# Pros/Cons of breeding meat rabbits



## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

While exploring other homesteading ventures today, I stumbled onto an opportunity/market for white meat rabbits. (He specified they prefer white, and NZ or NZ Xs.)

Can you guys tell me the pros and cons of breeding meat rabbits? I don't know how large the market is, but I would prefer to start small anyway. I am in the Deep South, and I know heat is deadly. We've had a pet rabbits off and on for years, so we aren't completely ignorant about rabbits, but we've never intentionally bred them. My parents raised meat rabbits when I was very young, and my mom got very excited when I told her about this opportunity. I vaguely remember the hutches we had (I think i was 3-5 when they did this), and I remember playing with the rabbits and watching my dad skin them, but that is the extent of my meat rabbit experience LOL.

I'm thinking of starting with two does and one buck. I know the buck needs to be penned separately, should each doe have her own pen, as well? I figure starting out, I would breed one, and when its litter was born, breed the other one, to get our feet wet slowly.

I've ordered Storey's guide for rabbits, it'll be here Tuesday, hopefully. Also ordered the worms under rabbits book someone linked, as I'm already into vermiculture.

What advice would you give to a new breeder? (This is very appealing to us, but we want to know the pros and cons before we make any hard decisions about it)

ETA: I know most have heard about the Dollarhite's problems with the USDA. I actually had to go back and find some articles about them to see what they violated, and found it was the AWA. According to the USDA's site, "*Farm Animals are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) only when used in biomedical research, testing, teaching and exhibition. Farm animals used for food and fiber or for food and fiber research are not regulated under the AWA.*" Reading this, I assume that if I do breed meat rabbits, that it will not apply to me? Are there USDA regs that DO apply to raising meat rabbits? I'm asking because if we do go with this, I'd rather build my cages and shelter according to the regs from the beginning, in case it gets to the point I would be considered commercial or whatever. Hope that makes sense.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

It's best and easiest to start with each rabbit in it's own wire bottom cage. You can move on to attempting colonies and groups in the future with some breeding experience but that has it's own complications and risks. All wire cages are best. Wood like on hutches can harbor pests and bacteria so most raising large numbers of rabbits or commercially don't use wood for anything. Some use pvc if they need a frame to hang their cages on.

Breeding rabbits is pretty easy compared to most animals. You get misses and litter problems and the rare occasion of a lost doe or litter but compared to other animals this is not that frequent. Rabbits also don't come in to heat. They are induced ovulators meaning they release eggs when bred and don't have cycles. Once they come in to condition you can breed them any time until something takes them out of condition like too little sunlight or too much stress from weather extremes or repeated litters (not a problem if you are alternating who you breed). Once you get a good breeding group going the work is minimal since you really don't have to do much to help raise the kits. Rabbits are probably the easiest thing I've bred from horses to gerbils. It takes me 30mins a day to take care of 30 something rabbits which just went up by 10 kits. Then 1 day a month to clean everything.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

The only time you need to worry about the AWA requirements is if you sell $500.00 or more to research facilities and to pet stores and/or pet wholesalers. Commercial rabbit meat producers do not need AWA permits nor do they need to be USDA licensed. If you intend to tap the research market and pet market beyond the $500.00, then, yes, you will need to be USDA licensed AND have an AWA permit.

Incidentally, rabbits DO have cycles. However, because they can be "induced" to breed/conceive, it is too difficult to try to track the cycles. Just the opposite of humans, there are only two or three days every month in which a rabbit CANNOT conceive.

My advise to you: ALWAYS take the doe to the buck; NEVER leave them alone unattended as a doe is apt to literally castrate him when she tires of being pestered.

Pick out a replacement buck from your first litter in case something should happen to your one and only buck.

Go easy on the fresh greens/snacks to start with as it can cause DEADLY diarrhea if they're not accustomed to them. Always keep tabs on their poop since diarrhea is most often the first sign of a serious problem.

One doe per cage is preferred. Rabbits are very territorial and generally don't like to share their space. Exceptions if two does were raised together and the pecking order was established early. Otherwise, they will fight and even sisters will have squabbles.

Remember... gestation is 28 to 32 days (and sometimes more). Be sure to get the nest box into the cage in time!

The biggest "con" for raising meat rabbits is the price of the feed. Shop around, as different brands have different prices. Not all brands are available nationwide (in fact, very few of them are). Search for a locally milled brand with *at least* 16% protein... 18% is better but may be too "hot" for your area. Learn to read the milling dates... pelleted rabbit feed begins losing its nutritional value after 3 months from the milling date.

