Learning Time: 4 minutes
Elevating rabbits for meat is an excellent resolution to reap your private meat in a small house. Nevertheless there are some rabbit info it’s best to know sooner than procuring in your first rabbit.
Elevating rabbits for meat may be one of many important gratifying parts of homesteading. There are always stuff you’ll want to check as you go alongside, nevertheless these rabbit info will get you started within the becoming path.
1. You’ll improve meat rabbits in colonies or in separate cages
Within the case of meat rabbits, you could have a pair choices for housing. Some rabbit householders select to keep up their rabbits separate and solely allow them entry all through breeding events. Completely different householders actually really feel a colony is healthier and nearer to a rabbit’s pure environment.
Every sorts of housing have their benefits. Nevertheless a pleasing rabbit fact is that they’re usually very territorial (see #5 beneath), and we did not have experience holding our rabbits collectively. Our does began stopping, and thru one disastrous event, a doe began attacking one different doe’s litter of recent little one kits.
We moreover found that we had rather a lot a lot much less administration over breeding, and thru the winter, this would possibly suggest an entire lot of misplaced infants, since we had no idea when the mothers would starting.
However, there are sturdy proponents of holding rabbits in colonies, and I do encourage you to look at it and make the proper dedication to your rabbits. Our rabbits are able to see and call each other barely, which I really feel is vital for his or her psychological effectively being. They’ll’t harm each other, nonetheless, nor can they contact each different doe’s kits.
2. Any rabbit offers you meat, nevertheless some breeds are larger than others
Whereas it’s true any breed of rabbit may be saved for meat, some meat rabbit breeds had been developed to yield further meat whereas consuming decrease than totally different breeds. We breed largely New Zealand rabbits for meat, although we do have one nice wild rabbit doe that has been tamed.
Although she is smaller, she gives us good, large litters and is a superb mother. In our house, patrons select the fashion of untamed rabbits, notably older patrons preferring to fondly recall their days as hunters. So, we try to keep up a present of meat rabbits alongside along with her bloodlines to satisfy them. Within the occasion you’re questioning what to feed meat rabbits, a high-quality industrial feed is an environment friendly place to start.
3.Rabbit gestation is 31 days – and likewise you larger be prepared!
An needed rabbit fact it’s best to know if you want uncover methods to breed rabbits is that rabbits have a 31-day gestation interval. Your does could give starting anyplace from day 28 usually until day 31. I’ve realized the arduous strategy that you just larger be ready at hand your doe the devices she should assemble a safe, warmth nest for her kits. Day 27 or 28, be prepared to supply her a nesting subject along with clear hay or straw to begin developing her nest.
Some does want to assemble their nests themselves, so on day 27, I’m going away a pile of hay in a pregnant doe’s cage and let her do her issue. She then builds her nest out of the hay and her private fur.
As soon as we first started breeding, we did not keep info of as soon as we bred. Enormous mistake! Make sure that to always write down when you breed your does, and go away a card related to their cage, or someplace near her cage the place she is going to’t chew it. That strategy you can larger plan when to produce her a nesting subject and keep your eye out for the emergence of any little one bunnies. The very very last thing you want is for her to supply starting on a cold, windy night and haven’t any nest to keep up her infants warmth.
Larger rabbits are talked about to have larger litters, whereas smaller rabbit might have smaller ones. Although this might one factor you usually hear, in my experience, it is not true. Our wild-bred doe is type of small, probably solely 3 or 4 kilos, nevertheless she has sizable litters of 5 to six kits.
4. Within the occasion you’re not picky about breed, you might get your rabbits for free of charge
Positive, it’s true. We’ve gotten practically all of our nice breeding rabbits free from people who did not want them any further. Out of 5 does, 4 had been free, and out of 4 bucks, 2 had been free. Within the occasion you wait, and whenever you’re affected individual, you can undoubtedly come all through a bunny in need of residence.
The caveat to this rabbit fact is you may’t be picky about breed if you want just some breeding does and bucks quickly (although it’s best to always be picky about effectively being. If the rabbit is sick or appears in poor flesh, then it’s best to say no). Nevertheless that being talked about, you do not have to spend a lot starting to farm meat rabbits, and I’ve had no trouble shopping for large, healthful rabbits for our breeding shed.
5. Rabbits may be very territorial
One pleasing rabbit fact is that they’re sometimes very territorial, and does are worse than bucks. In actuality, does may be so territorial that one different rabbit entering into her cage might trigger an entire lot of flying fur. Even does that was as soon as housed collectively can battle if separated for prolonged durations.
For a while, we started elevating rabbits in a colony, nevertheless after some disastrous births, we began holding our rabbits in separate cages. We are going to no longer keep any of these does collectively, and although they acquired alongside correctly beforehand, that honeymoon is over.
For further suggestions on elevating rabbits, seize my pointers at TheFrugalChicken.com/rabbitchecklist.
Do you improve rabbits for meat? What breed do you improve? Inform us throughout the suggestions beneath.