My plan is to take 12"x12"x2" concrete blocks, and 2/3 bury them for a perimeter, so I'll have 4" above and 8" below ground to stop things from digging in our out. 10'x10' area with rabbit wire fencing around it. The back will be a lifted platform of pallets I have, and 3 upside down totes for homes for the 2 does and the buck. Each corner will have 8 foot post (buried two feet) about 1 foot out diagonal from the corner. Will string a 12x12 tarp over the whole thing (with about 1 foot of overhang to try and help keep out more water as it rains a lot). It's on a hill with a moderate slope (maybe 18" over the 10 foot run) so the rain should naturally run down and away from the rabbits. Due to city ordinances I can't have more than 10 rabbits at a time so I'll cull the litters to make sure I stick to that. If the buck gets to be a problem I considered building a wall within the fence and sectioning him off to like a 3'x7' area, but hopefully they'll have enough room to get along.

I’d like to build or buy hutches that give each of my rabbits 25 square feet or so. Do you know of anywhere I could buy these for not crazy prices or find plans to build them myself?

As the title says, have an admittedly overweight doe with a peanut sized mass on her side. It moves with her skin and is relarively firm and roughly spherical. Does not appear to be fluid filled or have any associated wound. Fur is on it like the surrounding skin. Does not appear to be painful for her. Would post pictures but not much to see under the fur and is not noticeable unless you feel.

Is this a cause for a vet visit? Or is it a threat to the rest of the colony? She is cohoused with three other Does. ​​

I’ve got an area that did have a vehicle parked but now it’s just an empty spot. I have been wanting to do rabbits for a while. Is this big enough to raise rabbits in? I haven’t decided between hutches or colony yet but any advice is appreciated.

Hello, I’m sure you’ve all seen one of these posts before but my wife and I would like to start raising some rabbits to eat and are looking for some good resources for beginners.

Right now we are very much in the early planning and research stage so we’re looking most for advice on the best way to set up and build cages for our future rabbits. We want to give our animals the best care we can and harvest as humanely as possible.

Any recommendations or resources you fine people can point me towards would be very much appreciated and thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

I currently feed home fresh show hutch deluxe and it is alfalfa based. I’m reading more than it might be better to go with Timothy based pellets? They have fresh Timothy and Alfalfa (when nursing and grow out) hay too and I’m trying to limit them on the pellets.

Hey yall! I asked about breeding "my" Mini Rexs about three months ago, and the common response was that my stock did not look like ARBA standard Mini Rexs. Although I did not mention it in the original post, they are the rabbits of my highschool's agriculture program-not mine personally. Based on yall's answers, I decided that it would be a good idea to purchase new stock-my new advisor agreeing. Meaning, I need a new breeder. Does anyone know of any Mini Rex breeders in/near Florida? (preferably Central Florida) I know this is a sub for meat rabbitrys but I figured I could ask-please let me know if it is not allowed!

I have 2 does and a buck, all are roughly 6 months old and this is their first time being bred. I made a small oopsie when buying as the does are full sisters but thankfully, the buck isn’t related to them.

Doe 1 is receptive to the buck and loves to hang out with him but every time he goes to mate her there is no successful fall off.

Doe 2 keeps trying to mount the buck and is over all more aggressive with him. I’ve had to stop her from biting him I have double checked and she is very much a female.

I started trying to breed them earlier this week giving the buck more time with doe 1 since she seems eager and calmer.. it just seems like a better idea for him. I am open for any advice

Hello everyone,

I'm curious, now having gone through a couple of litters of buns from kindle to butcher, if there's anyone else that feels like the butchering is the most labor intensive part, and if that informs anyone else's strategy?

I'm considering growing out to 16 or even 20 weeks, as I haven't noticed any sexual behavior before 16 weeks with my buns, just so that I can butcher less but get more meat. I've been butchering at around 10 weeks.

Yes this is less efficient in terms of feed, but I feel like the real annoyance is the butchering. Maybe I'm just bad at it? Also, we're not in a place financially where we need to be too picky on feed costs, plus we supplement with a lot of greens from our property.

Am I the only one? Is there anyone else who came to the same conclusion and optimized for a later butcher?

I'm trying to figure out whether they are males or females. I have someone who wants to buy a male. They are 7 weeks old; I think number 4 is a male, and I'm guessing numbers 1 and 6 are too, while numbers 2, 3, and 5 look like females.

We have a “high end” local restaurant that tries to do local business whenever possible. I have talked with them and they seem interesting in adding Rabbit to the menu.
We have not talked any numbers yet but just got a feel for if it’s worth my time researching and investing.

I work full time from home so I am wondering how much additional time this would add to my work week?

I am also looking into a small scale version of this technology:
https://youtube.com/shorts/wYrIfoUU55M?is=K9iodSw2hzizRFI
Has anyone run the numbers?
Is this a viable option for rabbit feed?
The restaurant wants “all natural” feed.

I have limited experience but am willing to learn.

What are all of your thoughts?

How do you decide which daughters to keep from your breeding does? I’m curious to know the behaviors or body signs or personalities to keep an eye out for

My brother cooked some of the rabbits we raised tonight. Best rabbit I've tasted yet!

I wanna do rabbits but I live in an open field with no shade. Regardless of which direction I place the hutch/ colony setup they’ll either get baked in the morning or afternoon. Do I have any options?

Did I just mess up? I’ve searched the forums and everyone said it’s best to put the bottom of the j feeder at 4” which makes the lip at 5”, seems high but will that be okay for kits and mama? I can go lower by one or two inches but it changes the integrity of the wire it’s hanging on… thoughts? I have tamuk

I’ve been raising rabbits with the intention of harvesting meat for my dogs. Up until yesterday, the only rabbit I’ve ever dispatched was an emergency mercy dispatch using the broomstick method.