Wishing you luck!

Pat Lamar


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## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to talk to the guy tomorrow about some specifics, I know he wants white, preferably NZ or NZx, 4.5-5lbs. I don't know how much he pays, if he has a preference on how they are fed, etc, so I'm going to get details before I decide.

If I go with this, is 24" wide x 24" high large enough? I was looking at cage wire at Lowe's, and the 1/2" by 1" is in a 10' roll, and then 1'x1' is in 15' rolls. I thought about buying one roll of the 1/2" x 1" and using that for the bottom of one continuous cage, divided in thirds, that would give me one cage for each doe and a buck cage. Would be a little over 36" long, so a single cage would be 36" l, 24" w, and 24" high, is that large enough for a mom and kits? Obviously I would make more growout cages before the kits needed to be separated.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

24" x 24" x 18" is okay for bucks and growing (single) replacement stock. Producing does require at least 36" x 24" x 18" high. Those are the "standard" sizes most producers use. 1/2" x 1" is good for bottom wire, 1" x 1" for side/top wire.

You can also check prices by comparing with the list of processors on the ARBA site at: www.arba.net

Pat Lamar


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

akane said:


> Once they come in to condition you can breed them any time until something takes them out of condition like too little sunlight or too much stress from weather extremes or repeated litters (not a problem if you are alternating who you breed).


Sorry to say, but "too little sunlight" has absolutely no bearing on rabbits! I knew a blind commercial producer with a large herd who had his entire rabbitry UNDERGROUND... and with no lighting! He was blind, so he didn't need it... and neither did his rabbits. Remember... this species of rabbit lived underground in the wild, and I'm sure they didn't have sunlight or artificial lighting, either, heheheh. Temperature, however, is a different matter.

Pat Lamar


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

PRO: Clean, healthy, flavorful gourmet meat for your family at relatively little space, work and expense compared to many other kinds of home grown meat.

CON: This quality home-grown meat doesn't come as cheap as the factory farmed stuff you get at Wal-Mart. Personally, I have not found a way to raise meat at home for less than I can buy meat at the store (your experience may vary based on what feed you can buy locally. The cheapest feed I can find is $14.00+tax per 50# bag.) 

Your costs go down the more rabbits you keep if you can buy feed by the ton, ect., or if you have access to pasture and grow your own alfalfa and grains or whatever else you find to cut costs, but conventionally raising out fryers from a trio on commercial feed is going to cost you approximately one bag of food per fryer, on average. So, there's that.

Personally, I consider it worth it, and am able to sell a rabbit or two from each litter to help with the costs of what I put away, but it's something to think about. And I only say this because so many I know right now are looking for a way to raise cheap meat...


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## brandkelz (Apr 15, 2011)

I would say as a newer rabbit raiser, that it is definitely worth the experience.....I also personally think that you can research and research and still not be ready until you get your hands dirty....Me for instance, studied breeds and cage designs, read many books and articles and asked bunches of questions for 6-7 months. We still had a heck of a time getting our first litter( found out that we were not feeding our does enough). I still learn something new about everyday.

I would have to agree with the feed price being the main con. Although if you have someone waiting to buy meat, you wont be off too bad...I know that I can sell 2 fryers and pay for a 50lb bag of feed. As far as what price, You would be amazed at what people are willing to pay here that have had farm raised rabbit before.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Mine will breed through -30F just fine until the stable doors are shut and they get no light. Then they won't breed even if the temp comes up above freezing until the doors have been opened for enough hours every day.



> Rabbits are like chickens that lay eggs only if there is enough light.


http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/breeding.htm



> n order for a Holland Lop doe to be receptive, the doe must be exposed to at least 16 hours of light per day. The reason for this is that in the wild, the rabbit is a seasonal breeder. This seasonal receptivity is governed by both light, and to a certain extent temperature. The pineal gland at the base of the rabbit's brain is sensitive to light and when it detects a shortening of the day-length it decreases the secretion of certain reproductive hormones.


http://www.hlrsc.com/Articles/breedingproblems.html



> If you want to increase indoor production, you can install lighting and maintain the herd on a year-round schedule of 12 hours each of light and darkness to keep the rabbits breeding throughout the year.


http://www.piteraq.dk/rabid/comrabbit.html


It's pretty well documented that light does impact rabbits, possibly more than temperature, even down to the hormones and glands that control it. Rabbits may build underground burrows but they spend much of their time grazing above ground both day and night.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Akane.... Sorry to say, but those are all **personal** opinions. There are no actual "documented facts" as performed by rabbit research scientists on the effect of lighting. In fact, most of them tend to agree with the temperature having more effect than the lighting. Yes, the lighting DOES have an effect, but it is so miniscule as to not even be worth it. Lighting is more beneficial to the handlers who don't like to work in the dark, so it's a convenience.

