Rabbits

[Brent S]

I got some rabbits about three months ago. They are new zeland whites. I thought I had a male and two females, but had to swap one of the females out twice before actually getting a female. For such prolific breeders they sure don't have a lot to be proud of when they young as it's darn hard to sex babies. Anyways I thought I'd have babies right away, and as with most things in life, there's a learning curve involved. I finally had one of the girls have six babies this morning. Was bitter sweet though as they all died, but from what I've read that's pretty common. I'm really glad I'm learning this stuff now and not when I'm hungry and depend on these skills for survival. Anyways, am glad to be sure I have two females now. Am pretty happy with my supply of fertilizer for the greenhouse too.

 

[jimLE]

i hear that you have to seprate the male from the female when she gets pregant,so he dont eat the babies after thier born...is this true?

 

[Brent S]

i hear that you have to seprate the male from the female when she gets pregant,so he dont eat the babies after thier born...is this true?

Hi Jim. Yeah, rabbits are pretty dumb, and gross! Thank god people don't eat there young! I actually keep them seperated all the time and just put the male in with one of the females for a few days to breed. I'm still working out the details of breeding but at least I,m on the way with getting the first batch out of the way as usually the second one does well. Hopefully the next batch will survive long enough for me to eat them! I'm thinking barbecue. Stay well.

 

[jimLE]

im thinking maybe start canning them,as well as cooking up enough for one meal.maybe two meals

 

[Brent S]

I have a freezer, and haven't canned any meats yet but got a pressure canner to try out soon. I've had barbecued rabbit before, but I wasn't the one who cleaned then. I'll let you know how that goes! With any luck I can have a new batch of bunnies every six weeks. I think you clean them at about 10 weeks.

 

[jimLE]

good luck with them..i dont know when to clean them n all,but id at least wait till thier a good size to me..

 

[booter360]

I have a freezer, and haven't canned any meats yet but got a pressure canner to try out soon. I've had barbecued rabbit before, but I wasn't the one who cleaned then. I'll let you know how that goes! With any luck I can have a new batch of bunnies every six weeks. I think you clean them at about 10 weeks.

i raise rabbits myself and we just killed and dressed one out about a month ago. wasn't that bad wht i did was put her in a tote with some food and when she started eating a quick shot to the back of the head its instant. we watched a youtube video on how to dress it out very helpful.

 

[Brent S]

i raise rabbits myself and we just killed and dressed one out about a month ago. wasn't that bad wht i did was put her in a tote with some food and when she started eating a quick shot to the back of the head its instant. we watched a youtube video on how to dress it out very helpful.

YouTube is great, I watched several clips of rabbits being cleaned, I think hanging them by the back legs looked the most efficient. One of the new kits was dead this morning but there's still a big pile of them, didn't get a count yet as I don't want to distress the mom too much. I've read a lot about rabbits being very cost efficient but so far it's been more than I expected. Once I have a littler growing all the time it should get a little better. The one thing I've learned so far, if anyone is thinking that one day they may have to raise chickens, rabbits or goats to survive, you better start learning now, as there is some trial and error involved.

 

[booter360]

YouTube is great, I watched several clips of rabbits being cleaned, I think hanging them by the back legs looked the most efficient. One of the new kits was dead this morning but there's still a big pile of them, didn't get a count yet as I don't want to distress the mom too much. I've read a lot about rabbits being very cost efficient but so far it's been more than I expected. Once I have a littler growing all the time it should get a little better. The one thing I've learned so far, if anyone is thinking that one day they may have to raise chickens, rabbits or goats to survive, you better start learning now, as there is some trial and error involved.

there is a lot of trial and error. me and the wife have rabbits,chickens and a goat. It dose get expensive after a while but at least we know where some of the food comes from.

 

[Brent S]

there is a lot of trial and error. me and the wife have rabbits,chickens and a goat. It dose get expensive after a while but at least we know where some of the food comes from.

Yea, I also like that my animals have a pretty good life, at least right up to dinner time!

 

[Kenprep1979]

Yes the best thing to do is hold them and pet them make them feel comfortable and then make it quick! other wise if they feel threatened they release a ton of adrenalin and it will affect the taste of the meat ! you can google this for more info.