Picking up our first rabbits this morning! Excited as can be

[lilmansgramma]

So I came across a steal on a trio of NZ rabbits, rabbits, cages, water bottles, feeders, feed etc for only 20.00!!!

After getting all my questions answered I told the seller I would pick up today.

Only reason she is selling is her daughter lost interest in raising them and her hubby wont help either and she cannot manage on her own with classes etc. The reason for low cost was she just wanted them a guaranteed good home. I of course did not say I would be breeding and sending kits to freezer camp. Not sure if that's what they had intended to do as well. Some things better left unsaid.
I have had rabbits before but only as pets so raising meat rabbits is so new to me!


They are breeding age and have already had one litter each but the kits didn't survive our brutal heat we had.



I know just about NOTHING about rabbits....any advice to help me out??

I know to take the doe to the buck when I want to bred them. How long do I leave them together?

Once the kits arrive how long before I will need a grow out cage for them and how soon can I breed the doe back?



And what is best feed to give them for meat purposes? I was told by a friend I trust who has rabbits to just do alfalfa pellets with no grass , treats or anything, said it will make their tummies upset and give them diahrea but I read here that you give them other stuff besides pellets?



What are some rabbit illnesses I will need to watch for?



Any meds I need to keep on hand for them in case they get sick?



I know to keep them cool so will freeze some water bottles to goin with them, We are only in mid 80s at the present time and for the next few days. I will have them in a temporary location with lots of shade trees and a nice breeze most of the time until I get a small shed built for them.



I appreciate any help you may have for me...excited about this new venture as it was on my late fiancés and my dream sheet when I bought this small homestead two and half yrs ago..Trying to continue on with our dream! I know he would be proud!!



Thanks!!

[puddlejumper007]

lilmansgrama. glad to see your post , i am doing the same thing, i just got a breeding pair and a younger doe last week and i am trying to learn all i can about this. so far so good, we had a pet rabbit for a while and i do know in the winter time we kept one water bottle in the house and replaced the one frozen overnite. worked well for us.other than that i am just trying to learn also. good luck

[puddlejumper007]

lilmansgrama. glad to see your post , i am doing the same thing, i just got a breeding pair and a younger doe last week and i am trying to learn all i can about this. so far so good, we had a pet rabbit for a while and i do know in the winter time we kept one water bottle in the house and replaced the one frozen overnite. worked well for us.other than that i am just trying to learn also. good luck

[lilmansgramma]

Oh puddle jumper I wish you loads of luck on your venture as well!!!

I am trying to read nd learn as much as I can but life events are keeping from doing a lot but I can learn as I go I guess!!!

We did get them home and set up in temporary shelter til a better one is built...


Hopefully someone will be nice enough to answer....may have to post this on the old board as well to see if can get some answers....I want tried and true advice, not what google suggests, lol

[jupiter]

I feed triple trust & hay. Do you know what feed they were on with their former owners? I'd leave them on that. If they aren't used to hay, start them off with a handful in their cage & gradually give them more. I do the metal feeders & water bottles on the cages & I keep them full. I give my rabbits the summer off & plan to breed again mid September. I put the doe with the buck & wait for 2/3 fall offs. Our rabbits have never had any health issues. I hope this helps.

[lilmansgramma]

jupiter, thank you. Previous owners had them on Ranger Pro rabbit pellets, my local feed store does not carry that brand , they carry the Country Feeds brand and the ingredients are almost the same, If I kept them on RP I would have to drive an hour to get it so I may slowly introduce them to the CF brand and see how it goes, I got about a half of bag of the RP with them so I could mix the two together.
We are taking the does to the bucks tomorrow I think, may wait a few more days,they have adjusted well to their new home here in the country for being city rabbits, LOL

[jupiter]

Aug 24, 2016 21:18:11 GMT lilmansgramma said:

jupiter, thank you. Previous owners had them on Ranger Pro rabbit pellets, my local feed store does not carry that brand , they carry the Country Feeds brand and the ingredients are almost the same, If I kept them on RP I would have to drive an hour to get it so I may slowly introduce them to the CF brand and see how it goes, I got about a half of bag of the RP with them so I could mix the two together.
We are taking the does to the bucks tomorrow I think, may wait a few more days,they have adjusted well to their new home here in the country for being city rabbits, LOL

They should do fine with switching feed brands if you do it gradually. I have my rabbits set up so a buck is by a doe. It seems to make breeding easier. I put a nest box and hay in with does on day 28. I wean my babies at 6 weeks. Btw, even if the buck doesn't fall off, the doe can still be bred. I've learned that the hard way.

[AD in WNC]

I am by no means an expert, but I will share what works for me. Bucks go sterile from summer heat -they say over 90*, but mine don't seem to like heat much over 86* and need a month or so of cooler weather to be able to breed successfully. I breed mine in early October, the moms wean them at about 5 weeks. I leave the kits with mom until they empty a metal j-feeder in one day, then I move mom to another cage. In a couple of weeks, the kits start looking crowded, so I split them up 2 per cage until its time to process. I usually have them processed when they are almost the size of mom, about 5 lbs. I raise medium sized mutts because they breed earlier and grow out quicker for less feed that Cali's, NZ, Silver Fox or Champagnes. I also am only feeding three people and a rabbit that dresses out to 5 lbs is 10 meals for us. I like rabbit stew, but not that many 3 days in a row.

I feed them pellets, horse quality hay and fresh weeds (dandelion, plantain, grape leaves and oak or popular leaves). I have fed them wheat fodder, which they loved, but it was a lot of work and much too wet to do in the winter. I figure if I give them pellets and hay then their digestive enzymes will get used to both types of food and they won't get sick.

I try to breed them 3 times a year: October, early January, and late April. They get the summer off. I have heard of people breeding their rabbits when the kits are 2 wks old, but that doesn't seem healthy or sustainable to me. I try to give the does 4-6 weeks to get back into breeding condition after they wean one litter before I breed them again. I also try to breed on a full moon. I put the doe in with the buck and watch them. If they are hostile to each other, I pull the doe out immediately, if not I leave them together for 3 or 4 days. I read somewhere that does have a 4 day cycle of hormonal readiness, and leaving them together that long was a good way to insure they were bred. I have not had any trouble with fighting using this method.Although I have heard horror stories about how the rabbits can hurt each other.

I suggest that you get a heavy shirt (the kind you use for welding) and gloves for moving rabbits. They have sharp claws and very strong legs for kicking. I look like I have been in a fight after I move a few of them. Or maybe they are just terrified of my guard dog...

Good luck!