Some questions regarding Rabbit Breeding

So I’m somewhat new to the animal topics community, and I have some questions that I’d like to know.

When I’m a bit older, I want to start breeding rabbits for a rabbit farm.



Is it a difficult thing to do to manage a bunch of rabbits?



What breed/species of rabbit is this? (Via @hunting_in_sfd on instagram)





I’ve watched a couple of youtube videos regarding how to start a farm and I took some notes. Are these correct? What should I add, or change?

any kind and positive replies are greatly appreciated.

Well, I could write pages on that topic, since your questions are not very specific.

It's not done with cages, you need a place for those where they are sheltered from the elements, most notably the heat (don't know what the climate is like where you live).
What would you feed? Forage, or industrial pelleted feed?
Would you raise them just for your own people, a homesteading project, or would you like to make it a business (guess you don't have much less laws and regulations about producing meat than we have here).
You'll need someone to care for them when you are away. It's not that difficult, just a lot of work.

Once you figured out what kind of setup works for you, your resources and climate it's not that difficult to breed meat rabbits, where I come from every second house had rabbits or chicken as a meat source.
One way to get there would be to look at other local breeders. Often mutts, bred for best performance and tolerance for the local climate are a good choice to start with. It is imho not such a great Idea to start with random rabbits you just happen to have.

What about wild rabbits and diseases where you live? (In my first year breeding rabbits Myxomatosis killed 14 of my 15 rabbits, soon after that I bought a house in a valley with lots of predators, but no wild rabbits, much safer) Back then, when my grandparents raised rabbits there was no Myxo, RHD and so on.

I breed for my own needs for 7 years now, and my biggest problem is that I tend to get attached to outstanding characters among the offspring, I barely manage to sell those off as pets or to other small scale breeders. Since mine are mutts I get a lot of different colours and patterns, that would be easier with a single breed where you can't really tell the kits apart.

Also, I broke with the traditional hutch setup pretty soon, my buck and his spayed cuddlebun are now my free range house bunnys, and I keep my 4 does in (mother-daughter) pairs, in rather big hutches and a lot of garden time. Can't be that bad, the other breeder down the road with rabbits from pretty much the same stock but traditional hutches and ways of keeping them had not one surviving kit this year. ( I had only 2 litters (freezer still full from last year), but just one dead kit, the first DOA from my 7 year old doe)

Anyway. There are many ways to do this, first thing to do is to define your goals and assess your resources.

Preitler said:

Well, I could write pages on that topic, since your questions are not very specific.

It's not done with cages, you need a place for those where they are sheltered from the elements, most notably the heat (don't know what the climate is like where you live).
What would you feed? Forage, or industrial pelleted feed?
Would you raise them just for your own people, a homesteading project, or would you like to make it a business (guess you don't have much less laws and regulations about producing meat than we have here).
You'll need someone to care for them when you are away. It's not that difficult, just a lot of work.

Once you figured out what kind of setup works for you, your resources and climate it's not that difficult to breed meat rabbits, where I come from every second house had rabbits or chicken as a meat source.
One way to get there would be to look at other local breeders. Often mutts, bred for best performance and tolerance for the local climate are a good choice to start with. It is imho not such a great Idea to start with random rabbits you just happen to have.

What about wild rabbits and diseases where you live? (In my first year breeding rabbits Myxomatosis killed 14 of my 15 rabbits, soon after that I bought a house in a valley with lots of predators, but no wild rabbits, much safer) Back then, when my grandparents raised rabbits there was no Myxo, RHD and so on.

I breed for my own needs for 7 years now, and my biggest problem is that I tend to get attached to outstanding characters among the offspring, I barely manage to sell those off as pets or to other small scale breeders. Since mine are mutts I get a lot of different colours and patterns, that would be easier with a single breed where you can't really tell the kits apart.

Also, I broke with the traditional hutch setup pretty soon, my buck and his spayed cuddlebun are now my free range house bunnys, and I keep my 4 does in (mother-daughter) pairs, in rather big hutches and a lot of garden time. Can't be that bad, the other breeder down the road with rabbits from pretty much the same stock but traditional hutches and ways of keeping them had not one surviving kit this year. ( I had only 2 litters (freezer still full from last year), but just one dead kit, the first DOA from my 7 year old doe)

Anyway. There are many ways to do this, first thing to do is to define your goals and assess your resources.

