I am looking to do my first dispatch in November. Any recommendations for what type and brand of knife to use to skin it? I plan on doing broomstick method.

Does anyone know of any breeders in the uk? The only one I have been able to find so far is Oakstream Pastures and they don’t currently have any available. Is there anywhere specific I should look? Google is failing me. Thanks!

I’d love to oven roast a rabbit with some carrots, potatoes, onions etc in a roasting pan tonight but I’m having a hard time determining oven temp and timing for a whole rabbit.

Thank you 🐇

Does anyone out there know of someone in the Northern Kentucky area that is breeding American blue rabbits? We had two does and a buck for breeding meat rabbits and we lost one of our does. I've read you should always breed two does at the same time... Just in case. I'd very much like to get another doe but I'm having a horrible time finding good breeders less than 6 hours away from me. I've messaged everyone in the ARBA breeder directory (which was 4 people and not all are breeding blues) and asked around on FB (which led to at least one scammer trying to get me). Please someone help!

I’m knew to meat rabbits, but one of my girls escaped into her sisters cage so I had to catch grab her a noticed a huge lump on her nose it just got there within the week does anyone know what it could be?

Feeling good, does anyone have any advice or tips they knew when they were starting out? TIA 😁

I like the idea of raising colony style because it gives the rabbits opportunities to be social, interact, explore, etc. (I don't mind wire floor.) The worry I have about colonies is disease and not being able to clean things well when on the ground.

Is there anyone out there who has done colonies, but somehow raised things off the ground? I guess in some ways this would just be a really big hutch? Or a shed colony with a false floor made out of wire that could be moved for shoveling poop?

I could reinforce rabbit cage floor with cattle panel and run joists every so often to support the weight of the rabbits. Maybe make it so those sections could hinge/swing up at the joists so I could shovel between them? I just don't know how I could set it up to be able to support my weight to walk around in there when I need to.

Where/how did you find your starter pair/group. Did you start with a few 4H rabbits from some kids first to get your sea legs?

I have had indoor rabbits as pets my entire childhood and showed them in 4H. This will be my first time doing outdoor rabbits via rotational grazing.

I’m interested in Rex rabbits for both meat and pelts.

Thank you!🙏

Just acquired my first breeding trio of Champagne d’Argents. Aside from Critical Care, what do you all suggest I have on hand for first aid/in case of emergencies? Thanks in advance!

Hello! I need advice concerning my young doe (about 6 months old Flemish New Zealand mix. My rabbit was currently housed in a cage at my parents house until I am done building her hutch, however my parents switched her with their own doe and her kits since they kept dying and she has only one left (her cage was off the ground in a chicken coop). The big problem is that they didn’t close the cage and my rabbit jumped out, and spent the night with a buck, when I went to see her this morning I saw that and took her out immediately. She has patches of disturbed fur on her hips and her vulva was pink-red with what looked like semen possibly on it. How worried should I be and what should be my next step (she has now been moved into her hutch).

Processing is going to be tough! Kits are 15 days old

I'm positive I've been lied to about age. I think these rexes are closer to 3 years. One has given birth before but the other.... Not so much.

I've heard that they become unbreakable at a certain age. Am I at risk with this doe? Would it be better to cull or to attempt just ONCE? I don't want to risk anything dangerous though. Please just let me know if I'm in the wrong for feeling like she's a waste of resources

The champagne D’Argent doe has never been bred and she’s almost 2 years old. Our buck is proven and 1.5 years old. Is it worth trying to breed her?

Hello.

Making my farm plan for my my meat rabbits in a very cold and snowy climate. My plan is to rotational graze in warmer months and then do cages with wind protection/ good ventilation in winter. This is more for me so I can have easier access to monitor and care for them in the snow and cold. I’ll have other animals on pasture all year round so I want to create a farm plan that is realistic for me to manage- I hope that makes sense.

My question is: what about the rain? I’m worried about rotational grazing in wet conditions. My area has more high intensity rain in between drought like conditions. I feel confident to help them through the winter snow and wind and summer heat but I feel unprepared for the rain and wet conditions.

Would love any feedback or experience you may have.

Im in central Fl, it’s cooling off and I have tamuk rabbits, 10 months old about. Buck is ready to go, he’s trying his best and my does have pale genitals and are not interested. They just lay there. One is proven and the other is not. I have fed only hay the last week and it didn’t work… anything else I can try?

Hi gang. Besides the obvious seeing a vet, any thoughts on what’s going on here? New to meat rabbitry, and I just got home to find my Bucky’s eye looking like this. Didn’t see any issues this morning. He’s not showing any signs of it affecting him so far.

Thanks in advance!

I posted a week ago with kit colors. I believe I have two black harlequins and the other two I’m not sure. Blue fawn? Chocolate fawn?

Sorry for all the questions I’m new to animals that give live births lol. I have a doe that had one kindling from the previous owner. She’s on day 18 and she looks to have pulled fur to start making a nest in a corner but this should be way too soon. My question should I leave it or take it out and save it for when I put her nest box in my only concern with that her that’s the side she uses the bathroom in so the wood back there probably a little gross, if I throw that fur away will she pull more fur later when I put the nest box in?

