# Do Silver Fox work well for meat?



## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

We have decided to try a colony with 2-3 meat does and one buck. I am going to have a cage for the buck so I can separate him when it is 
kit time so they will not rebreed til I decide. 
Does anyone have Silver Fox rabbits and do different rabbits taste 
different??
My husband found a video of a guy cleaning a rabbit the way his Granddad
did. It seems too easy to be true. I will try to post the link when I find it again to see if anyone has used this method.


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

This is the video. Has anyone used this method??

http://mucc.org/mood/rabbit/rabbitclean.mov


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## southridgeacre (Feb 5, 2008)

OMG! Is that rabbit _*alive*_when he's doing that??!!

Wow.

S


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

First off, I don't believe that rabbit in the video is alive. The man is a hunter and probably shot the rabbit. Secondly, that method may work okay for wild rabbits, but I wouldn't advise it for domestically raised rabbits, which are much firmer and with tighter skins.

Silver Fox make great meat rabbits. Ordinarily, all rabbit usually tastes the same, but there may be some slight variations dependent upon what they are fed. Just like some things that cows eat will flavor the milk, so it will also flavor the meat.

I hope this answers your questions.

Pat Lamar


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

Yep, SF make great meat bunnies (ask how I know! LOL I gots a whole bunch of them, plus lots in the freezer I call Stew...)

They dress out better than 50%, plus if you're into saving pelts, they have a super pelt! I usually hit 5 pounds at about 12 weeks, I would like to hit it sooner, but I show them too, so I really don't make my culling decisions til 12ish weeks, or later when the silvering comes in better. Sometimes I have an initail cull at 12 weeks (mostly bucks) then again if there are any I don't feel are show or brood quality.


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## Michael Leferink (Jul 12, 2003)

Let me start by saying that we never raised pure bred S.F. and we raised our rabbits in suspended cages instead of a colony. When it came time to cull our pure bred buck and doe, they both dressed out very nicely and were very meaty. We had crossed them with Champagne D'Argente and Californians to produce fryers and future breeders. The crosses had an average dress out of 60%, with many going 63% - 64%. Growth rate was quick, with most reaching 5 lbs. in 9 weeks. Mothering instincts were great with very high milk production. Litters ran an average of just under 8 kits to slaughter. The two pure breds ate very little feed and they past that on to their offspring. The only complaints I have would be, they did not handle the heat as well as the Champagne and Californians. The buck went sterile the first summer and never recovered and the doe refused to breed until she was 6 months old. Their crossed offspring handled the heat much better and the does bred at 18 - 20 weeks, so it worked out. I have no idea what pure bred S.F. production would be in a colony setting, but I intend to get some more after we relocate and get set up.

MikeL


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

Thanks for the comments.
Does anyone know a breeder of Silver Fox in N.C. or southern Va ??
We live in Raleigh,NC and I would love to find some Silver Fox rabbits.


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