I’m looking into starting a rabbitry to feed my family. We don’t have a lot of space or cash for infrastructure, but I’d like to give them the best life I can short though it would be.

I have a concrete floor basement, would a set up with a lanolium floored run pen be a horrible or viable idea? I could then dress with straw and muck out? What are all your thoughts?

I'm thinking about raising meat rabbits in my balcony. Right now I raise coturnix quail in two 9 sqft cages (5 in each). That's not enough for eggs and meat so I want to just let them continue as layers while building a setup for rabbits for meat. Thankfully my apartment is very accomodating on these things since its in a poorer/immigrant neighborhood and both my neighbors and management don't mind.

Since I'm just one guy, I wouldn't need more than 1 buck and 1 doe.

My question though is with regards to the cage vs colony method. Now obviously given the space constraints I won't be able to have a proper colony as such. But if I were to build a multi-level cage (around 9-10 sq ft per level or perhaps even around 15 sqft per level) that allows the rabbits access to both levels, would I be able to do something of a hybrid colony setup?

Another question is what meat breeds are smaller? Personally, I don't care much for efficiency and would rather have smaller rabbits that get more space. So I don't want to go for New Zealand rabbits because they seem like they would prefer to have more space than a multi-layer 9-10 sqft per level cage.

At the moment I'm just starting out on research so this is really just preliminary work as I continue reading on if this is or isn't feasible in the first place.

Hello all, first time poster, first time with meat rabbits.

Recently, we found blood splatter next to our NZ buck's feeder. This is the second time it happened; the first time was weeks ago and we thought he might've gotten his tongue frozen to the metal or something. Today it's warmish outside, so that theory is out.

The blood isn't misted, like a sneeze. It's a sling pattern, like he shook his head (maybe a paw) and slung a string or two of blood out.

As of this morning (and last time), the buck appears to be fine. We can't find blood on his mouth, nostrils, paws, or anywhere else. He is active and seems normal. No blood that we can see below the cage.

Has anyone else experienced this? We're speculating that he might be getting a nail, tongue or tooth stuck in the feeder somehow since that's where the event appears to occur. We're not thinking respiratory bleeding or a virus because the first time happened weeks ago (and he's still alive) and there's no blood on his mouth or nose.

We did breed him yesterday, but we monitored that event closely and everything looked normal.

I appreciate any insight. Have a good one.

I’m looking for someone who can point me in the right direction for finding Rex’s for sale around Calloway County Kentucky. I need a buck and a female and I’m willing to travel an hour or 2 if I need to. I appreciate the help, thank you!

We are in Canada, in the winter it gets as low as -20c and in summer it gets as high as 50c. Can angoras be outside year round? We keep being told yes they can and that they handle outside better than regular meat rabbits, but are also told they’re more sensitive to temperatures so it’s confusing. We do not plan to sheer them, only harvest shed fibre. They would be under cover and sheltered from wind on a covered deck, but not heated.

What is the standard weight for NZ meat rabbit? I’m was talking to someone on FB rabbit group, and I mentioned that my rabbits are 12-13 lbs but NZ Flemish croos and they say that is not meeting standards, and the NZ rabbit should be at least 12 lbs and Flemish should be 15-20 lbs, if that’s true where can I find a good breeding stock? I am in New England region

Is it possible to give rabbits to much space? I'm going to give rabbits a go in the spring and want to do a colony setup. I currently have a free 20x50 area I was thinking of using and using a section of that or another area for growouts.

Costs:
LABOR (seriously, how many hours/growout?)
Pellets
Hay
Water
Running costs (Portion of rent/utilities)

Leave out any costs associated with cages and tools.

Edit: Our entire rabbitry ate over $2k in pellets, seeds, hay and water in 2024. Only 96 grow outs, so approx $20/growout. lol Plus almost an hour of time (lots of eval and logging) at $50/hr means roughly $23/lb. lol

Who else only has the option of using Standlee when purchasing Timothy grass? I swear I only get a good bale ever 4 or 5 times I purchase a bale. Other times it's either just dust, or practically all meadow grass because it was a corner cut. And I just don't like spending nearly $30 for a compressed bale that usually turns out so low quality.

I even thought of growing it myself, but it's not meant for my zone. Definitely would not survive.

Do y'all use other hays for your rabbits? I've heard brome grass is good. That grows wild on my neighbor's property.