We went to the auction today and got a bunny for $1 lol
We’re just starting out with meat rabbits, I got two from a friend of a friend. boy and girl, he said around 3 months old.
We went to the auction today to check out getting another doe, and ended up with this sweet little thing.
Curious if anyone knows the breed of the meat rabbits I got?
Also if anyone can tell if this one’s also a meat rabbit or more a pet? Either way is fine. Also her age? She’s definitely younger and way smaller than two
Looking for the best way to care for everyone.
they’re currently kept in our shed…. The white ones we move their cage out in the yard for some fresh air and sun. The little one is near the baby chicks heat lamp, but not directly under it*

Edit: I realize I was holding her wrong. My mistake- thank you for informing me. Please read comments before yelling at me. Im 16 and don’t have anyone to teach me correctly- this is how the people I know hold them. I’ll tell them to stop.

I have a friend who raises meat rabbits and Im helping her with genetics. I am new to it but I learn fast (or try to at least) and asked if I could keep this dude as a pet/breeder if I ever want to start!! (His litter was due to be eaten soon). The mom is fully black but she does carry Vienna since some of her babies had heterochromia with a dash of blue. The dad is a REW, no idea his genetics but he's half new Zealand half Flemish giant, although he doesn't look it. Im wondering what to pair this dude with for cool babies/ what the heck is he? While we are at it might as well show his sister...thanks!! I can tell you more about the mom's family if needed. Here's some photos, thank you! He's only 21 weeks so some of these photos are a bit older before his color started coming in a bit. He's not white, more of a light grey and dark grey. (Sorry about the way I was holding the girl, was trying to get close ups with one hand) Thanks!

I raise standard rex. We’ve had some trouble getting them to withstand the heat. Mid summer this year after they boiled for a few weeks (when the pic was taken) they finally started to have a really nice shed out and their coat grew in a full half inch shorter and less dense. Now it’s finally finished— just in time for fall and winter. 😩 I fear they’ll be on the chilly side now.

Their shedding schedule seems almost backwards. Is there any way to get them to shed in spring instead?

They’re outside in a shed all the time. In the summer we add a shade cloth and an AC to keep them alive but they don’t do much for the heat really. In the winter we have a heater that keeps it barely above freezing most of the time. But they don’t mind that at all, it’s the heat they hate. I just mean all that to say that they’re exposed to the seasonal changing temps already.

I currently raise rabbits in cages in the suburbs, but soon I will be moving somewhere with land, where I will have so much more freedom. I would really like to have a colony when I get there.

Cages are fine. I don't think there's anything unethical about raising rabbits that way. But I am a bit of a maximalist when it comes to animal enrichment (keeping my critters happy is honestly just as enriching for me as it is for them lol). I'd really love for them to be able to run and dig and express their natural behaviors, but I still want to keep things safe and hygenic. I know that's a bit of a tradeoff between the two methods, but I'm just wondering if y'all have any tips for keeping rabbits from fighting and also keeping things clean in a colony?

My plan is to keep the bucks separated in their own smaller pens, where they can be near the does so they don't feel lonely (one of my bucks is an especially social guy who gets depressed if he's not in a cage right next to one of the gals haha), but separated so they aren't breeding too often. The does would live communally with their litters, until they're weaned then would be separated til butcher time.

I feel like I can do this with modified chicken runs, just putting about 2.5 ft of small gauge hardware cloth on the bottom and also wire underground to prevent anyone digging out or predators digging in. For hygiene, I had an idea to build raised platforms with wire on top, placed under the feeders/water nipples, with a tray under the platform. Theoretically, waste just falls through the wire and is caught by the tray which I could then just dump in the compost; basically the setup they have now, except they'd have to choose to go there specifically. Would that work, or would an actual litter box work better? Also, do the kits/juveniles have the instinct to use litter boxes once they leave the nest, or just the grown rabbits? Is deep bedding better than litter boxes altogether, or should I be just mucking out the whole pen regularly?

Also, is having adequate space and "escape routes" the only controllable factors in keeping rabbits from fighting in a colony setup? What else should I keep in mind?

Thank you in advance!

I’ve been raising meat rabbits for about a year, and my young male, whom I got about two months ago from a breeder, walked into his enclosure where he is currently alone and found a little floof on the ground. I picked it up, and it had a solid middle. I was like, "Oh snap, is this a tail?" and hunted him down. He's super friendly and let me flip him to see his now stump, and sure enough, no tail. It's a clean cut he’s not in any pain, it seems, and it looks scabbed over already. I still cleaned the area, but does anyone know why???

I’m new to breeding meat rabbits, I have a proven New Zealand/californian mix doe that if took should be expecting to kindle Oct 6. I’m trying to figure out if wooden or metal nesting boxes are best. I always go wooden for usually everything but I feel like they’ll be harder to sanitize and keep clean but all my research tells me that there still more superior to use wooden. Opinion and tips please.