kenman: Well, here goes...

[Beekissed]

 

[Henrietta23]

I'll be in your shoes in a week. I'm a public school speech assistant which also means a lot of paperwork. Last year I was at the middle school, this I'll move between the high school and one of the elementary schools. I'm looking forward to it, but will miss having so much time on here!

 

[2dream]

You have to post that bbq rabbit recipe in the recipe section.

As soon as all my litters quit dieing I am gonna BBQ some myself.

Have you ever tried tanning your rabbit hides?

 

[kenman]

Ok, the soup base we make is this: tomatoes are blanched, peeled, cut up, we add chopped green peppers, onion chunks, chopped celery, carrots, and cut up cabbage. We cook this until tender and then cold pack in quart jars with a teaspoon of canning salt. It is perfect to start vegetable/beef soup, goulash, etc. We also make some with more green peppers/jalapeno's and onions that we use to start chili. We also just use it heated over pasta, yum.
We haven't tried to do any tanning, yet. But it is something I would like to try at some point. My daughters have asked about rabbit fur coats, gloves, etc.
The first two days of school are now over, (gasp). Things of course are nuts, but the kids make it worth it. The main draw back is less time doing my hobby.

 

[kenman]

You have to post that bbq rabbit recipe in the recipe section.

As soon as all my litters quit dieing I am gonna BBQ some myself.

Have you ever tried tanning your rabbit hides?

Why are litters dieing?

 

[Blackbird]

I hope your butchering goes alright. I just finished butchering six rabbits the other day. hope you get to try tanning. We have quite a few hides that we tanned but have never done anything with them.

 

[2dream]

As soon as all my litters quit dieing I am gonna BBQ some myself.

Have you ever tried tanning your rabbit hides?

Why are litters dieing?

I have no clue why they are dieing other than the first two litters I blamed on new mommas trampling them to death. The 3rd and 4th litter (one new momma) totally had no clue what to do with those babies. The other litter was mommas 2nd and she ignored them. I have never in my life had this problem. The 6 rabbits I have right now are all going to be slaughtered this fall. Tired of feeding them with no results. I even have one male that will not mate with any of my females. He hops into a corner and ignores them. LOL After slaughter I will purchase the New Zeland whites that I wanted to begin with. These are mutt rabbits that someone gave me. I already have my source - all I need now is empty cages. What kind of rabbits do you have?

 

[Blackbird]

2Dream, what kind of nesting are you providing? A girl I dated, her dad, and her grandpa have a rabbitry, they raise meat and show rabbits. when their does fail to successfully raise the second litter, they butcher them off. They do not expect the first litter to live. If there are no offspring produced they breed both the doe and buck to different rabbits to see who is infertile. It sounds like butchering your currents off would be a good idea. How old are they?

 

[2dream]

This batch is about 1 1/2 to 2 years old. I never expect much out of my first litters but usually have one or two make it. I got out of the rabbit raising years ago. And decided last year to start back. For some reason this time around has been a nightmare. I took these rabbits against my better judgement. A friend of my daughters raises rabbits to feed their pet snakes. They had a million and offered some to me free. I butchered all but 5. Then a friend had gotten her son a rabbit for Easter. We all know how that works out. LOL She knew I had rabbits and ask me to take hers. So I have this wonderful loveable pet rabbit that I tried to refuse to get attached to. LOL And once again - we all know how that works. Anyway, I will butcher all but the one and purchase what I want.

Plus, there was a major illness in my family and I was probably not as diligent as I should have been. This bunch is not only not very productive but they are also not as large as I would like. Time to move on to bigger and better bred rabbits. If not for the illness they would probably already be gone.

Now that I have a rabbit expert to ask questions to I will be much better.

 

[kenman]

Sorry to hear about your production problems. It sounds like you got some bummers all the way around. I have some cross breed does and a New Zealand white buck. The last does I purchased were half New Zealand Red and half Harlequin. They are red with a white belt like the Dutch rabbits. I hope to replace a couple of my older does with these two girls. FYI: the best way that I found to get cages was to go to farm auctions, flea markets, and such. I took three 24"X24"'s, put them together and divided them into two. It gives my does a lot of space without sticking out away from the wall.
I enjoy my rabbits very much. They are wonderful pets and would recommend them as a cheap, constant source of excellent healthy meat.