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Author Topic: Raising Meat Rabbits  (Read 21219 times)

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #80 on: May 13, 2020, 08:39:25 pm »
How old will the females need be when able to reproduce?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #81 on: May 13, 2020, 08:48:09 pm »
How old will the females need be when able to reproduce?
From what I've read, most people breed for the first time at 6 months old. 
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Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #82 on: May 24, 2020, 09:08:11 pm »
Our first litter of rabbits graduated today!  They are now weaned and today moved from Mama's cage to the tractor.   :smile:

 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #83 on: May 24, 2020, 09:16:58 pm »
These are the first babies! Wow!   Keep up the good work!
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #84 on: May 25, 2020, 10:48:29 am »
These are the first babies! Wow!   Keep up the good work!
Isn't it crazy how fast they grow?  We tried sexing them again when we put them in the tractor, and we got 3 girls and 3 boys this time, which seems like a more reasonable answer than the first try.  :grin:
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Offline Seeb

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #85 on: May 25, 2020, 01:17:50 pm »
will you eat the males and breed the does? Cool tractor - did you build it?

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #86 on: May 25, 2020, 01:45:37 pm »
will you eat the males and breed the does?
At this point we are planning on eating all of them.  We don't have a whole lot of grassy pasture, so we can only support a couple of tractors.  We'd like to maybe get some breeders of another breed (we are looking at Silver Foxes now), but we don't need any more New Zealand breeders right now.   
Cool tractor - did you build it?
Thanks.  Yes, my parents built it.  They got the plans from Living Traditions Homestead.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #87 on: May 25, 2020, 07:45:58 pm »
One of our goats, Bella, likes the new bunny tractor too!   :cheesy:
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Offline Seeb

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #88 on: May 25, 2020, 08:55:29 pm »
Everybody?s trying to get in the act 🐕 🐐

Offline JojoBeeBoy

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #89 on: May 25, 2020, 10:04:00 pm »
In the late 70s my folks built a "rabbit barn" which was/is about 16'x50'. They/we built cages which hung the length of both long walls with a double cage going down the middle. The male was kept outside in his own cage.

At the time several people had started raising. A semi would come on Sat to the local high school to buy your rabbits. When we started the feed cost was low, the wire and other supplies were affordable, and the buyer paid a decent price. Within 2-3 years, local suppliers (namely Farmer's Coop) raised feed and wire prices and the folks bringing the trucks kept lowering the buying price of meat.

I remember feeding/watering mamas and having a lot of cuddly babies. The meat was excellent.

I don't think you will have trouble selling as many as you can raise. However, being able to sell them at a profit might take developing a niche market (Organic, pink and purple, etc)

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #90 on: May 25, 2020, 11:41:34 pm »
In the late 70s my folks built a "rabbit barn" which was/is about 16'x50'. They/we built cages which hung the length of both long walls with a double cage going down the middle. The male was kept outside in his own cage.

At the time several people had started raising. A semi would come on Sat to the local high school to buy your rabbits. When we started the feed cost was low, the wire and other supplies were affordable, and the buyer paid a decent price. Within 2-3 years, local suppliers (namely Farmer's Coop) raised feed and wire prices and the folks bringing the trucks kept lowering the buying price of meat.

I remember feeding/watering mamas and having a lot of cuddly babies. The meat was excellent.

I don't think you will have trouble selling as many as you can raise. However, being able to sell them at a profit might take developing a niche market (Organic, pink and purple, etc)

Sounds like quite the operation!  We're not really looking to sell the meat, at least at this point.  We really just wanted to start raising more of our own.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #91 on: June 21, 2020, 08:45:33 pm »
Well, we had a little mishap today.  When my sister was moving one of the rabbit tractors, one of the goats jumped up on the top and the tractor came slamming down on one of the rabbit's legs and broke it.  :sad:  The rabbit clearly couldn't walk anymore and seemed to be in shock, so my father dispatched it with his BB gun.  We took a crash course on butchering a rabbit on YouTube since we didn't want it to go to waste.  It was a good practice round for butchering day and it actually went really well.  It was MUCH easier than a chicken.  The rabbit was at 1 3/4 lbs. dressed, right where it should be at this age, but a little too small for us to eat, so we'll feed it to our dogs.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #92 on: June 22, 2020, 11:59:33 pm »
Sorry about your rabbit Member. I do not know what a wild rabbit weighs but they sure are good for breakfast with homemade butter milk biscuits, fresh butter, muscadine jelly, sweet milk gravy, eggs, grits and honey. Yum.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #93 on: June 23, 2020, 12:24:56 am »
Sorry about your rabbit Member. I do not know what a wild rabbit weighs but they sure are good for breakfast with homemade butter milk biscuits, fresh butter, muscadine jelly, sweet milk gravy, eggs, grits and honey. Yum.
Thanks, Phillip.  It was probably enough meat for 1 or 2 people to eat, but kind of hard to split between 7 people.  :wink:  I think that my mom has all of that breakfast list down except for muscadine jelly (which I had to google), fresh butter (which we'll have once our goats are in milk), and grits (which she hasn't quite gotten the hang of yet, since we're not native southerners).               
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline CoolBees

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #94 on: June 23, 2020, 12:35:22 am »
Y'all are making me hungry ... and I just finished dinner.  :grin:
You cannot permanently help men by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves - Abraham Lincoln

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #95 on: June 23, 2020, 12:44:13 am »
Y'all are making me hungry ... and I just finished dinner.  :grin:
For a second I was thinking, Why did he just finish dinner at 11:35 PM?  Then I remembered what time zone you are in.  :cheesy:
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline CoolBees

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #96 on: June 23, 2020, 03:43:17 pm »
Y'all are making me hungry ... and I just finished dinner.  :grin:
For a second I was thinking, Why did he just finish dinner at 11:35 PM?  Then I remembered what time zone you are in.  :cheesy:

 :grin: :grin: :grin: Yup.

I think I'll move though - to be Phillips neighbor. I think that man can COOK! ... and I'll "accidentally" stop by to chat every evening, right at supper time.  :cheesy: :cool:
You cannot permanently help men by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves - Abraham Lincoln

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #97 on: June 23, 2020, 05:10:37 pm »
You would most certainly be welcome!
 :grin:
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online The15thMember

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #98 on: July 18, 2020, 03:53:09 pm »
We butchered our first two litters on Wednesday and Thursday.  It went very well; much easier than doing 12 chickens.  My father dispatched them with a kill board, and my mom and I skinned and gutted them.  The dressed weight of the rabbits was 2-2.5 lbs, and we also saved the livers, kidneys, and hearts.  We are quite happy with how everything went the this first time around and already have 2 more litters growing.  We are going to experiment with feeding the new babies less commercial pellets and more greens and vegetables from the garden to save some money on feed.   

I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Raising Meat Rabbits
« Reply #99 on: July 19, 2020, 02:06:24 am »
Yall have arrived!!   How did you prepare the good clean meat?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.