Yesterday was my first planned harvest, and it went horribly. I tried the choke chain method, but I don't think I had the upper-body strength to pull it off cleanly. Instead of a quick cervical dislocation, I think I just choked him or injured his windpipe. I checked his eyes, and he was looking at me and licking his lips. I immediately grabbed my backup broomstick to finish it so he wouldn't suffer, but I was crying, saying sorry over and over, and in an absolute panic. It was hard enough to work up the courage to take his life, and for that to be the result has left me completely traumatized.

I feel sick with guilt that my attempt at a quick, humane death caused unnecessary distress. Eventually, I plan to have someone else handle the dispatching portion, but right now I am completely on my own with zero budget or time to buy new equipment.

I have four male grow-outs that urgently need to be dispatched, and I am completely frozen. I need advice from people who use zero-cost manual methods:

Choke Chain Specifications: Does the thickness or type of the choke chain matter for this method? Is a thinner or thicker chain better for securing an instant dislocation with low upper-body strength?

Choke Chain / Cervical Dislocation Technique: For those without strong upper-body strength, how do you ensure enough leverage to guarantee an instant neck break rather than just strangling or injuring the windpipe?

Keeping Off the Dirt: Is there a way to modify the broomstick or manual cervical dislocation method so the rabbit’s face isn't pressed into the dirt, while still getting enough leverage?

Mental Reset: How do you push past the gut-wrenching guilt and panic of a botched dispatch when you have no choice but to finish the job alone?

I just want to do right by these animals and give them a quick, painless end without traumatizing myself further. Any tips on physical leverage, chain selection, or mental coping would mean a lot.

​

I had her mated once 18 days ago, and now she’s doing this; can I assume it’s a false pregnancy? How long should I wait before having her mated again?

I bought a secondhand Rabbit Zinger (captive bolt designed specifically for rabbits) about 13 years ago. I now need replacement rubber bands for it. I've looked online and not only can I not find the replacement parts, I can't even find the Zinger! I see a few really old discussions on forums, etc. but that's it.

In my opinion the Rabbit Zinger has got to be the quickest, easiest, and most humane killing method there is. Why does it seem to have disappeared?

I'm planning to make my own bands out of heavy-duty rubber resistance tubing and a thin, strong twine, as that appears to be how the original bands were crafted.

Edit: I may first try a few of those hefty vegetable rubber bands to replace the resistance tubing, testing it on a piece of wood before using it on a rabbit.

Anyone else here use the Zinger?

So that doe I had issues with that mysteriously ended up pregnant two weeks later than we thought or marked....

She gave birth this morning.

Only two. One is small, one is bigger.

She seems to still be quite LARGE and fat.

She isn't getting comfortable and is releasing the smallest amount of red/watery discharge. Is not baring down or seeming to be doing anything on camera besides going in circles, laying down with her legs splayed and eating.

I feel like she could have something stuck maybe. I felt 4/5 grapes when I palpated at the vet/with the vets guidance. I am worried she's suffering and hiding it.

What can I do?? I've given raps every leaves and had her smell lavender springs in my hand she nibbled the flower but I stopped her for now. I have also provided fennel and chamomile flowers to try and give her some sort of relief.

It's okay if I end up needing to cull as I don't want her suffering but she isn't doing anything ur of the normal besides some laying down when I come in, she charges my feet and stomps at me. I have ONLY Come in with leaves and limited interaction to check her well-being.

Figured my first Reddit post should be an introduction. I am an ARBA registered rabbitry that breeds rex. I originally bred tamuk for meat, and then the show bug bit me of course. In my opinion the two goals really shouldn't be as separate as people make them sometimes. I mean after all responsible breeders cull for the freezer anyway, regardless of breed, right?

Rex are a commercial type. Well bred show rabbits should still have structure, loin, hq, growth and overall fullness from their type. I'm working towards rabbits that can hold their own on a show table while still doing the job the breed was originally meant to do, and what my brand was built on.

I am also still learning very much and very publicly. I share the good litters, bad breedings, uncensored processing and culls, my improper posing attempted, low shoulders, genetics, embarrassments in the show room, and my daily battles with vegans. And the occasionally moments where I have absolutely no idea what i am doing. Basically you are getting the real learning process in real time, unpolished or finished lol.

Most of my chaos lives on Facebook, but I also do YouTube, TT, and I have a podcast now.

Now I take on Reddit...

I have a section of my rabbits’ run that is about knee height that I want to provide access to, and I’m going back and forth between a ramp and stairs.

My childhood pet rabbit bypassed his ramp and just jumped up on his little shelf, so I’m wondering if that was a Dust-Bunny quirk or a general rabbit preference.

I’m leaning toward stairs and was hoping someone might have a recommendation for step height and step dimension that would be easy to jump up and big enough to land on comfortably (without trial and erroring to figure it out myself).

Hello! I’m new to selling rabbits and I’m wondering how much people are typically getting per pound hanging weight. For reference, I have American chinchillas in Northeastern US. They are fed Poulin grain which is not certified organic but is high quality and sometimes superior imho. Rabbits would be sold bone-in. Thanks in advance!

Found it this morning. The mother has three other kits, this is the smallest. Ample water and food, cage is cleaned regularly and there is no contact with droppings or urine. We feed them with a homemade blend of grains as well as straw. Any idea what caused it? Very new to this, it is the mothers first litter but it seems really strange that it dropped dead without any signs beforehand

Edit: I did mean hay, we use straw for bedding during the nesting box phase and i got confused. Also thank you everyone, we're going to switch to store bought pellets. As I said, very new to this so I'm glad I reached out before things got too bad

Is there an easy way to do this? Have had rabbits for decades, never had to remove clips.

Thanks