I have a few rabbits I was planning on processing this weekend, but unfortunately two nights ago, one of them became ill (bloating, lethargy, not eating or defecating) and despite all my efforts he hasnt seem to have gotten any better. i've had two rabbits get like this in the past (im assuming its something along the lines of gi stasis?) and in my experience they dont really improve after they reach the point this little guys at, so i was planning on just dispatching him tonight. my question is, is there a way to tell if he is still safe to eat? is it just a matter of looking at his organs and meat, or is there something i can do now to check? id like to avoid processing him if we cant use him but i understand if thats not really possible.

Hi all! What are some recommended ways I can use rabbit blood? Methods?

I have a permanent structure for my Does and buck, and kits for first few weeks, then I move the kits to tractor setups, like in the pic. I’m having an issue where the kits (at least one I’m guessing) are spilling all the pellets out of anything I feed them in. I provide endless hay and pellets. For the does/buck it’s great, other than passing by to check on them, there are days I can spend only a couple of minutes and am done. But for the kits, every day I have to refill their food. Makes a mess, so I have to move the trailer often, and obviously it’s a waste of money. I’ve tried j feeders and then the gravity fed like in this picture. Any advice on what I can use to at least limit them spilling it?

Anyone ever used substack for email or updates for your rabbitry? If so how do you like it, what is good or bad about it?

My first litter of kits was born sometime last night. Temperatures were well below freezing and two of the kits were lying on top of the hay in the nest box. Two more were covered up but still cold and unmoving. I warmed up everyone using warm water, heating pads and towels, but none of the kits are moving. I assume they're all dead, but since I'm new to this I want to check: is it normal for living newborn kits to be motionless?

Hello! I want to start raising my own rabbits this spring. I am hoping to only have one breeding doe, I live in an animal-friendly rural apartment so I was hoping to keep her like a pet, but breed with the same schedule as a meat rabbitry. Is it possible to keep a single doe with a buck if they have a decently sized space, like a living room? Or will the doe still be likely to kill/castrate him? I know most farms won't perform stud services, and I would feel bad limiting a buck to a tiny hutch while the doe has a larger space.

Saw on FB, unfortunately in Dutch and translation was not the best. Any ideas would be helpful!

I'm going to be building and starting a colony soon and I have an area that is 15×30 feet to work with

is that too big..?

This may seem a bit of a silly question, but how do you guys name your breeding stock and like do your pedigree for kits.

Last time we got into rabbits we just let the kids name them, but I was thinking of trying to be a bit more systematic with it and we have a trio now. For now they are just A,B,C based on age and I was thinking of like naming them based on their letters A -Adam/Ally, B-Bart/Becky etc and when we add new stock go on D, E, Etc and the kits we are just eating for now, but eventually wouldn't mind selling some to help offset costs or keep for additional breeding stock when the time comes.

They have pedigrees and it seems everyone kind of just does their own thing, like it seems everyone has their rabbity name/abbreviations and either actually names or letters example: (John Smith's Rabbity) John's Adam #, JSR Adam#, or JSRAB# or just AB1234 - is there an ideal way to do this or can you guys give me your systems I'm trying to make things kind of systematic so I don't have to think to hard who's mom dad, etc etc. The breeder I did get from did say they had males odd and females even like 1-male 2- female or like 21-male 22- female

I guess I'm just seeing how and why people name the way they do and wanting to find something that makes sense for us. (Sorry it's so long!)

Hi all!! I am inspired by this outdoor habitat I saw. Mine are pets only but I got shamed by the bunnies subreddit for suggesting rabbits can live outside haha. So here I am!! What would you recommend for flooring? I’m well versed in predator protection but wondering if I should do hay, gravel, bricks, sand, turf. You tell me!! Thanks!!

I am making a list of supplies for meat rabbits I am hoping to get in the spring. I know we have rats in the area so I need to build something to prevent them getting any kits. I am looking at 16 gauge 1/2x1 inch mesh for the walls of the cages. Is this small enough? I am also wanting to build a tractor for grow outs. Again concerned about rats and things larger. What size wire for the tractor?

I have a Rex doe who's only about 15 weeks old. I went down to the rabbitry and she's pulled all her hay down and constructed an actually very nice looking nest, but I'm confused as she shouldn't at all be pregnant. I brought her home the 22nd of December so maybe she was bred before she came (I just don't know)

Is her nesting a possible sign she's accidentally pregnant? Or is that something some rabbits just do? Should I throw a nest box in with her just to be safe?