Meat rabbits, how to get started? Many ??

[Kindermama]

FWIW, ww inherited a bunny that had been bred for meat....(long story!). It's is now free-ranging in our suburban yard. We literally live in a subdivision! The bunny hasn't left. It built a burrow in our garden but it comes out everyday to play with our other bunny (who was previously cage but we released her too so she can be free to roam). It's really quite cute and they are the hit of the neighborhood. We have foxes in our subdivision though. They literally walk on the sidewalks sometimes. Thank goodness the bunnies have many places to duck under and hide!

Anyway, if we had a farm, I would imagine the bunnies would stick around the land too. Maybe there is more to it than that when it comes to inbreeding and over-population though!

[sahmofthree]

An acreage not too far from our house has free-range bunnies as well. I'm not sure what type but they are fairly large so I'm guessing they're meat bunnies. My hubby heard from someone that knows them that they don't even really use them for meat mostly, they just like to watch them hop around lol. In the winter they probably have around 10-20, but when spring hits I guess they can get up into the hundreds until some get killed off/ran over/run away/etc. They all generally just stick around the acreage for the most part though.

[Sachasmom]

Originally Posted by vjbakke What are some good resources for getting started? How do you find breeding rabbits? I don't know of any local place here. Is it easy to pasture raise them in the summer? Can they live outside in the winter? ( MN winter that is) Thanks!

www.arba.net has a lot of info on the different rabbit breeds, they also publish a few books, Storeys guide to raising rabbits is another good one (You can find that at most Tractor Supply stores)

You can find breeding rabbits lots of places, on CL, at auctions, from breeders at rabbit shows. You first need to research what you want them for, auctions are pretty much buyer beware, you might get a good deal, or you might get something that will make the rest of your rabbits sick.

I'd suggest taking a visit to a rabbit show or one of your local fairs to see the different kinds, some are better suited than others. If you buy purebred rabbits you can sell them for more (I usually charge 60-75 per rabbit, depending on quality/breed/sex and age)

I wouldn't pasture raise them (errr, not on purpose, I have some escapees that need caught here!) There are a lot of challenges to colony raising!

They do fine in the winter so long as they have adequate shelter and access to liquid water a couple times per day. They do need a certain amount of light to be willing to breed in the winter, and sometimes the kits freeze if its too cold (They're born without fur and cannot regulate their body temps)

[Sachasmom]

Oh, and check your local ordinances before you "free range" anything, you can google lots of towns that have had tons of damage due to feral rabbit populations!