Any mamas raising domestic meat rabbits? - Page 4

[WonderWild]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

garrettsmommy, How old are your does, and what kind of rabbit are they? Maybe I can help...

One of them is a flemish giant. I'm not sure how old exactly she is but I think a few years old. I'm not sure if she's been bred before or not. I'd have to ask my dh what the previous owner said about that.

I'm not involved in their care but do ask about how things are going with them. I know that he put the doe in with the male and left her there for about an hour. Then the book said something about waiting a certain amount of hours for her eggs to respond (drop) or something like that. After a certain amount of hours he was to put her with the male again. He did that with both the does and neither one of them took. I know the male flemish giant has been used for breeding before and not had problems.

[Chicky2]

Well, when he put her in w/the buck, was she responsive? (did she lift her hind end to receive the buck?)

How old is the buck? Did your hubby check to make sure he, um, shot in the right place? My bucks are always so eager for the does they will try to do it on her head if I don't reach in and turn them around real quick.

Also, I personally wouldn't leave that doe in the bucks hutch for an hour. They are rabbits. It literally takes only a few seconds. The doe can get mad and turn around and kill the buck. At the very least, if you leave her in there for an hour, stay there and supervise.

When she gets close to what you think is her due date (like a week before), just watch her quietly. When she's lying down, watch her sides, right above (like towards her head above) her hind leg. Just watch for little kicks. Be sure to put a nesting box in for her on **day 27**, and some extra hay. She should start to carry it around and just be busy w/the hay in general if she's preggo.

Good luck!

We have a doe we've tried to breed 3 times. We give new does 3 chances to conceive before we butcher them. We have one now that will go in the freezer this weekend. She just isn't responsive to the bucks, and I'm not into forced breeding, although it can be done.

[WonderWild]

We have babies!! We bred 3 does and only one of them took. She gave birth Monday night. We are not sure how many there are b/c they are still in hiding under the straw & fur. There was one that was dead and pushed to the side by her. I can't wait to find out how many there are.

[Chicky2]

Congrats!

It is VERY important to get in there right away to see if there are any more dead. If there is, and it's left in there, it can make the other babies cold. Also, attracts bugs and ants. Check every single day! Just take each one gently and put it at the front of the nesting box and count them. Check for any uneaten birth matter (if it was a big litter there may be some left) and discard it. Then put all the alive ones back under the fur to keep warm.

We give our does 3 chances to conceive. If they don't conceive after that, they go in the freezer.

[Chicky2]

We have 8 does who have been bred. By my calculations, if all the does conceived and give birth to at least 6 babies (and all live), that's 48 rabbits for the freezer (unless I get a call and sell some). Then we'll breed again before the major heat sets in, and that's another 48 or so for the freezer....We'll be 'hoppin' with all the butchering to be done! :

This is a conservative estimate since most of my does have 8-10 per litter.

[Past_VNE]

I just found two New Zealands for sale, a buck and doe, one year old, proven. My two Californian girls are now of breeding age, so I'm going to buy those two and start my "program". Gotta get the new cages made up and I'm looking forward to feeding my freezer, for sure. When we ate the two boys (siblings of my does) they were such a treat. I'm really looking forward to growing out more.

[OkieMama84]

I live in Texas and I am getting my first start of meat rabbits today. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

. Thank you

[Chicky2]

Hi Okiemama!  What kind of rabbits are you getting and where abouts in Texas are you?  If you don't wanna post that, you can pm me, if maybe we're closeby!  I'm NW of the DFW metroplex.  What kind of tips are you looking for?

[OkieMama84]

I live in Texas and I am getting my first start or meat rabbits today. I am exciting. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Chicky2]

What kind of tips?