# Missouri Cottontails



## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

I tried rabbits a couple of years ago and to be honest, I did not do for them all I should. They did not survive. I had Silver Fox rabbits. 

Fastforward and now that I have a barn I am in a better place to care for them. I can't find Silver Fox around here right now and I'm not so sure that's a bad thing-I just want meat rabbits. 

I put an ad on Craig's List and super nice man called tonight to offer me a buck, doe and her 4 babies for $25-in a nest box. I asked if they were just plain old rabbits and he said they were wild-I was wondering if they were big enough to feed a family of 4. He used them to train puppies-he no longer trains these dogs and his family won't eat them. He called them Missouri Cottontails. 

Will these guys be good meat rabbits?


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Cottontails never tame completely and tend to be spooky, aloof animals that can break their own backs panicking in their cages at things. If they are breeding he's managed to tame the line a little but they still aren't going to be as easy to handle or as foolproof as a domestic european rabbit breed.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

may not even be actual cottontails but a strain of san juan (ferals that reverted back to the true wild look and VERY popular for beagle training pens).
not a bad price, also check w/ country pounds in NC. here the pounds get a bunch and only charge $5. i am planning to use grading up. i've got 3 feral lionhead does & a standard rex doe all for free & a NZ mix doe for $5. now i'm looking for a good NZ or californian buck to make terminal crosses & maybe replace the lionheads.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

Yes the mussouri cotton tails .ihad some in the early 90s .they are a tame rabbit that look like wild cotton tails in color only being much larger and they will cross with our tame rabbits there are other types like this going by names like san juans and red backs.they are often raised in large fenced areas used to train beagle hounds .they can be raised in cages just like any tame or meat rabbit.may I sudjest if you want to raise rabbits for meat find some california or new zelands and start off right with the many years of careful breeding by good breeders.getting the traits you are looking for .like better meat to bone ratios good mothering and milking for large litters.like pops is talking of breeding up from some small moungrel pet rabbits but in the end you still have some moungrel rabbits that have eaten as much feed and took as much care as if they were good stock and have likly produced much less .if those rabbits are what they clame often people look at the colors and and give them a name calling any white rabbit new zeland or any spoted one a rex ect , in the fleamarkets ,auctions,where you never see them again after the sale . To increase your pride of ownership and have a much better market to sell extra off spring , try to find a good breeder and start with some pure meat stock.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

That said if you like these rabbits go on and get em they are a mediem sizedsmaller than the new zelands with a fairly meaty frame there is no reason they won't fill a pot and are liable to have decient sized litters that grow well just not as well as our rabbits specifikly for this .


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Like the others said, these are domestic rabbits. They are usually a mix of San Juan and other breeds to look and run as much like a wild rabbit as possible. They vary widely my mix but are usually healthy and fairly meaty. If you get them at a good price they would likely do nicely. You can always buy a big Californian or NZW meat buck and cross him in when you find one, and keep the best offspring for breeding does.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

So a buck, doe and four babies for $25 is a deal ?


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

PrettyPaisley said:


> So a buck, doe and four babies for $25 is a deal ?


It probably cost at least $8 each to raise the buck and the doe to adulthood, that makes the kits a little over $2 each. If they are a few weeks old you are getting them at cost. It also lets you know that the doe is fertile.

I would try to wait till they are at least 4 weeks old if he will let you. They will make the move better.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

A commercial meat type doe of breeding age from a good breeder not registered should bring 25$ buy herself .I see this type of adult rabbit at flea markets for 10$ -15$ . So a healthy pair + the babies and a nest box .YES is a deal .


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