Found your channel recently, my husband and I live near Jonesboro, we are just getting in to rabbit breeding for meat, actually our first litter is due tomorrow, we have half giant Flemish and half New Zealand. We have 3 females and no buck yet, any suggestions on a breed?? We were thinking straight New Zealand or maybe Rex (not mini), what would you suggest?? And how long after they give birth do you breed them again
+Alicia Davidson It's hard to make unbiased recommendations because all we have are New Zealands. We don't have any experience with the Giant Flemish or Rex breeds. The only other (semi) large breed we've had is the Palominos which aren't terribly popular (hard to find other breeders). It's really hard to go wrong with New Zealands, they're a good sized healthy rabbit, great for meat and show, and there are plenty of breeders around to get stock from to get variety in your bloodlines. Aside from the pleasure of showing our rabbits in the competitions we've been to this year, one HUGE plus that we've seen by getting really good show-quality stock is that the rabbits are much larger & grow faster than the ones that we procured from run-of-the-mill craiglist meat-rabbit breeders. If I could recommend anything it would be to start with the cheaper options for brooding stock until you learn what you are doing, and then consider getting some show-quality stock to increase the size & quality of your offspring. We had rabbits for nearly 2 years before getting the show-quality stock. I've not thought alot about how soon to rebreed in a while, so this is a very off-the-cuff answer. Mrs. Tactical Homesteader takes care of the breeding schedule as she's managing which rabbits get bred to which to create or improve certain traits. One change we've made is to ween the kits off the mother at a later date - we were weening around 5 weeks, but now it's closer to 8. We haven't been rebreeding the mothers very quickly (so we can observe the traits of the offspring as they grow out). However, I would say that I wouldn't feel comfortable breeding the mother while the kits are still nursing. We want the large & healthy offspring - so the mother's body needs to be focused on providing nutrients in the milk to the nursing kits, or nutrients to the kits in the womb, but not both. At the earliest I would breed as the kits are weened, but even then I would lean towards at least a 1-2 week break to let the mother rest. I'm by no means an expert so take my advice for what it is, just advice from a former newbie that has learned a lot over the past 2+ years. I will add that I've seen varieties of explanations, including one as little as breeding the mother 3 weeks after she gave birth, and then weening that set of kits at 4 weeks (then 3 days later she has the next set). That, to me, is terribly inhumane to that doe to put her through that constant breeding/birthing/nursing cycle. We won't do that on our farm, even if it means lower production.
1:35 she will be fine at show with the small bit of white in her color. I have a rabbit that looks just like her and she won best in breed.
+Happy Camper Rabbitry FYI, she won best of breed 2x @ Tulsa State Fair and is one leg away from grand champion.
Found your channel recently, my husband and I live near Jonesboro, we are just getting in to rabbit breeding for meat, actually our first litter is due tomorrow, we have half giant Flemish and half New Zealand. We have 3 females and no buck yet, any suggestions on a breed?? We were thinking straight New Zealand or maybe Rex (not mini), what would you suggest?? And how long after they give birth do you breed them again
+Alicia Davidson It's hard to make unbiased recommendations because all we have are New Zealands. We don't have any experience with the Giant Flemish or Rex breeds. The only other (semi) large breed we've had is the Palominos which aren't terribly popular (hard to find other breeders). It's really hard to go wrong with New Zealands, they're a good sized healthy rabbit, great for meat and show, and there are plenty of breeders around to get stock from to get variety in your bloodlines. Aside from the pleasure of showing our rabbits in the competitions we've been to this year, one HUGE plus that we've seen by getting really good show-quality stock is that the rabbits are much larger & grow faster than the ones that we procured from run-of-the-mill craiglist meat-rabbit breeders. If I could recommend anything it would be to start with the cheaper options for brooding stock until you learn what you are doing, and then consider getting some show-quality stock to increase the size & quality of your offspring. We had rabbits for nearly 2 years before getting the show-quality stock.
I've not thought alot about how soon to rebreed in a while, so this is a very off-the-cuff answer. Mrs. Tactical Homesteader takes care of the breeding schedule as she's managing which rabbits get bred to which to create or improve certain traits. One change we've made is to ween the kits off the mother at a later date - we were weening around 5 weeks, but now it's closer to 8. We haven't been rebreeding the mothers very quickly (so we can observe the traits of the offspring as they grow out). However, I would say that I wouldn't feel comfortable breeding the mother while the kits are still nursing. We want the large & healthy offspring - so the mother's body needs to be focused on providing nutrients in the milk to the nursing kits, or nutrients to the kits in the womb, but not both. At the earliest I would breed as the kits are weened, but even then I would lean towards at least a 1-2 week break to let the mother rest. I'm by no means an expert so take my advice for what it is, just advice from a former newbie that has learned a lot over the past 2+ years.
I will add that I've seen varieties of explanations, including one as little as breeding the mother 3 weeks after she gave birth, and then weening that set of kits at 4 weeks (then 3 days later she has the next set). That, to me, is terribly inhumane to that doe to put her through that constant breeding/birthing/nursing cycle. We won't do that on our farm, even if it means lower production.
+The Tactical Homesteader Thanks so much! That really helps!! We are VERY new to all this.
can i ask what is the size of the cage?
Just put some flat platforms for them.
first
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