits quickly. A lot of bucks go temporarily sterile in really hot weather. Their testicles will extend really far out, to try keep the sperm cool enough to stay motile. You can put frozen 2 liter bottles in with buck rabbits, in 100F plus weather to keep them cool enough that their sperm can still swim well.

Last year I had a woman call me worried about "two horrible cancerous looking growths" that were sticking out of her rabbit. They were its balls. It was in the nineties. She was embarrassed after I explained what was going on.

High heat hurts human sperm's motility too. That's why men trying to have kids often wear boxers instead of briefs.

Keith

The fur gets ground into pet food for reptiles, with whole, frozen rabbits. There's not much of a market for raw rabbit pelts.

Diane wants to cure some Champagne D'Argent pelts.

Keith

The largest rabbits I keep are Flemish Giants. They are not a good meat rabbit. They have a poor meat to bone ratio. People keep them mostly as pets. The world record Flemish Giant weighed 49 pounds and was over 4' long. The heaviest I had and weighed was 28 pounds, at a healthy weight.

This doe is close to that.



This buck is lighter, but still a very large rabbit.




Keith

My brothers raised checkered giants for showing and eating during the 4-H days of our youth. They made excellent table fare and my folks co-workers were always eager to purchase any excess rabbit meat.

Best I can do...

I didn't think reptiles could digest fur.
There's a market for rabbit fur, you just gotta make some phone calls

Reptiles mostly eat whole prey. There's no way for a snake to take any prey animal apart and most lizards can't either. They digest fur well.

Whole ground prey is more nutritious for reptiles and can be cased into sausage for easy, mess free consumption.

Keith

Bingo!!

I've wanted to get back into rabbits, this is a dangerous thread. My daughter is 3, I think by 4 she can take care of rabbits with some help

We raised them coming up. Got pretty quick at peeling them. Mama used them in many of her chicken recipes. I was particularly partial to rabbit tetrazinni.

I prefer these as my bunny beef.


This was over 50 years ago when I was a skinny teenager!

Ol dad

I heard
that the Tamuk's were bred for the heat. Came out of Texas A&M. They told me the bucks are still good in high heat.

3 litters right now, they grow fast and should be ready fall time. Nice having a variety for dinner.

New Zealand whites and californians here

I've often wondered if they'll thrive in a fenced yard, free rein on pasture.... supplement with pellets and let them do what rabbits do...

Had rabbits years ago in hutches... just generic cross breeds.

Too many aerial predators here to get away with that.

Keith, what gorgeous rabbits you have. They look happy and healthy.

Everyone's rabbit pics are so enjoyable.

I have semi wild rabbits , who found my place from somewhere a distance from here, obviously. They are loose and I feed and care for them. And take out predators , as I've always done on my place anyway. They are fun for me. I love seeing them spaz out leaping when they feel good , and I pet them when I give them treats. They are still wild and are good at keeping safe. Don't know what breed they are, they don't get very large.

I tell myself , if I get too many , I can choose which ones to put in my freezer. They are a fun hobby for me. I do love rabbit meat, it's among the best out there , to me.

Thank you for the neat subject and pics.

" Then I shall live in Montana. And drive a pickup truck. And raise rabbits...."

"One ping only".............

Someday I'd like to have Rex rabbits. Their fur is very like plucked and shorn beaver , in softness.

What age do you all start culling your older rabbits? I am assuming to just make stew out of the older ones. I'm getting ready to rotate some younger does and a buck in place of my 3 1/2 year olds. I have new zealands now. I got a young rex buck I will start using.

For breeders, I usually cull the does when they start having small litters and the bucks if the does they are bred to don't take a few times, in cool weather. That's usually around 2 1/2 to 3 years. It can vary a lot. Fat rabbits become less fertile early. Fatty ovaries on a doe will make her have small litters. If I have what I think is a better rabbit coming up and I'm short on cage space, I'll often cull an older, still productive rabbit.

Most of the rabbits I raise or buy go into pet food. I sold a little over 29,000 of rabbit in 2022. I was moving so many rabbits I bought a refrigerated box truck to haul them in. I lost most of my market when I almost died from the adverse reaction.

The best market for kits is for 4H meat pens. You can buy good quality rabbits, very cheaply, if you cull buy for a fair.

I've bought rabbits from both the President and Vice President of the Ohio New Zealand Rabbit Club within the last month. I got the winning meat pen white New Zealands from the club picnic, which were raised by the VP. I kept them.

Keith

Sharon, your beautiful, semi feral rabbits appear to be mostly of red and black New Zealand heritage, with something smaller bred in.

We have a white New Zealand, that's been running loose on the farm for close to 3 years. I could easily shoot it and sell it for pet food, but I kind of like seeing it run around. I am amazed that nothing has caught it.

When I was a kid, the cemetery near my maternal grandparents' house had some feral Siamese Satin rabbits. My siblings, cousins and I used to run them down every once in a while. They ran at least as good as a cottontail.

I learned early that we could catch cottontails by taking turns chasing them in a circle. We stopped because the cottontails would shiver and die after we exhausted them.

Keith

Dad and Grandpa raised rabbits commercially may decades ago. They had 500 breeding does at one time along with mink and chinchillas. I have raised New Zealand Whites, Californians, Champagne D'Argents, NZW x Calif cross, and Rex. I much prefer the rex for meat rabbits. They are very docile compared to the NZW and Califs. We raise Show stock, breeders, pets, emotional support animals, and for meat. Not to mention, the pelts and fertilizer are an added bonus. I put about 1 ton of rabbit berries on my garden/raised beds annually and sell the rest.

