Restarting a rabbitry

[Skybunny11]

Well we had to do some sort of agricultural project for my FFA project. Being me I decided to start a rabbitry but for profit. I will be breeding meat rabbits, knowing me I'll probably cry everytime I sell them lol. Anyway, I use to have a rabbitry with Mini Rexes and French Angoras, I moved here, and had to give away all my babies This rabbitry is my No Getting Attached project. I already have quite a big area to keep my rabbits, a shed out back that will be heated when necessary. I still need to buy cages and what not but the project wont be starting until summer time when its nice here, so I have time. I have a few questions, since I've never been raising meat rabbits or rabbits to earn a profit I figured I'd ask you guys. I know that I won't get a huge profit off of rabbits but I've heard a few people say that they've gained some money since starting rabbits.

How many rabbits does a doe generally have in a year? (responsibly bred, I don't intend on over breeding her)

For a Californian rabbit, what is the average litter size?

How many should I start out with? (I slowly want to increase the size of my herd, I don't want to start out overpopulated)

At the moment I'm working out the price of cages, feed, ect. I want to ask you guys these questions because google isn't the most reliable source. Please don't bash me for starting up a rabbitry for meat rabbits, I'm NOT going to slaughtering or eating the rabbits myself, If you don't like it then please don't post. Thanks guys

 

[canadagirl]

Your about to get kicked out for mentioning meat rabbits! Its a big no no here. Go to homesteadingtoday.com and go to the rabbit forum and repost this. You will get help there! I promise.

 

[majorv]

You would probably do better going to another forum, like Rabbit Addict. They have a subforum on meat rabbits but you have to request the password for it.

We had Californians when my daughter was n FFA. We started with a trio - 2 does and 1 buck. One doe had 6 kits and the other had 7. Other than that, I can't really help you because we only had Cals for her senior year in HS.

 

[pamnock]

Talking about breeding Californian rabbits is not a "forbidden" topic. This is the "Rabbitry" topic area where we do discuss breeding rabbits. Many people don't realize that the original owner of this forum (Danielle Hayduk)was a meat rabbit breeder who raised Palominos.

To the original poster: The book "Rabbit Production" is the rabbit breeders "Bible" - I'd highly advise getting a copy or asking your library to purchase it if they don't have one. There are some older editions available for reasonable prices on Ebay (the most current edition is the 8th).

 

[mistyjr]

I agree with Pam!


I will help you the best I can...

But when you say you are going to make an profit, You cant make good money on doing this, It always go back into the rabbits, And you have to build your reputation in rabbit and built it up so you can sell the babies/bunnies. When you do that then you can sell them more then $30+ a piece, but you need to built your rabbits up like winnings and getting good and have good stock...

How many rabbits does a doe generally have in a year? (responsibly bred, I don't intend on over breeding her)
-I breed my does about twice a year, Once is spring and once in fall!

For a Californian rabbit, what is the average litter size?
-I dont know about the size litter, But my aunt had a few and i think one doe had 3 and another had 5, But it just depends on the doe, Some will carry an large litter and others might carry small litters.

How many should I start out with? (I slowly want to increase the size of my herd, I don't want to start out overpopulated)
-You should set your self on an limit on what you want, I have an 24 hole stacking cages, And that's all I get in rabbits, I keep about3-4 holes empty just for weaning babies, When an doe have babies, I keep the best baby out of the litter to replace the mom or dad, And move on.. When I first started in rabbits, I kept getting free and pet rabbits, That was an big mistake, They were hard to get rid of, I am going on my 2 years in Feb, And I just started getting good babies and start where I need to be. It does take time, You can not just jump in and thinking you can do very good with them, Unless you pay big bucks on paying for good stock, You need to built them! I buy rabbits about $20-$30 each but sometimes there are good people and will help you!

I hope I helped!



EDIT: I bought my cages from KD cages, They are nice cages but expensive but they are the cheapest around that I could find from an cage dealer, But I would look on craigslist to find cages...

 

[majorv]

Some additional info - good Californians aren't cheap.The breeder we got ours from just paid $150 each forrabbits at the ARBA convention. Even locally, in my area, a nice doe will sell for $75-$100. As you probably know, Cals are very popular for FFA and 4-H projects. If you're open to selling rabbits that way then find out what those groups in your area require. Our school district required the FFA kids to purchaseadult rabbitsand breed them, andthe three best babies were shown. Some willtell the kids to buy the babies and thenshow them. Good luck!

 

[Skybunny11]

Okay well I'm not doing meat rabbits. I thought about it and I just wouldn't be able to handle it (i'm a vegetarian myself). I'm going to work on doing rarer colored Mini Rexes such as Tri's instead.

 

[CCWelch]

Skybunny, I live in Iowa and the going rate for Californian stock here is between $25 and $50 per rabbit and often if you purchase more than 1 the prices get cut. Personally I would suggest New Zealands, they get a little bigger faster and often have litters of 10. I get 6 litters a year from my girls(we breed back when the babies are 6 weeks) when we don't get hit with a heat wave and none of mine are in fancy sheds, they are in cages up off the ground with a roof over them and a box with hay big enough to sleep and nest in.
My past does have continued to produce like this in excess of 5 years without any problems (except heatwaves making my bucks sterile). I have read of people only keeping the babies with mama 4 weeks because they breed back 2 days after kindling. I find that to be just too much, I want mine to have 2 weeks off between litters. If you do not keep them producing, they tend to get fat and then will not produce. That is the joy of a commercial rabbit. Plus I get more people purchasing as pets and shows than I do anything else.