Rabbit for meat

[Fred Hoggin]

Can anyone recommend a good book?

Thanks.

Fred

[chilitony]

watership down

[old tree man]

Try any of Hugh fearnly whittingstall's books he is a big lover of rabbit and has some great recipies, i also eat alot of rabbit, one of my favourite recipies i make is rabbit in ale pie, here's one of my favourite recipies

2 rabbits jointed and cleaned
1/2 oz butter
2 medium potatoes cubed
2 medium leeks sliced
2medium carrots sliced
or any veg at hand..............
1 tbs chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste
bottle of real ale ( not lager)
pastry for crust

method
1. joint rabbits roll in flour and fry lightly until brown
2. layer rabbit and vegetables in a pie dish sprinkle each layer with parsley and seasoning
3. cover the contents with ale
4. use pastry to cover the dish and its contents
5. make a hole in the centre of pie to allow steam to escape
6. glaze with beaten egg
7. bake at 220 oc (425 f) gas mark 7 for 15-20 mins until the pastry is set then reduce the heat to 170 oc
(325 f) gas mark 3 for 1 1/4 hrs
if pastry browns to much cover with foil until cooked

this is a rich tasting pie but i love it hope you do to
all the best
russ

[Fred Hoggin]

Thanks Russ, sounds good, looked in Hugh's book but want more info.

Breading, housing, feeding, health, Etc.

Fred

[old tree man]

Your welcome fred, sounds a good idea i'm going to have a look into it myself, if i come across anything i'll pm you cheers
russ

[Squirrel46]

watership down

All them bunnies and no gun!

[vancheese]

I'm interested to and I found these great websites as pointers

http://rabbitwrangler.wordpress.com/home/rabbit-facts/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 511AAOF9K6
http://www.rudolphsrabbitranch.com/rrr.htm
http://www.essortment.com/all/rabbitsbunnies_rliu.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Rai ... 177&sr=8-1
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load ... 31651.html

[Fred Hoggin]

Great stuff thanks for the info.

Will be giving it a go in the spring.

Cheers.

Fred

[ClareMarie]

the most popular breeder for meat rabbit is the Newzeland white as they are a large rabbit (10-13lb) and breed well and are hardy you could use others but IMHO this is the best meat rabbit. as at 8 weeks they weigh 4-6lb so can be eaten at weaning if you only wanted a small rabbit.

Housing

when i had meat rabbits, they were kept in 6ft x 4ft rabbit hutches, I do have friends that keep them in pens similar to chicken pens, if keeping them in pens remember they dig so need to be on a concrete base. they should have a bed area fulll with straw what is private, warm and free from drafts, especially importing for when breeding.

Feeding

I feed my rabbits like a wild rabbit, they get adlib hay all day, fresh veg and weeds from my garden (where I know they havent been sprayed) and then they get one small scoop of pellet food in the morning and at night, they really dont need it but I give it to them anyway and dont feed mine in a bowl but scatter it so the rabbits have to forage for the food, so its enrichment for the rabbit


Breeding

taken from a website i saved as they put it better than i could

Medium breeds should be about 5-6 months before they’re bred, and large breeds should not be bred until at least 8 months of age. The rabbits you choose should be in excellent health. Make sure that the rabbits you are breeding are not closely related. When you put the buck and doe together, take the doe to the buck's cage or the doe will attack him to defend her territory, and the buck may be more interested in her cage than in her.

When the doe is in the buck's cage, the buck should try to breed her right away. If she is ready, she will allow him to mount, and raise her hindquarters for him. The buck will squeal and fall off sideways if a mating occurs. If the doe runs around the cage and won't stand for the buck, then you should remove her and try in a few days. After the first few times, he should be able to do it on his own. A doe is an induced ovulator. This means that she will produce eggs only after sexual stimulation. After the mating has taken place, the follicles in the ovary grow quickly. They break and release the eggs about ten hours later. During this time, the sperm are moving through the doe's reproductive system. Sometimes, the sperm doesn't live long enough for the eggs to be fertilized, so most breeders put them together again 8-12 hours later to ensure that the doe will have bunnies.

The gestation period of a rabbit is 31 days. The young should be born within a few days of this date. Sometimes a doe will go through 'pseudopregnancy'. This happens when a young doe is sexually stimulated or has an infertile mating. She may appear to be bred, even to the point of producing milk and pulling fur to line her nest. Following stimulation, the doe releases egg cells, which cause the uterus to swell, which, in turn, activates the mammary glands. Ovulation cannot take place until seventeen days after the initial stimulation which caused the pseudopregnancy. After the seventeen days are up, put the doe (if she's to be bred) in with the buck, as this will be the point at which her fertility is highest. To prevent pseudopregnancy, separate young does that are to be bred three weeks before mating. Once a doe has had her first litter, she is less likely to undergo another pseudopregnancy.

The first thing you must do after mating has taken place is to write down when the doe was bred and when she is due. You can write it down on a calendar, or on hutch cards which are placed on the doe's cage and the bucks cage. Also, it is a good idea to have a rabbit record book to keep track of the pedigrees and who's who and what's what. Your records should include:

*rabbit's name or number

*name or number of rabbit to which this rabbit was bred

*date bred

*date kindled

*number of bunnies born

*number of bunnies weaned

*weight of bunnies at weaning time (optional)

*other pertinent information

As time for your doe to kindle (give birth) gets closer, you will need a nest box for her to give birth in. There are several choices you can make. The most common one is to make a nest box from 3/8" plywood. One thing is that you have to disinfect it between litters with a solution of 1 part household bleach to 5 parts water. Let it dry in the sunlight.

