What I need to get started???

[TylerWaugh]

I want to get 1 buck and 2 does as a hobby and for meat purposes.

What do I need i know the basics like tractor/hutch, water bottles, nest boxes etc but what else will i need? I want to take up as little amount of room as possible while still giving the rabbits more than enough rooms.

Also is it fine to keep the females together until one is pregnant?

I'm probably going to have alot of questions.

 

[SA Farm]

If you're going to have 3 breeders, ideally you'll want 4 cages (or whatever you decide to use) with the extra one for grow-outs. If you have room, another for separating boys and girls can come in handy - also handy for quarantine or medical emergencies.

If you get sisters or a mother/daughter pair, it's often just fine to leave them together - usually until about 6 months of age when puberty hits as that's typically when territorial issues start to crop up. Some are just fine longer, some will fight earlier, so it's best to be prepared to separate them at any point.

I've even had unrelated young does together for decent lengths of time without fighting, but it depends on the temperaments of the rabbits. Even if I just see one doe mounting the other, I'll separate as fighting can be the next step.

Questions are good, ask away!

 

[JakeM]

Okay, first off a trio is perfect for starting off.

Next, which breed are you looking at. For any meat breed, you'll need a cage at least 18 inches in width, 12 inches in height, and 24 inches in length. You may want larger if you know you'll have large litters (8+ kits).

Water bottles are just fine, but you'll probably need to switch to dishes if they freeze up. As for feed, I know some people free feed all their rabbits, but that doesn't work for me personally, as they get overly fat and then they can't get pregnant. They'll need at least a half cup though. Weaklings can get full feed though.

Nest boxes, you want snug, but not tight. I believe one that is 8 inches wide, 10 inches deep and 10 inches tall would work unless your rabbit get over 10-11 pounds.

I have all of mine in wire cages in a barn, but I also only have show/per rabbits so this may not be ideal for you. You may have more of a hutch, solid floor inside, wire outside. Also, if it always storms or you have cold winters, inside a building would be best.

Do NOT keep the does together. They are territorial and it's not a good idea unless they grew up together their whole lives or are spayed.

What breed do you have by the way?

 

[TylerWaugh]

I don't have any rabbits yet, I think I'm just gonna get 3 different breeds. Right now I'm thinking a chinchilla, new Zealand and a Californian. Unless you guys have other ideas for me?

 

[TylerWaugh]

I have changed my mind, I think I'm gonna get a buck Californian and 2 doe new Zealands.

Is there any difference in the new Zealand whites and reds or just colour?

 

[SA Farm]

Good combination to get grow-out vigor White's tend to be a bit bigger, but that's the only difference as far as I know or can tell with mine. I'm not sure you'd get reds from a Californian buck though since red is recessive. The buck would have to be carrying it to produce more reds.

 

[TylerWaugh]

What's grow-out vigor?

Also I don't really care about the colour of the babies because they would be food.

I just like the reds so i would like to have 1 Red and one white doe or two red does.

Do rabbits stop breeding at a certain age?

 

[SA Farm]

Typically with the NZ/Cali, in the first generation cross, the kits grow faster than the pures of either breed
Quitting age varies - some people say they're done by 3 years. We retire ours as soon as their litters start getting really small and they start losing multiple kits per litter. We take it really easy on our does comparatively, so they tend to produce longer than the average.
I think bucks go from 5-7 years before they start becoming less productive. My oldest buck is 4 and still going strong

 

[JakeM]

I only breed my does once a year (twice if the first litter didn't make it) and that allows them to have a comparatively longer reproductive life. The oldest I have bred a doe is 5 or 6 and she had 6 babies, all survived. (Btw, I raise Havanas, a medium sized breed and 6 is the largest I've gotten from them). I haven't bred any doe older than that as her offspring have more than replaced her by then and she's just there as a pet for me. For bucks, I sadly haven't had one live past 5 so far so I can't help you there.

I think it really depends on how often you breed them and what lines you get them from. The longer the break the longer the doe will have to recover (and recondition) which could lead to bigger/better/more babies. I wouldn't use a doe past 6 years as I (personally) would expect something to go wrong (most likely dystocia).

 

[TylerWaugh]

Okay, thanks for all the info guys.

I've heard that rabbits are fine in the winter without heating but in the summer problems could occur because they don't like heat. What do you guys do to keep them cool?