If lighting is so important, how the heck did that blind producer stay in business so long with his underground rabbits, eh? LOL I also know SEVERAL other commercial producers who don't use lighting at all, and they depend on the rabbits for a livelihood. If lighting was truly that important for production, don't you think they'd be using it? The profit margin on raising meat rabbits commercially is meager enough without complicating it even further with a lack of lighting if it was such an important factor.

Pat Lamar


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

Pat Lamar said:


> Akane.... Sorry to say, but those are all **personal** opinions. There are no actual "documented facts" as performed by rabbit research scientists on the effect of lighting. In fact, most of them tend to agree with the temperature having more effect than the lighting. Yes, the lighting DOES have an effect, but it is so miniscule as to not even be worth it. Lighting is more beneficial to the handlers who don't like to work in the dark, so it's a convenience.
> 
> If lighting is so important, how the heck did that blind producer stay in business so long with his underground rabbits, eh? LOL I also know SEVERAL other commercial producers who don't use lighting at all, and they depend on the rabbits for a livelihood. If lighting was truly that important for production, don't you think they'd be using it? The profit margin on raising meat rabbits commercially is meager enough without complicating it even further with a lack of lighting if it was such an important factor.
> 
> Pat Lamar


Might I venture to suggest perhaps it is changes in ALL of these factors from the norm the rabbits have been used to that might signal "shutting down the baby maker" for the winter?

I think year round consistency is the key, regardless of whatever daylight exposure or temperature you might want to keep. It is more the change in these factors than the actual daylight or temperature, etc. that would signal biological reproductive changes.


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## SaratogaNZW (Feb 10, 2009)

All of the above issues aside, I think they have been well answered. When your ready to start, and pick out your animals, I would like to stress that you get what you pay for in this area. Starting with high quality stock from the beginning, with commercial bloodlines, will save you some headaches in your first year.

Most of the problems I have heard new producers complain about could have been avoided if they had been educated and hand picked their breeding stock. Getting good stock in the beginning can be the difference between frustration and failure and problem free profitability! The right commercial stock lines have excellent mothering instincts, and you shouldn't have problems with them not nesting, not nursing, having litters on the cage, or a buck sitting there with a stupid look on his face while the doe runs circles around him.

Theres the obvious physical traits you should look for in your breed: for NZW, long saddles, long erect ears, 9 pound mature bucks and 11 pound mature does. Just know the breed you want to start with and look up the breed clubs specs, or even the arba specs for that breed.

NOW: personality traits to look for, usually overlooked but can become very important in a small operation.
A mature buck should be friendly, maybe not immediately at first, but should at least not cower in the corner when you open the cage. A good breeding buck KNOWS he is the KING, and will come up to you and offer (demand!) that you pet him and groom him. If hes not quite grown and mature, you can pick him up, flip him over with his butt facing you, looking him in the face. Look at the size of his head (width between cheeks) and hind feet. They should look unnaturally large for his size. 

A good doe doesn't have to be nice all the time. Most of the time, mean does make the best mommies. She shouldn't be an attack rabbit, you do have to handle her and take her to the buck, and she has to not castrate him on site. Also, you have to reach in there and handle the babies. Nice and gentle does can be great too, but its more often the case that girls who growl occasionally, but still tolerate you, will be the ones that wean 11-12 kits every time.

Good luck!


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Good post, SaratogaNZW! I also strongly agree with your last paragraph, too.

Pat Lamar


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## Countrygent51 (Jul 30, 2011)

The nice thing about getting into the rabbit business is that there is a very well established network of breeders throughout the United States (and the world) working through organizations like the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA as mentioned above in this thread). There are state and local rabbit clubs throughout the country and breed specific organizations at the state and national level that can provide you with names of good breeders in your area. Furthermore, there are rabbit shows held many weekends beginning in the fall (summer shows are less common due to the hot weather, not the best environment for rabbits, but there are county fairs and state fairs too). Depending on your area you could easily attend a rabbit show and meet with breeders of the kind of rabbit you are seeking (New Zealand Whites, Californias, Florida Whites, and white Satins all come to mind as a good bet for a small commercial operation). These folks are great and happy to share knowledge. (I raised very competitive Red Satins for many years myself). Good luck in your venture!!


