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Post by bluemoose on Oct 13, 2010 21:35:25 GMT -5
So I'm thinking to scrape my hamster breeding plan (those things are tiny) and instead give rabbits a try. I'm trying to incorporate more rabbit into their diet but they're pretty expensive on RodentPro. My father said no but that's never stopped me I realized I have the perfect place to keep rabbits but I'm not sure where to get any. I used to have a couple but that was quite a few years ago and I can't remember for the life of me where they came from. I looked in the pet stores but none of them seem to carry rabbits. Anyone have any suggestions? I've been doing a bit of reading on rabbit breeding and I gather you have to keep the females separate from the male other than during the actual breeding? I have a large enclosure I'm planning to use and was wondering if it would work to build a barrier in one section for the male and let the females have free roam of the remaining area? Or do they need to be separated further?
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Post by bluecoyote on Oct 13, 2010 21:52:04 GMT -5
males can be DETERMINED. if that barrier isnt super secure, like welded in, forget it. i dont know if its true or possible but i've heard of rabbits breeding through the gaps under doors.... thats pretty imaginative lol
i have similar plans for rabbit breeding. i have a BIG hutch i plan to use for doe and kits and a smaller hutch for the buck. and i figure as they get older i'll either sell or cull males out of the litter. i plan to breed them for our dinner as well as the animals though.
as for sources, check your local craigslist farm and garden. i see bunnies all the time. i'm just biding my time. but if worst comes to worst, post in the farm/garden that you would like to purchase a breeder pair of meat rabbits. you can pay anywhere from $5 to $25 depending on the source and how much the person thinks of himself lol
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Post by bluemoose on Oct 13, 2010 22:47:05 GMT -5
Now that I think about it, I do have an extra hutch I could keep the male in. I'll definitely check out CL.
I was also thinking about breeding some for my own consumption. I've never tried rabbit meat but I'm curious to give it a shot. My bf knows how to kill and clean them so he said he'd help me. The biggest thing that had been holding me back on breeding them was my uncertainty about how to humanely euthanize but he's promised to do it for me XD
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Post by bluemoose on Oct 13, 2010 23:03:31 GMT -5
Wow there are a ton in the Farm and Garden section! Now I'm glad there weren't any in the petstore. Thanks much
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Post by bluecoyote on Oct 13, 2010 23:49:49 GMT -5
glad i could help! about the killing, everyone has their own method.... you can actually find a few on youtube! i dont relish the whole ordeal myself but you do what you gotta do. just make it as quick as possible. i want to raise as much of my own meat as i can because i've considered over the years the condition of factory farmed animals and no longer want to contribute to their plight. a LOT of folks may not like hunters(sorry i am one) but a day in the life of a wild animal is far more valuable than life in an overcrowded feedlot... especially when you consider a lot of factory raised meat is wasted; half eaten then scraped into a plastic bag where it can rot in a landfill :/ basically it died for nothing. and knowing that truly bothers me... we waste nothing around here! well.... almost nothing. i havent determined to learn sausage making yet lol, thats my dads area but i guess its not wasted if you consider the dogs will eat it! the only thing i wonder about in raising bunnies for the ferret is do i let her kill it(not an adult of course) or should i kill it for her? for dogs i did it myself because i didnt want them thinking it was ok to go after the livestock. i lost a good milkgoat to a dog like that last spring(along with a turkey and my favourite rooster) ended up giving the dog away to a friend who didnt have goats!
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Post by bluemoose on Oct 14, 2010 0:10:26 GMT -5
BF said he kills with cervical dislocation which is the same way I used to kill my mice except I used a ball point pen. It was always quick and clean.
Kiwi is my little hunter so I might let her have a young one live. Mango kills slower so I'm not planning to trust her with anything larger than a mouse.
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Post by bluecoyote on Oct 14, 2010 0:35:38 GMT -5
thats how i've done the bunnies. using a broom handle however lol i've seen people do it with their bare hands but 1. i lack arm the strength, and a full grown rabbit can be pretty strong and seriously cut you up if you lose your grip! 2. while i've HAD to do that before as it was the only humane method at the moment... i dont much like it. in fact it still gives me the willies lol wish MY husband would volunteer to do THAT part! but i guess its my lot in life lol even as a kid i had to put the worms on my sisters fish hooks AND take the fish off...
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Post by bluemoose on Oct 14, 2010 1:01:17 GMT -5
Yeah I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it XD It took me a while before I could even get comfortable with the mice
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Post by rarnold18 on Oct 14, 2010 5:11:53 GMT -5
I know I can't....I would probably stand there bawling my eyes out about having to cull the bunny...it just doesn't work for me! MIL hangs them by the hind feet between the two parts of a large "A" frame ladder and just twists their heads, i guess that pops their necks? Then while they're hanging she cuts the skin around the ankles and peels them like a banana, cuts off the head and then opens the abdomen removing the intestines downward... I can't watch her do it, I'm too squeemish and like I said before I'd probably start bawling! She breeds New Zealands, Flemish, and California's...she has a few odd balls here and there, couple lops (Brownie is a really good mommy and will raise any baby given to her) and a tribble or two....
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Post by bluemoose on Oct 14, 2010 8:26:34 GMT -5
Yup cervical dislocation Twist the head and it severs the spinal cord. Pretty much instant death. New Zealands are what I'm planning to get.
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Post by bluecoyote on Oct 14, 2010 10:27:15 GMT -5
i'm still a fan of the flemish giants there is only one supplier/breeder however and i dont really agree on their ethics. a bit TOO mass produced and into the "animals make me money" scheme..... they even had cats in kennels, and a few wolf hybrid litters(so they said, looked more like black german shepherds mixed with collie to me). but i guess thats their living...
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Post by horse656 on Oct 14, 2010 15:24:15 GMT -5
i would not recommend feeding rabbits alive, as they can be really vicious even at a young age.
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Post by katt on Oct 23, 2010 19:56:47 GMT -5
Man I wish I lived in a house (instead of a no-pets apartment) so that I could breed rabbits!
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