The rabbit thread

[Machias]

Young does?  If I had a doe do it more than once I would change her out.

[Widgeondeke]

Young does?  If I had a doe do it more than once I would change her out.

         

Only had 1 litter born on the wire in the last 4 years. That doe was culled out.
We breed for both quality and temperment since our rabbits double for 4-H


KEEP THE BEST, GET RID OF THE REST 

[Fishstiq]

The best mom I had laid her first litter on the wire, she figured it out the 2nd time though and was great after that.  New mom jitters I guess...

If she did it twice....  Yeah, crock pot time.

[KFhunter]

3rd times a charm.

none on the wire and all snug and warm in the nest box.  I pulled a good wad of hair last night though and helped her out some, she gave birth and so I got a bunch of warm kits in the box this morning.  She pulled more hair and did a good job.   

[Machias]

 

[Special T]

 

[KFhunter]

I thought it deserved it's own thread so I deleted it here and moved it to off topics
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,167053.0.html

[jasnt]

3rd times a charm.

none on the wire and all snug and warm in the nest box.  I pulled a good wad of hair last night though and helped her out some, she gave birth and so I got a bunch of warm kits in the box this morning.  She pulled more hair and did a good job.   

we've had some of our first and second time moms birth on the wire,I think its just in experience.  One tip for keeping them cool is a concrete block. 8x16x1" patio paver. Helps them cool off and helps keep their claws short. They will lay on it when it gets hot

[KFhunter]

The rabbitry is going in high gear now 


one doe that wouldn't breed made rabbit dumplings, awesome  I'm temped to let all the rabbits grow full size just for these dumplings they were that good.  Chicken dumplings can't hold a candle to rabbit dumplings.

I let the fryers grow up a wee bit too much, I need to butcher sooner they got too big and too chewy for a fryer.


I'm saving all the front legs and freezing them together for a huge rabbit wing (think buffalo wings) feast this summer.

[jasnt]

The rabbitry is going in high gear now 


one doe that wouldn't breed made rabbit dumplings, awesome  I'm temped to let all the rabbits grow full size just for these dumplings they were that good.  Chicken dumplings can't hold a candle to rabbit dumplings.

I let the fryers grow up a wee bit too much, I need to butcher sooner they got too big and too chewy for a fryer.


I'm saving all the front legs and freezing them together for a huge rabbit wing (think buffalo wings) feast this summer.

ive had prairie dog wings that were amazing. I'd bet those rabbit wings are too!!

[Stickerbush]

Just found this thread, any updates? I'm thinking this would be a cool thing to try

[KFhunter]

Still putting rabbit in the freezer 

most of my does have been replaced except one, now I've got 4 young cali/nzw cross does and one nzw purebred left over from my original 3.  I'll cull the young does after they show me if they can raise a litter or not. 

I was holding on to doe's too long not anymore.  On the first litter I expect losses but if they show signs of nesting I'll give them another try (pull hair, move hay to make nest etc)
2nd litter I expect some losses but not the whole litter
3rd litter I expect a few dead but most of the litter survive
4 and up I'll tolerate 1 maybe 2 dead but I want at least 10 alive and thriving


Also found I need to keep them bred more, any long pauses in litters it's almost like they forget what's up.  A successful doe if left un-bred too long might loose litters again when you start back up.  You have better success if you keep them pumping out kits, it's a commitment!  I like to time the breeding so I'm butchering every 9 weeks roughly  (1 month gestation, 5 weeks growth)  I'd rather butcher a bunch all at once, make it a production.


Biggest difference with meat rabbits vs show rabbits is very high culling rates for meat breeds.  Meat rabbit you're breading for food and dead kits don't make food,  secondly you breed for carcass quality. It's difficult to achieve both high (successful) birth rates and carcass quality. 

Show rabbits you breed for conformation almost exclusively and will tolerate low birth rates if the doe puts out fantastic looking kits.

[jackelope]

Still putting rabbit in the freezer 

most of my does have been replaced except one, now I've got 4 young cali/nzw cross does and one nzw purebred left over from my original 3.  I'll cull the young does after they show me if they can raise a litter or not. 

I was holding on to doe's too long not anymore.  On the first litter I expect losses but if they show signs of nesting I'll give them another try (pull hair, move hay to make nest etc)
2nd litter I expect some losses but not the whole litter
3rd litter I expect a few dead but most of the litter survive
4 and up I'll tolerate 1 maybe 2 dead but I want at least 10 alive and thriving


Also found I need to keep them bred more, any long pauses in litters it's almost like they forget what's up.  A successful doe if left un-bred too long might loose litters again when you start back up.  You have better success if you keep them pumping out kits, it's a commitment!  I like to time the breeding so I'm butchering every 9 weeks roughly  (1 month gestation, 5 weeks growth)  I'd rather butcher a bunch all at once, make it a production.


Biggest difference with meat rabbits vs show rabbits is very high culling rates for meat breeds.  Meat rabbit you're breading for food and dead kits don't make food,  secondly you breed for carcass quality. It's difficult to achieve both high (successful) birth rates and carcass quality. 

Show rabbits you breed for conformation almost exclusively and will tolerate low birth rates if the doe puts out fantastic looking kits.

A lot of the meat breeders I've talked to will tell you that a good meat animal is a good show animal. Good show animals = Good carcass and flesh quality, body structure, etc.

I've also heard from a guy who was crossing NZ's with something else and quit doing that because the pure NZ's were nicer meat animals than the crosses. He's eliminated all his crosses and runs only pure NZ white's now.
As far as culling goes, show animals get culled too, as babies mostly. Or they become free pets for someone else. No sense in feeding animals that won't show. I'd venture to say more show animals get culled than meat animals do(except when it's time to process I guess).

 

[KFhunter]

Those guys/gals are probably a little further along than I am and have been culling for many generations.

All mine came from the same breeder who focused on showing them above all else as she was in the show circuit, I learned a lot on what makes a great meat rabbit carcass but have been plagued with lost litters. 

I'm doing my part, I use an alarm calendar to make sure the nest boxes are prepped and in the hutches on time.   I think drop in nest boxes would have saved a large number of kits.  I want to rebuild my hutch.


 

[jackelope]

Those guys/gals are probably a little further along than I am and have been culling for many generations.

All mine came from the same breeder who focused on showing them above all else as she was in the show circuit, I learned a lot on what makes a great meat rabbit carcass but have been plagued with lost litters. 

I'm doing my part, I use an alarm calendar to make sure the nest boxes are prepped and in the hutches on time.   I think drop in nest boxes would have saved a large number of kits.  I want to rebuild my hutch.


 

If you're not using the drop in nest boxes, I bet you that's your problem. I bought a couple of them made out of plywood. I understood they insulate better than the metal ones so I went with them. They look easy enough to make. I can post some pics later on if you want.
I've only bred one litter so far and it was a 8 month old dutch. She kindled 7, 3 were on the wire and didn't live. 4 in the box and they all lived. We only kept 1 that we thought was show quality but she's got a DQ. My kid shows them all with 4H and ARBA.