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- #191
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Just saw some California Rabbits on Craigslist, local too. I want to inquire but will have to get permission first........
Countdown to Meat Rabbits: A few pics from planning the colony
- Thread starter BarredBuff
- Start date
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
lol, all knowing my patootie!
but in general id say your current does are too old at this point, the pelvis fuses at a little over a year old and after that you risk loosing the does during the kindling process.
If your going to slaighter them anyway it might be worth giving it a try, but otherwise i wouldnt bother.
in terms of colony raising, you wont find many (if any) books on it...here in the US. its not a "popular" method. youll still feed as much unless you give them a huge amount of space and grow alot of food for them, theyll quickly overgraze a smaller area)
i personally wouldnt keep a buck in with the does, not so much because of too many babies, meat is meat is meat...but because its realy not healthy for bunnies to be bred so frequently, a buck can and will breed a female imediatly after she gives birth...its also no unusual for bucks to accidentally kill litters trying to mate a doe just after she gives birth.
wild rabbits have a more deinfed cycle than domestic rabbits, they seem to be able to actually "control" thier cycles, generally rebreeding when the kits are about 3-4 weeks old rather than imediatly like domestic rabbits do. by rebreeding imediatly after kindling youll find your littersize and strength tends to decrease pretty quickly (run down momma = run down kits) which is anti everything you want in a meat breeding program)
my personal thoughts on it would be to run the does ina colony setting then house the buck in a hutch/cage ect. figure out when youd prefer to butcher...if you want all your babies at the same time you can simply let him out when you want your does bred, let him run with the girls for a few weeks before removing him back to his own space again.
if you want only certain does bred, bring the does to him...
make sure hes removed before your does are due to kindle and dont put him back in untill your ready for your next litters...
in terms of colony raising, buns do fine with cold but dont do well with wet so youd have to make sure the colony is nowhere that would flood/puddle (youll also loose litters if the burrows flood obviously) and they will dig so youd have to make sure to either sink fencing around the edges or figure out a solid floor system...if you dont want your does digging their own burrows for kindling youll have to figure out a solid floor.
but in general id say your current does are too old at this point, the pelvis fuses at a little over a year old and after that you risk loosing the does during the kindling process.
If your going to slaighter them anyway it might be worth giving it a try, but otherwise i wouldnt bother.
in terms of colony raising, you wont find many (if any) books on it...here in the US. its not a "popular" method. youll still feed as much unless you give them a huge amount of space and grow alot of food for them, theyll quickly overgraze a smaller area)
i personally wouldnt keep a buck in with the does, not so much because of too many babies, meat is meat is meat...but because its realy not healthy for bunnies to be bred so frequently, a buck can and will breed a female imediatly after she gives birth...its also no unusual for bucks to accidentally kill litters trying to mate a doe just after she gives birth.
wild rabbits have a more deinfed cycle than domestic rabbits, they seem to be able to actually "control" thier cycles, generally rebreeding when the kits are about 3-4 weeks old rather than imediatly like domestic rabbits do. by rebreeding imediatly after kindling youll find your littersize and strength tends to decrease pretty quickly (run down momma = run down kits) which is anti everything you want in a meat breeding program)
my personal thoughts on it would be to run the does ina colony setting then house the buck in a hutch/cage ect. figure out when youd prefer to butcher...if you want all your babies at the same time you can simply let him out when you want your does bred, let him run with the girls for a few weeks before removing him back to his own space again.
if you want only certain does bred, bring the does to him...
make sure hes removed before your does are due to kindle and dont put him back in untill your ready for your next litters...
in terms of colony raising, buns do fine with cold but dont do well with wet so youd have to make sure the colony is nowhere that would flood/puddle (youll also loose litters if the burrows flood obviously) and they will dig so youd have to make sure to either sink fencing around the edges or figure out a solid floor system...if you dont want your does digging their own burrows for kindling youll have to figure out a solid floor.
rhoda_bruce
Almost Self-Reliant
I am a parish worker and I got my boss to drop off a truck load of mud dug from when our guys dug our drainage ditches, so I have a nice little hill, I've been thinking on. Flooding is bad here at times, so thats why I want that spot.
With the reading I did, I was thinking to put some interesting junk in there to make them feel safe, like broken culverts and unused drums, but really I was going to set it up like my coop, which has buried wire about it. I would think if they dig, it would be in the hill.....thats my guess anyway.
I took care of my oldest daughter's guinea pigs for a few months and although I did give them some rabbit pellets, they wanted a variety of vegs and hay, so I was hoping a warren situation would be similar.
As best as I can figure from most of the reading I have done over the years, rabbits are pretty much the cheapest meat to raise. Was hoping to make it even cheaper, but all is well regardless.
With the reading I did, I was thinking to put some interesting junk in there to make them feel safe, like broken culverts and unused drums, but really I was going to set it up like my coop, which has buried wire about it. I would think if they dig, it would be in the hill.....thats my guess anyway.
I took care of my oldest daughter's guinea pigs for a few months and although I did give them some rabbit pellets, they wanted a variety of vegs and hay, so I was hoping a warren situation would be similar.
As best as I can figure from most of the reading I have done over the years, rabbits are pretty much the cheapest meat to raise. Was hoping to make it even cheaper, but all is well regardless.
- Thread starter
- #194
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Just shot an email 
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
fingers crossed buff
in terms of colony raising it is a little cheaper, but by how much will realy depend on how much you can grow in thier pen how big it is how many buns ect...a good size pen pretty much constantly being reseeded with clover should give them enough brows to not need pellets, toss in any veggiescraps (beet greens carrot tops ect) and offer free choice grass hay (preferably timmothy or orchard as alfalfa can be too high in protein) youll not hae to use pellets at all during growing season assuming the pen is large enough and you keep a controled population
assuming the wire is burried about 24 inches you shoudlnt have any dig outs...
rabbits will generally dig under "things" (ie shelters, boxes ect) so place any of these items in the center of the pen (ie if your planning on building a covered feeding area for example make sure its in the middle of the pen) sheds, buildings ect thats where theyll try to dig the most. and corners tend to be the other favorite dig spots.
in terms of colony raising it is a little cheaper, but by how much will realy depend on how much you can grow in thier pen how big it is how many buns ect...a good size pen pretty much constantly being reseeded with clover should give them enough brows to not need pellets, toss in any veggiescraps (beet greens carrot tops ect) and offer free choice grass hay (preferably timmothy or orchard as alfalfa can be too high in protein) youll not hae to use pellets at all during growing season assuming the pen is large enough and you keep a controled population
assuming the wire is burried about 24 inches you shoudlnt have any dig outs...
rabbits will generally dig under "things" (ie shelters, boxes ect) so place any of these items in the center of the pen (ie if your planning on building a covered feeding area for example make sure its in the middle of the pen) sheds, buildings ect thats where theyll try to dig the most. and corners tend to be the other favorite dig spots.
- Thread starter
- #196
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
I'll have to bury plywood around my house for them because, the run how it will be setup will not be able to fix the house in the middle.....but I plan on a few straw bales in the middle for them to use
- Thread starter
- #197
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Not interested in those, they were older and only had three. We'll fin the right ones soon hopefully......
- Thread starter
- #199
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
I think I'm gonna get less and then expand...
ohiogoatgirl
Lovin' The Homestead
my uncle always said "get good. then get big"
harder said then done though. when i get my colony set up i will be starting with at most 1 buck and 3 does.
harder said then done though. when i get my colony set up i will be starting with at most 1 buck and 3 does.