Other choices are wire nest boxes, which are made from 1/2x1" wire, and you use cardboard liners that you can throw away; and metal nest boxes which you can buy in stores and put cardboard liners in them. Next you need nesting materials. I use hay and straw, but you can also use wood shavings, shredded newspaper, or cardboard. Put the nest box in three days prior to the kindling date of your doe.

As the due date of your doe approaches, you may notice that she is more nervous than usual. Keep other animals away, as well as anything that may cause noise or undue stress. When you put the nest box in, some does will jump in and build their nest right away, whereas others will wait to the last minute before building their nest. Your doe may go around the pen, looking for straw or bedding and gather it up in her mouth. When she is finished arranging the bedding, she will pull fur from her belly and dewlap. This serves two purposes. The first is to provide a warm bed for her youngsters, the second is to expose her nipples so the bunnies can nurse better. The doe may eat less a day or two before she gives birth. After she has kindled, gently pull aside the fur and take a quick count. If there are dead or deformed bunnies, remove them, and cover the bunnies back up.

Sometimes things don't go as they should, and your doe may die. You may have to foster your bunnies if you have another doe which has kindled on the same day. To do this, rub the doe's nose in vanilla extract and put the bunnies in the nest. Usually, the doe will not notice anything amiss, but if she does, she may try to kill the bunnies or just refuse to feed them. If this happens, remove the bunnies immediately, and feed them by hand. Here is a recipe for the ‘milk’ that you should use.

1 pint skim milk

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp Karo syrup

one tbsp bone meal

Feed this to the bunnies with an eyedropper until they are full (usually they eat 5-7 ccs). Your bunnies should be healthy, and it is up to YOU to keep them that way. As soon as the doe is done kindling, make sure that there is fur pulled, and if not, you must pull some from the doe's belly. This will not hurt her. Make sure there are no babies on the wire, and if there are, slip them into your shirt up against your skin to warm them. Then return them to the nest. Be certain to watch for bunnies out of the nest box every day, because sometimes a doe will jump out of the box with a bunny still attached.

The young usually open their eyes about ten days after birth. Sometimes bunnies are unable to open their eyes, and have a hard crusty material holding them closed. You can use eyedrops made for people, such as Murine, with a cotton swab to clean the crusty stuff away. Then, gently separate the lids. Usually subsequent treatments are unnecessary. At about three weeks of age, the bunnies will start to come out of the nest box, and eat solid food. Take out the nest box. The young can be weaned anywhere between four-eight weeks, but the longer they stay with the mother, the better. I wean mine at eight weeks.

I usually rebreed my does when the bunnies are 6-7 weeks of age, so the doe can have two-three weeks after her litter is weaned to regroup and get ready for her new litter.


Health as long as your rabbit is fed a correct diet, kept away from drafts, is kept clean and has fresh water, you souldnt have to many health problems, it is wise to check there teeth regular, i check mine once a month to make sure there not over growing or growing deformed, if they are over grown a vet will clip them cheaply for you,

also regular cut there nails to make sure they dont overgrow


Hope this is some help
Clare

[Fred Hoggin]

Wow thank you very much Clare, who needs a book

[theabsinthefairy]

We keep meat rabbits and have done for 3 years here in France now.

I keep standard browns (don't know what they are called sorry), and have a papillon male as the stud.

I keep them in concrete housing which you may have seen as they are very popular here, a block of 6 cages, each 50 x 50 with a wire door.

I feed mine on hay, stale bread, kitchen peelings and garden surplus, with a french coffee cup sized scoop of luzerne pellets in the mornings.

I introduce the male in very early spring for babies late spring, for summer and autumn fattening and slaughter through the winter, then try to swap one of my females with a neighbour to give me an unrelated mummy for the spring mating again. Our male is my daughter's pet rabbit and the only one who is tame.

We have our hutches making a U shape in a corner against a wall and a barn wall - so they have summer shade and winter shelter from winds.

We have never (touch wood) had any problems with flystrike in our rabbits, mostly because they are kept on a very thin layer of straw in the summer - too much straw and the rabbits can overheat, and this is changed regularly to prevent maggots developing in poo and urine soaked straw and makes lovely compost and mulch in the garden.

Each rabbit is kept individually except when the male is in with a female - and mummies and their babies together.

We slaughter usually in November, from spring babies, and I tan the hides to make furs for glove and slipper linings.

[ClareMarie]

Wow thank you very much Clare, who needs a book

A frenchman told me they get problems with flies, i argued that would be down to keeping them clean, but he said no you will get a maggot and flie problem

What's your opinion ?

Thanks in advance.

Fred

I keep my rabbits clean and have never had a problem, I also keep mine of megazorb whats recycled egg cartoons and is very absorbent blows shavings out the water so keeps the urine soaked up and not wet,

[Fred Hoggin]

Thank's very much to both of you

[Big Al]

defra does all the legal stuff.....


http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farman ... abcode.htm

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