The buns

[k15n1]

I've been working toward getting rabbits for quite a while. My sister got me started on the idea years ago but it took me a while to get it arranged. Have a HF temporary garage (200 $) with a bunch of cages. I found some on craigslist but after paying for gas, washing the poos off, and torching the hair, it was a bad deal. Still, I've got 12 holes plus a few more for quarantine. That's more than enough to raise rabbits for my family and sales to friends. DD is into it which makes it ligit in DW's opinion.

Also, it's a wedge toward 4H, which is my foil against organized kid sports. Sports are all in town and they suck all the free time out of the family.

Processed 5 rabbits Monday night. It was so easy compared to plucking chickens. I think I'll keep chickens mainly for eggs and use rabbits for meat. We're doing rabbit in wine sauce tonight with mashed potatoes and a green salad.

 

[Denim Deb]

We've thought about rabbits, so LMK how you make out. If we get them, I'd have to get NZ whites. They're not as cute as other bunnies. I've had pet rabbits most of my life.

 

[k15n1]

My advice is this: If you're starting up, try to get a proven trio. Start with 3 bunnies and 5 cages.

I had trouble getting a proven trio. Everywhere I read that you need 2 girls and 1 un-related boy. Fine. But they've got to be 6+ months and usually there's no proof that they will produce viable litters or that their offspring gain like you'd want in a meat rabbit. At least in MN, I had a lot of trouble finding a trio with those stipulations.

Instead, I started with what I had. None of my buns were impressive meat frames but I'm hopeful I can improve them.

 

[k15n1]

We're continuing to improve the herd. Had to drive quite a ways but I got some rex-NZ crosses. These girls were 2 kg at 12 weeks. My goal is 2.2 kg so this is good. They're near breeding age and we're anxious to see how that turns out. The 6-month wait is a long time. Probably would be easier to be patient if I had more rabbits. But we're at 20+ in 15 cages already...

Bred the first 2 velvatine lops, both of which are good size and have rex type fur and big ears. One had 4 in her first litter, the other had 5. This is a good size. They haven't reached 12 weeks yet so I don't know how they'll turn out. So far, it looks good. I've heard that 8 per litter is about right for meat production. I'm hoping the next litters will be bigger.

Still going strong. It's just taking a lot longer than I expected to get the herd set up and figure out the genetics.