# butchered weight



## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

How much should a butchered rabbit weigh on average?


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

The question is too general to give a good answer. If you mean how much would a commercial fryer raised on pellets only to the age of approximately 8 weeks, I think the live weight would be about 5 pounds and the dressed weight about 2.75, not including giblets. *But* there are all kinds of rabbits, all kinds of feeding methods and people butcher at different ages depending on culture, individual preferences and many other variables. So results vary widely.


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## Dian (May 11, 2003)

I raise mutt rabbits on pellets only. We butcher at around 12 weeks and they usually weigh between 2 and 2 1/2 pounds dressed without gibblets (the dogs and cats get those).


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

I am feeding pellets only and just wanted a general answer. They are about 11 weeks old n/z cal. crosses. So 2-3 pounds dress is a good average?


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

At 11 weeks, on pellets, NZ/Cal cross... I'd be disappointed in a two-pound dress-out. Three would be nice.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

i am very happy with 2 3/4 - 3 pound dress out on Cal NZ. I ususally butcher the day they turn 11 weeks.


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

OK so i butchered one rabbit out. And counted out the age they are 11 1/2 weeks old today and it weighed 3.25 pounds. So it is about average. So should i wait another week or should i go ahead and do the other 12 tomorrow? And will it make a difference if i wait? Sorry for sounding like an idiot but I haven't butchered rabbits in 30 years and they seem bigger back then. The folks say i should wait till they are 5 pounds dressed.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Depends on if you want to use the feed and if you need the cage space. Also to much older the bunnys will start to breed siblings at too young of age.


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

Well hope we don't breed have the male separated from the females your right about the feed 12 rabbits go threw it quick. SO a week won't much of a differance except I will have help.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Twelve rabbits is a lot to process on your own in one day if these are your first. Why not do some now and some in a week or two... just to see what the difference in weight is and how you like the meat by comparison. It's all about individual preferences.


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

Good point maggie I know i like rabbit its the wife that needs convincing she has never ate rabbit.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

The younger the rabbits, the more tender they will be. Remind your wife (if she is doing the cooking) that rabbit meat has more protein and less moisture and fat than, say, chicken. Therefore, cooking it with a bit of added liquid and/or at a slightly lower temperature is often a good idea. A bit of apple juice gives it a nice flavour.


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

Thank you again maggie I will have her read this thread. and thank you for taking the time to read my rattling. You to squash.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I am aiming for 1.5 to 2 lbs dressed weight. That gives me a good size to the pieces I cut up for how we eat. So I'm going for around 4lbs live weight. I also want to try tanning, but those will be ones I let get older and they will be for dog/cat food. 

I've got another batch to butcher this weekend, we'll see how these do. I've got DH hooked on rabbit now. He was hesitant, but loves the idea of something that converts weeds and hay to meat so easily. He likes this way better than chickens, and so do I. I love having babies around.

Just last night over the phone, DH commented "you seem to really enjoy having the rabbits, don't you?" I also get a lot of enjoyment in providing food for us also. 

Cathy


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

Fryers should be done around 5 lbs and should dress out around 2.5 or 3 lbs. I like to grow roasters out here and and shoot for 4/5 lbs dressed which would be about 8 lbs live.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

We are fairly new to raising rabbits but I always weigh them after they are dreesed out & so far they all have ranged in weight from 2 1/2 pounds to 3 pounds & dh usually butchers them between 12 & 13 weeks.

I've tried a couple recipes from the recipe sticky here & so far we have liked each one I've made. I'm going to try making the soup recipe that has the canning directions for 25 quarts next. I may just cut the recipe in half though.


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## JCWehking (Jun 2, 2009)

I am so glad someone started this thread. I will be butchering for the first time next month. I think my little ones are so little. I can't imagine them growing double in a month.

I feed strickly pellets unless we are leaving for overnight. Then I put a generous amount of hay in there. I fill the feeder full in the evening and nearly full in the morning. Its just a big metal bowl, so I don't know how much they are eating as far as measured amount.

