Hi all! I am new to the site and new to raising rabbits! So far, so good though. I have 1 Californian buck, 1 new zealand white doe, 1 NWZ/CAL doe and 1 flemish/nzw/cal mix doe. I have bread all 3 of the does and all had decent first litters. The flemish mix was my first, she had a rough start (my fault) with her litter... several of the babies got out of the nest box and got out of the cage, so they didn't live long. Lesson learned! Her young have grown well and I have since slaughtered.
Now I have my NZW/Cal doe litter that is coming of age. They are 9 weeks old today, and from my reading, this should be the earliest to slaughter, based on tenderness of the meat. They are only about 3.5 pounds live though, which I think is too low. Any suggestions on live weight for slaughter? I am feeding a mix of hay and pellets, they always have plenty of food available to eat, they are in a large grow cage (4'x4') and have plenty of water. I live in north FL and the temps here are getting pretty hot during the day. They are very shaded and I keep a fan going to help circulate air.
Any suggestions for quicker growth are greatly appreciated! (I am going through about 100 pounds of pellets a month for all babies and parents I do have 4 other babies and just recently slaughtered 4, so I am hoping food consumption goes down quite a bit)
Now I have my NZW/Cal doe litter that is coming of age. They are 9 weeks old today, and from my reading, this should be the earliest to slaughter, based on tenderness of the meat. They are only about 3.5 pounds live though, which I think is too low. Any suggestions on live weight for slaughter? I am feeding a mix of hay and pellets, they always have plenty of food available to eat, they are in a large grow cage (4'x4') and have plenty of water. I live in north FL and the temps here are getting pretty hot during the day. They are very shaded and I keep a fan going to help circulate air.
Any suggestions for quicker growth are greatly appreciated! (I am going through about 100 pounds of pellets a month for all babies and parents I do have 4 other babies and just recently slaughtered 4, so I am hoping food consumption goes down quite a bit)
