Our Rabbits are bred for meat production.

 

We choose our breeding stock on a variety of traits.

• First, we want rabbits that are calmer and gentler, rather than flighty or nervous. Any rabbit that appears aggressive is immediately culled.

• We like stock that has a larger frame to hold a bigger carcass weight, and who produces kits that grow quickly, as they reduce how much food we need to provide overall, which saves on cost.

• We prefer rabbits that have a decently larger litter size: ideally between 7-9 kits on average. Litters that are too small don't provide enough meat production. It also results in food wastage on an unproductive doe. Litters that are too large often result in an inability for mom to feed their kits sufficiently, which results in loss.

• We prefer breeding animals with nice, large ears, as that will help the rabbit to cool off better in the hot summer months. This is one of the reasons we choose to work with TAMUKS, as they were specifically bred for this very reason.

• Color. While color has absolutely nothing to do with meat production, I find I enjoy working with a wide variety of colors. And while some of the rabbits I choose to hold back and try breeding, don't pan out in the long run and eventually have to be sold as pets or culled, color has nothing to do with this.

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We have worked with a variety of rabbit breeds. Typically, there is something to like about all of the meat breeds we've worked with. Our overall goal, however, is to choose breeds that produce large, strong, and healthy kits that grow out to carcass weight quickly. Choosing hardy breeds means less work and heartache on the farmer, and more meat production overall.

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We typically like to cull no later than 12 weeks of age. Some of the mixed breeds, especially the TAMUK, and kits with some Flemish Giant in them, grow large quickly, which means they can be culled sooner. This is good for cost, as it means having to provide less food for the kits overall, for them to reach a good size for culling. Full New Zealand kits, which seem to be more sought after by those seeking to grow their own rabbit meat, actually take longer to reach an ideal carcass weight, closer to 12-14 weeks. We've also suffered the highest rate of losses from full New Zealand kits. They don't handle the weather as well, it seems, as our mixed breed and TAMUK rabbits.