Official SS Rabbit Thread

[Bettacreek]

So, since some of us aren't fortunate enough to have goats or sheep (sad face), how about an official SS rabbit thread? Personally, I've just started my breeding stock for meaties. I bought 5 rabbits, four does and a buck, for $16.25. I spent about $40 on cage material to make a four cage unit. Each space is 24"x24"x18". I had another cage that I put the buck in. I ended up selling two does for $20.

One of the does:

One of the does that was sold:

All of them cramped on the top floor of the cage while I was making their new quarters:

The Z Bunny:

 

[tortoise]

I just sold my first litter today!

 

[Blackbird]

Bettacreek - Those are beautiful!! I've always liked the Californians, very very pretty.

We are down to three rabbits - an elderly pair of retired mini-lops that I used to show that I can't part with, and one Red New Zealand and Himalayan cross doe, who was supposed to be the start of our meat breeders. I might just have to see if the male lop is still fertile..

 

[tortoise]

I'm breeding a chinchilla buck with a choclate doe this week, hoping for a chocolate chinchilla because they are worth $$$. Should be possible given their pedigrees.

These are French Angoras, BTW.

I've been hand-spinning some angora wool this afternoon. I want some super-soft mittens or a cowl or something. But what color should I die the yarn? I have food coloring and an easter egg dye kit.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I started out with meat rabbits about 2 years ago. I currently have three does and two bucks, but am trying to rehome one buck. I have had many litters. I have sold some as pets, but most of the bunns go to meat. One of my does and one buck are Californians. One is flemish/NZ mix, and one is cali/nz/flemish mix.

Recently, one of our dogs has been getting increasingly thinner and thinner, and she had difficulty getting up to a standing position, so we made the decision to make our own dog food, so right now both our pooches are getting rabbit meat as part of therir diet. We do eat the rabbits too.

My bunns had the winter off and I have just started breeding again. My first litter of this year will be around april 7.

Rabbits are easy and inexpensive to raise. I plan on building an outdoortractor-type area for them hopefully this year, so they can live a more "sustainable" and natural life.

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm breeding a chinchilla buck with a choclate doe this week, hoping for a chocolate chinchilla because they are worth $$$. Should be possible given their pedigrees.

These are French Angoras, BTW.

I've been hand-spinning some angora wool this afternoon. I want some super-soft mittens or a cowl or something. But what color should I die the yarn? I have food coloring and an easter egg dye kit.

I've always wondered about spinning rabbit wool. Once in awhile, you'll find angoras for sale around here. Is it difficult? I imagine that it'd be much harder than sheeps' wool. Does it require a lot of tools or patience to learn?

 

[tortoise]

I just do drop-spindle spinning and I made my own spindle with a dowel, CD and a little hook off our key holder.

It's harder than wool. I spun about a metter of wool roving (all the fibers are lined up in a long, thick batt) to learn and have been doing 100% angora since. The lady who demonstrated basically said it couldn't be done, but I haven't had a problem with it. I'm pretty slow at spinning so maybe that is why I haven't had a problem.

I have a couple meters of yarn on my spindle now. I'm pretty excited. I have about 3 ounces of chocolate wool, which makes a pretty brown and white spiral yarn.

 

[justusnak]

I LOVE rabbit meat... But, I just could never bring myself to off those cute little bunbuns! :/

 

[Wolf-Kim]

We bought a trio of NZ/CA mutt rabbits and have raised about 3 litters. Selling them and eating those that don't sell. Then we purchased a trio of Silver Fox rabbits, but the youngest decided it wasn't going to be a buck and decided to be a doe instead. No biggie. Now, due to a very unfortunate and freak accident, we only have two does and are driving a 4 hour round trip to get them bred to a SF buck in a couple of weeks.

We have one meat mutt left and her litter. On a whim, my empty chicken tractor was killing me, so I decided to put her weaned litter in there. And there they have stayed for the past week or two. We move the pen everyday, and supplement their grass with a handful of alfalfa. They absolutely love it and we enjoy sitting there watching them chase and play with each other in the pen. In a couple of weeks the Cornish cross come and will kick the buns out of the tractor. But, now, I must say there are rabbit tractors in the very near future.

Here is a pic of the Black Silver fox doe, the other doe is a blue.

She was 4 months old in this picture and is picture with a standard gallon poultry waterer.

 

[Bettacreek]

I just wanted to post that my rabbit budget is right at -$99.29. I have enough feed to hopefully last me until the does start having litters. I just bought 100lbs of feed, but have to pick up two or three more bales of hay today (jacking my budget further into the negatives by $8-$12). I could have saved money if I had ONLY bought meat rabbits at the sale, instead of buying a rex doe, or feeding a random buck since December.