nachoqtpie
Lovin' The Homestead
So, hubs and I are thinking of making our journey into meat rabbits. I want to do American Chinchillas because they're some of the better meat rabbits (or so we've read) and they're an endangered American breed. So... we found a place that sells pedigreed rabbits $125 for a trio. Not that we will foray into showing rabbits any time soon, but you never know! Kids might want to do some for 4H or something. Not only that... my book says that their fur is very soft and collectible, so they're actually a dual purpose rabbit.
So... my questions are
When would be the best time to get these rabbits? (Meaning season wise, we know they can't breed until after they're 6 months old)
Since we have "mild" winters, would they need to be covered in the winter?
Would it be better to put them up next to the house so we can run a fan for them in the summer, but they will be in direct sunlight for about half the day, or behind the ducks and chickens where there's no electricity, but shade for most the day and we can put in frozen bottles? (I can take pictures of all of these places if you would like them)
Should we separate the hutches completely, or can we build a large divided hutch and put the buck between the 2 does with the sides touching?
These will PRIMARILY be meat rabbits, what sort of feed should we get them? Is it like chickens and have different levels of protein for different ages?
They say that a mature AC will weigh between 9-12 pounds... is that "mature" age when you butcher? (10-12 weeks?)
Should we think about getting another buck from a different breeder so we have very distinct lines and can extend our breeding if we would like to?
I'm sure that I'll think if more questions... and you can feel free to tell me to get a book and read... but please at least suggest a book! I'm going to do some searching around the site to see what I can find in terms of meat rabbits as well. Thanks in advance guys.
So... my questions are
When would be the best time to get these rabbits? (Meaning season wise, we know they can't breed until after they're 6 months old)
Since we have "mild" winters, would they need to be covered in the winter?
Would it be better to put them up next to the house so we can run a fan for them in the summer, but they will be in direct sunlight for about half the day, or behind the ducks and chickens where there's no electricity, but shade for most the day and we can put in frozen bottles? (I can take pictures of all of these places if you would like them)
Should we separate the hutches completely, or can we build a large divided hutch and put the buck between the 2 does with the sides touching?
These will PRIMARILY be meat rabbits, what sort of feed should we get them? Is it like chickens and have different levels of protein for different ages?
They say that a mature AC will weigh between 9-12 pounds... is that "mature" age when you butcher? (10-12 weeks?)
Should we think about getting another buck from a different breeder so we have very distinct lines and can extend our breeding if we would like to?
I'm sure that I'll think if more questions... and you can feel free to tell me to get a book and read... but please at least suggest a book! I'm going to do some searching around the site to see what I can find in terms of meat rabbits as well. Thanks in advance guys.