Rabbit Meat Diets

when cross bred which one was the male & female you used. Out of the The California White, and New Zealand Whites!

Male - New Zealand or vise-versa?

 

I'm try to locate the closest breeder of commercial rabbits and asked a few guys in the Area that go to the livestock auctions, i want to start with 6 mos. olds. so i have to wait less time to start feeding the dogs rabbit.



* 1 month for gestation period ,

** ready to feed ( Feeder Rabbits) 12 weeks after being born! was told a whole

*** single litter could be raised in a 24''(D) X 30''(W) X 18''(H) same as an adullt pen.


If you got all your Does 'sired' the first month, you could be feeding rabbit in 3.5 mos. As you would have around (130 (12 week old) feeders) @ about (5 - 5.5+ LBS. Each) and a month later or right away after a litter is born the Does are able to be 're-breed' but they will burn out if Bred again right after so if you wait a month to re breed your good! So i was told.

 

i do both crosses, but i have noticed that 8 out of 10 times the nzw does are the better moms over the cals. but i do both as i only have 1dog that eats raw so im not really worried about production and feed ratios and whatnot. i also feed around 9-10 weeks or so most times cuz if i wait an extra week or 2 my one dog thats around 90lbs or so would be eatin around 5lbs give or take of food and would get fat quickly. but thats just me. i try and feed them when there around 3-3.5lbs or so cuz he does better with that amount. also i try and rebreed when the kits are around 4 weeks old or so cuz when i have waited longer than that i had trouble with the does not being receptive. and i also do a couple pure breedings a yr to replace the older does when production slows down.

also if u go to the auctions the breeders are most likely trying to get rid of there culls, so talk to them and see if u can get some of there better stock even if its going to cost a lil extra. its def worth the few extra bucks to start off with the best stock u can get imo. it will save u money in the long run.

 

We feed ours whole, they each get 1/2 a rabbit. We give the whole rabbit and stop them half way and give the rest to the next dog. We keep track of which end they eat and give the opposite next time to make sure one doesn't get all the tripe every day. 1/2 a rabbit is a large meal for a 40lb dog so we usually feed a chicken quarter the next day or alternate with kibble.

We got our rabbits from the free section of the paper, just your average pet store breed to try them out before spending the big $$ on meat breeders.

You can keep your costs down by planting hay and keeping a dandelion garden or just by keeping you grass long and feeding it to them. We keep the rabbit droppings as fertilizer for the garden, so essentially every part of our rabbits is used.

Keep in mind rabbits can overheat in the summer so keep them well ventilated and out of the sun. But, they are pretty hardy in the winter.

Good luck!

 

I use to feed my dgos fresh rabbit and they loved it and looked great. I also gave them bones. Good luck looks like a great enclosure.

 

Thanks Eh!!

 

If I gutted the rabbits and froze them, but took the end trails (guts/organs), and grounded and froze the end product.

Would the organ meat be okay to feed like a hamburger pattie without making the dogs sick. because the trip was ground with the organs(but put in freezer right after!):confused:

 

Cause I'm going to get my first 4 (breeder rabbits) tomorrow. they are $5-10 each rabbit.(pretty good price).

They had an Ad, "Rabbits For Butcher Or Pet":rolleyes:

 

just wanted to say that if u do plan of cutting costs by feeding alot of greens, they will likely take a lil longer to get to fryer weight than ones that are fed only pellets and hay.

good luck with the rabbits hope all goes well.

 

Yea that would be fine as long as you don't feed too much of it at one time. I like to feed bone/meat with the tripe to help keep stools firm. You generally won't make the dog sick but it may give diarrhea. There's no set amount that works for all dogs, just trial and error .

 

I was just thinking that i could freeze my extra Feeder Rabbits for (low production times or bad luck or whatever) and was wondering the best method to store it, in a convenient form too!

So I could feed something along the lines of;

• 1-(Organ/Intestine/Tripe) Pattie
• 1/2 - 1/4 Rabbit (just gutted and skinned)(frozen or fresh)
  
• Oil's ,(Omega 3-6-9)(Flax)
• 1-2 tbs. of Bacon or Beef Grease
• 1 Soft boiled Egg

And most likely having to cut the amount of ingredients

the reason for skinning is for only the fact, I want to make my own hides if i can someday. seeing as were penny saving anyway.:rolleyes:


Do you think a diet like that would be Okay, or am I missing something that should be added, and i plan to feed beef and deer, and chicken also here and there, but want to keep rabbit the base, I do understand the fact that they should be alternated but for the man part was gonna try to make this work.

 

Pellets and Alfalfa Hay should make a Fryer(Feeder) @ 12weeks of age 5-5.5lbs average, He Said. For California Whites and New Zealand Whites.

And that fine as my dogs are pups to 50 lbs.

Doe's, He said, should eat about a cup of feed a day, also he estimated. With Hay as well Daily.

Greens are only available seasonally here in Canada,

But can get carrots pretty cheap so they get some fresh greens at least, What else is a good green for rabbits?

That doesn't mess there systems up!

 

buck
im gonna pm u a message board that has all kinds of rabbit info.

 

Thanks Sandman221
I got a Buddie picking up his dog in the morning then I'm going to pick the Rabbits up a town over, I'll get some pics! lol there California whites and New Zealand Mixes, that's all i found locally so far!

 

cabbage thistle
wormwood
camomile
corn mint or field mint
spearmint
parsley (do not feed too much of that to pregnant females, I heard it might cause abortion and there's another plant that looks similar but is poisonous)
pot marigold
daisy (might cause diarhhea (sp?) when fed in large amounts)
fennel

twigs and leafs (leaves?!) of hazel, appletree, birch, currant...

 

sweet, ya thats what i first started out with cuz i couldnt find any pure ones. should work out good for u. just make sure they dont got runny noses. cuz snuffles is a bitch


good luck and if u need anything else hit me up

 

good luck with it buck

 

found this!
http://www.journeytoforever.org/farm_poultry.html#rabbits

 

This is one of the most interesting threads I have read on here hope it works out for you. I have the space to do it but pretty sure the wife would be against it poor little bunnies.lol

 

definately, im thinkin of giving it a try as well. i have made some good connects in my area. good luck buck, cant wait to see how it turns out for you