I sold this one, she was a show rabbit. New owner told me she placed Best of Breed at a show in Nebraska.


I kept this one, she was a show rabbit and produced big litters.


Augustus was an absolute stud.


We process several hundred annually.


I like to heat shrink the rabbits, they look professional. We process at 5lb live weight or 12 weeks of age for meat.


I used to have a couple local buyers for the raw pelts before covid. After that, IDK what happened to them, they haven't been back.

Almost forgot to add this! We like to roast our rabbits, bbq/smoked is good, fried is how I grew up. But one of my new favorites is to make them into sausage! Seasoned nicely, they are Brat sized and grill up great.

That sausage looks awesome Pintail, care to share the recipe?
We have a couple NZ Reds that keep us with plenty in the refrigerator.

Pintail, those are some beautiful rabbits live and processed. Those sausages look superb.

Keith

Sharon, well done on dropping the "Hunt for Red October" quote.

That's a nice set up you have Bdaniel. Looks clean and easy access

Thank you Keith, for helping me figure out my rabbits breeds. Just petting them is good for health !

Drake 04, what gorgeous rabbits . Love how you package the meat. I would buy them if they were near me . Like the furs too.

Aaron, for me, that is the all-time greatest movie ever made. Despite that I can't stand one of the actors, it's still worth enjoying the movie because of the rest and quality of production.

You should let them into your chicken hotel Sharon!

My older brothers raised them when I was just a little duffer and just barely remember it. We were into chickens after that for most of my childhood.

Yes you'd think they'd like that shelter . I couldn't close them in for the night as I did my chooks. They are the best in going inside every night to roost, but rabbits won't . Some even have wanted to be active at night, which isn't good .

They do have their own places under my wood sheds and a couple outbuildings , and some strategic escape holes under a few big conifers. Their feed trays and water are up on the deck , along with all the clover, grass and other green things on the place. They aren't as gorgeous as the ones pictured here by others, but they are still fun to pet and watch .

Welp this thread came in just in time....looks like a long with Chickens next she also wants buns

Oh, looks like mine ! And it's really nice when you can pick them up and hold them like that. Means that bun is nice and tame. They do make fun pets, from what I've learned, seeing how the rabbit groups on FB show theirs. Pet buns are quite a science in care , according to the bun groups who keep them in different settings other than small cages.

She is going to love that soft fur and how they come running and leaping when she calls them. If she wants two , make sure they are either fixed , or the same sex. Unless she wants to breed for shows or meat !

IDK but my guess is you won't be eatin any of those

Sharon...do yours reproduce running wild and free?, lol

She was actually talking about getting some to raise for fur...which surprised the heck outta me lol. But I'm terrified to join a ribbit group on FB because if there anything like the chicken people currently trying. To figure out what would be the best route to go if we do

A hutch is just ..meh

Traditional cages wouldn't be terrible but would need to make a shed or something for them but would be good for collecting there poop which is something we'd really enjoy being able to do

A tractor with raised wire would be easier all around but poop collection would be null but could move them in the shed or under shade in minutes depending on outdoor conditions

Then there's the on the ground colony style which I've seen more and more people say they love but that requires more planning a permanent area , adding dig guards and think I need to dose them for some kinda round worm

But gotta get the chickens first

Yes they do ! That's why I tell myself when I get too many, I'll choose some for my freezer. The ones who are most friendly I want to keep.

So far, it hasn't been a problem...rabbit behavior is such, that once young males grow up more, they get into tiffs with the older males, usually they work things out, but other times, a couple at a time will just leave. I never know where they go. Another time I had a predator problem, but once I put a stop to all that , everything is ok again.

So far, I don't have too many. But who knows what the summer will be.

Wolfie, maybe something bigger than a small wire cage would enable them to room to live and run a bit. Usually they like to have their toilet areas in certain places, so you should be able to collect fertilizer. Being able to skid living areas is a nice choice, to me. Move it anywhere you want. My coop was like that.

You don't need to join a group to glean info . I don't either. I just observe out of curiosity to see how people keep theirs.

Sooner or later I'll get offered some free rabbits, and I'll see how they do on the ground....No real predators, coons show up but then disappear....

Interesting! Thought they where like most critters and just did there business wherever whenever, in that case I might do a tractor then ! Reckon something like the one o made for my dad would be a decent start and with a wore bottom we could put wheels on it all the way round

You're good at building custom, innovative places for the farm , so you will make it all work. And if you need to, you can always add onto what you've made .

I don't know the best ways to collect fertilizer pellets from them, but I'm sure the guys here who have that part down well could give great ideas for you.

I would put the wire on the inside so as to not have any exposed wood they can chew.rabbits love to chew wood.if you notice in my pics I throw a couple of pieces of scrap wood in the cage with them every so often for them to chew on.keeps them from getting board also

Thanks

About 30 years ago my daughters wanted to raise rabbits for 4h. I told them from the beginning we would be eating most of the young. Make pets out of the adults is fine. Did not work. They are not upset now but were for a long time after butchering. I sold the hutches I made. Was not a total loss. Alf alfa hay and chunks from cattle mineral blocks was the cheapest feed.

what a good read full of information thanks