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## maters (May 25, 2011)

I've now gone through 2 litters. I know, I'm a well seasoned rabbit wrangler. I have to say, in my vast experience, the cons are that rabbits die in the brutal heat we've been having. 

Otherwise, they weren't very much trouble. The feed in my area is about $11/50#s. I supplement with garden produce that I have checked to see is safe (rabbit.org has a good list). The only place that you can buy rabbit in my area, the rabbits literally have a product of China sticker on the cellophane. And they are $8 each. And I didn't give mine a bag of food per rabbit. I got 11 rabbits on less than 3 bags of food. So, that's only $3/rabbit. Much cheaper and oh so delicious. That's why you do it right there. The meat tastes better than any chicken or rabbit you can buy in a store. And rabbit is so good for you. It's almost like eating a vegetable, but it's still meat!


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

In addition to garden produce, you can feed many weeds and tree leaves to rabbits. See the stickies on Natural Feeding and Safe Plants for ideas. Hay, particularly alfalfa hay, can also cut your feeding costs dramatically. The downside is that the fryers take longer to reach butchering weight. The upside is that your meat will cost you less per pound in many areas where there is inexpensive, good quality hay available.


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

maters said:


> I've now gone through 2 litters. I know, I'm a well seasoned rabbit wrangler. I have to say, in my vast experience, the cons are that rabbits die in the brutal heat we've been having.
> 
> Otherwise, they weren't very much trouble. The feed in my area is about $11/50#s. I supplement with garden produce that I have checked to see is safe (rabbit.org has a good list). The only place that you can buy rabbit in my area, the rabbits literally have a product of China sticker on the cellophane. And they are $8 each. And I didn't give mine a bag of food per rabbit. I got 11 rabbits on less than 3 bags of food. So, that's only $3/rabbit. Much cheaper and oh so delicious. That's why you do it right there. The meat tastes better than any chicken or rabbit you can buy in a store. And rabbit is so good for you. It's almost like eating a vegetable, but it's still meat!


You're right, I looked at my notes and I am averaging just under 15# per fryer. Now I have to dig around and find why I thought it was more. Probably averaging in cost of feed for the buck and doe, year-round, too.


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## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Thanks everyone! Hmmm, if it's only 15# of feed to get a kit to market weight, that isn't as bad. Got my book on raising worms with rabbits today, and the Storey's I ordered came today, but of course, my son already had a copy of it, grrrr. Also got the Storey's (?) cage building booklet from the 70s. I have finals this week, so I'll try to get to reading the books next week!


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## SaratogaNZW (Feb 10, 2009)

Feed prices have gone up about 25-30% to about $12/50# for me, however I feed A LOT more weeds and garden fodder than I used to. 
In 2008 I calculated it cost me $5.05 to raise a kit to 6 pounds. I didn't track how many bags I bought, just how much I spent on feed and hay.
That was all the money I spent feeding ALL the rabbits, divided by how many kits I sold as breeders/show or butchered. Gotta remember to calculate in how much it costs to feed daddy all year too!


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## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

50 pounds rabbit chow just went to $16.30 from $15.59.


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## brandkelz (Apr 15, 2011)

Here at our UPCO store, it is about $14/50lb...


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I am paying about $13/ 50# of PenPals Pro 18%...actually less than that because every 11th bag is free....so more like $11.80. The nice thing about the feed is that it is alfalfa based- no corn....so if I run out unexpectedly it is not big change to just feed the rabbits some alfalfa hay (which I use for the goats). I supplement in the warm months with garden scraps, weeds and mulberry leaves....the pellet feed consumption drops by about 1/4 in the warm months as a result.


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## Darkwater (Aug 15, 2010)

I'm a USDA licensed rabbit breeder and find that doing business with the USDA is not difficult at all. 

Getting the license is not as easy as it should be. In fact it can be downright trying. Depends on the local USDA AWA agent. That said, I don't personally sell to the meat market.

Opportunities for commercial meat breeding were rife with scams in previous decades. 

If your buyer is the local slaughter house, he/she probably wants to be able to butcher more rabbits than they are able to buy right now. When they convert for example from hogs to rabbits, they want to be able to have enough quantity to justify the conversion (sanitizing and cleaning necessary to go from one species to the next).

Good luck.


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