I would guess they are around 3 lbs live weight at 7 weeks. Need to buy a scale. I have an escape artist, so when I caught him this morning I did a rough guess of his weight. So could be way off.

He seemed like a scrawny thing though. I was very dissappointed and wondering if I should be doing something different to get them bigger faster. I only have so many cages, so I wanted to butcher at the 11-12 week point.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

JCW, your fryers will grow quite a bit between 7 weeks and 11 or 12 weeks. This is the time when they should really put on weight... It's growth spurt time! 

Is the feeding bowl ever empty when you go to refill it? If so, you might want to feed them more. Try using two feeding bowls instead of one, preferably in different parts of the pen. 

Even if they are not eating all you give them from one feeding to the next, I believe using two bowls to be a good idea. Some rabbits are little piggies and since they tend to be larger and pushier, the smaller, less dominant rabbits may not get as much as they need to put on a lot of meat. The more they do without, the less likely they are to compete. An extra source of water is a good idea too. Just a couple of thoughts.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

They do amaze me how fast they grow in that 8-12 weeks. I move mine at about 8 weeks, and always think "NO WAY" will they be ready to butcher, but three weeks later they are sure looking like good eating size.

I should be out butchering, but checked on the garden this morning and realized I had green beans, peas, broccoli and beets ready to be dealt with. Then I decided to thin the carrots and was surprised at the size of what I pulled out. So my day so far has been dealing with veggies. 

Cathy


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

Well we ended up butchering 7 of the 13 rabbits this weekend. The dress weight was 2 3/4 to 3 1/5 pounds. The wife totally deboned one for fried rabbit last night and it weighed 2 1/4 pounds of boneless meat. So whats a good age to butcher for roasters?


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

emanuelcs34 said:


> Well we ended up butchering 7 of the 13 rabbits this weekend. The dress weight was 2 3/4 to 3 1/5 pounds. The wife totally deboned one for fried rabbit last night and it weighed 2 1/4 pounds of boneless meat. So whats a good age to butcher for roasters?


Those are nice dress-out weights. 

If you want roasters, I suggest about 14 - 18 weeks would be a good time for butchering.

So was the fried rabbit a success? Did your wife enjoy it?


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

Yes she did. We went a head and bred again. Was waiting to see if she liked and would eat it again.Thanks for the answers.


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## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

emanuelcs34 said:


> How much should a butchered rabbit weigh on average?


We strive for a minimum of 60% dressout (liver included)
for our Cal and NZW fryers. Ours are ranging from 55%
to 63% at this time. 
If I remember correctly, Pat Lamar achieved an excellent
dressout around 70% with her NZ fryers.


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## JCWehking (Jun 2, 2009)

MaggieJ said:


> JCW, your fryers will grow quite a bit between 7 weeks and 11 or 12 weeks. This is the time when they should really put on weight... It's growth spurt time!
> 
> Is the feeding bowl ever empty when you go to refill it? If so, you might want to feed them more. Try using two feeding bowls instead of one, preferably in different parts of the pen.
> 
> Even if they are not eating all you give them from one feeding to the next, I believe using two bowls to be a good idea. Some rabbits are little piggies and since they tend to be larger and pushier, the smaller, less dominant rabbits may not get as much as they need to put on a lot of meat. The more they do without, the less likely they are to compete. An extra source of water is a good idea too. Just a couple of thoughts.


In the morning the bowls are empty, but when I go in for the evening fill, there is usually food left. I think when its hot they dont' eat as much.

I only have 3 or 4 rabbits per cage and the cages are 20 wide by 48 long. I didn't want them too squished (thinking how goldfish only grow to their bowl size), but I didn't want so much room they could run like gang busters.

They do still run, but they can't go far. :sing:

I was thinking I should put another bowl in since its empty in the morning. It has only just started happening that its empty in the morning. I fill their water jug thing 2 x a day. Its never empty, but is low.

I am SOOO happy to hear they are just approaching their growth spurt. I was pretty worried about their lack of size. It would also explain the recent increase in food intake.


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