Click to expand...

I'm in australia, so I'm not too sure about laws and stuff around this, but I know that it can get very hot in summer and freezing right now in winter in Australia.
About the picture of the rabbit, I just mean what species/breed it is, what's the name of it? I know there's Jackrabbits, Lops, Hares, but what is the one in the picture?
Also, good to meet a fellow HTF fan lol.

Preitler said:

Also, I broke with the traditional hutch setup pretty soon, my buck and his spayed cuddlebun are now my free range house bunnys, and I keep my 4 does in (mother-daughter) pairs, in rather big hutches and a lot of garden time. Can't be that bad, the other breeder down the road with rabbits from pretty much the same stock but traditional hutches and ways of keeping them had not one surviving kit this year. ( I had only 2 litters (freezer still full from last year), but just one dead kit, the first DOA from my 7 year old doe)

Anyway. There are many ways to do this, first thing to do is to define your goals and assess your resources.

Click to expand...

Also, along with my previous reply, could you explain the terms you used? “Mutt” (I thought mutts were dogs?) “Kit”, and “DOA”. What do they all mean?
And I have plenty of time on my hands to get started, I’m only 16 at the moment, 17 in september, but planning on starting this Rabbitry when I hit maybe 20 or 21.

Mutts are everything that isn't purebred, there are such as mine where everything the gene pool offers got thrown in over generations, but there are also mutts that are crosses from 2 breeds on purpose - I've seen Red New Zealands and Checkered Giant mix on some farms, they perform well for small meat breeders, they claim better than either of these purebreds.
Of course, there are great breeds specificly for meat, but not really easily available here.

Baby Rabbits are called kits.

DOA: Dead on arrival.

Do you plan to make it a business? Is there a market for rabbit in Australia - I thought the wild ones are so plenty that they eat the shoes off your feet?

That picture - I don't know. Looks somewhat like a very young hare or something like that.
https://bunnyhilfe.de/wissenswert/aufzucht/handaufzucht-feldhasen
If it were a wild rabbit it wouldn't be easy to take a picture like that because they disappear underground like greased lightning.

Common breeds used for what you want are New Zealands and Californians. It looks like they’re also popular in Australia.

You need to do a lot of research before you start. Making a profit at this is not easy. You must factor in cages/hutches, a barn or building to house them (they need protection from high and low temps), supplies, feed, hay etc.
Good luck!

Preitler said:

Mutts are everything that isn't purebred, there are such as mine where everything the gene pool offers got thrown in over generations, but there are also mutts that are crosses from 2 breeds on purpose - I've seen Red New Zealands and Checkered Giant mix on some farms, they perform well for small meat breeders, they claim better than either of these purebreds.
Of course, there are great breeds specificly for meat, but not really easily available here.

Baby Rabbits are called kits.

DOA: Dead on arrival.

Do you plan to make it a business? Is there a market for rabbit in Australia - I thought the wild ones are so plenty that they eat the shoes off your feet?

That picture - I don't know. Looks somewhat like a very young hare or something like that.
https://bunnyhilfe.de/wissenswert/aufzucht/handaufzucht-feldhasen
If it were a wild rabbit it wouldn't be easy to take a picture like that because they disappear underground like greased lightning.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure about making it a business, maybe just a small money maker for the early years of my adulthood, might possibly continue with it if I find it to be enjoyable/beneficial.
The name of that rabbit you linked me to, in german, "Handaufzucht Feldhasen" translates to "Hand rearing field hares". Is that some name of a breed?
The video from the picture shows the guy holding this rabbit above what seems to be a crop farm, the rabbit must have been trying to eat some of the man's crops and this guy busted him. He let him go afterwards and thats what we're viewing in the picture there, it definitely didn't seem like a pet, because it started jumping and hissing at him.

majorv said:

Common breeds used for what you want are New Zealands and Californians. It looks like they’re also popular in Australia.

You need to do a lot of research before you start. Making a profit at this is not easy. You must factor in cages/hutches, a barn or building to house them (they need protection from high and low temps), supplies, feed, hay etc.
Good luck!

Click to expand...

What's a replenishable food source for rabbits? Something I won't have to go down and buy?