What are your favorite rabbit recipes??? I just bought some fresh killed rabbits that need some time to rest in the fridge.

I have a colony setup and earlier this week my older doe kindled, 8 healthy kits! I was away for Thanksgiving and my neighbors saw one of my first time mamas were kindling. Seems she had one in the other nest box (but didn't nest, so the poor thing died of cold) and the rest she had in the other, occupied box. She even pulled fur and covered them after. I just got home and checked them, they all seem healthy if obviously smaller than the 2-3 day older kits.

How do I ensure they get fed? I'm worried the larger litter will out compete them, though I am contemplating moving them out overnight to see if the younger ones can get fed properly (i saw some round bellies but not as round as i'd like)

This is my first time with different aged litters and I'd like to keep all 15 if I can.

My doe is supposed to be pregnant, and I bred her a week ago. Today while having her roaming time I noticed that she peed, but she had white discharge that she left behind. She's a one year old New Zealand rabbit, and with her first litter this didn't happen. Could this have something to do with the pregnancy or should I be worried?

This is our first time breeding and only had our rabbits a few months. This doe was bred 21 days ago. Does this mean it’s time to give her the nest box?

Has anyone here had luck with keeping their rabbits on the ground in a colony setup, without having many issues with parasites?

I'm gearing up to start a colony myself, and during my research, I found a content creator who is adamant about not keeping rabbits on bare ground. She makes it sound like this is a recipe for disaster because of the risk of them developing a high parasite load. Are these concerns overblown so long as I am diligent about keeping the enclosure free of droppings?

I’m breeding my rabbits for the second time. Yesterday I introduced the first doe to my buck and everything went as expected. He mounted, did his thing, and fell off. I let him do his thing 3 times before removing the doe.

I then introduced the second doe and again, he mounted, did his thing, however he did not fall off. He sniffed at her face a bit, tried mounting her head 😳, then made another correct attempt but did not fall off. I allowed him to try two more times with the same result. He was not falling off like he has before.

Assuming he might just need a rest, I removed the doe. This morning, I made a second attempt. Again, he attempted three more times, but never fell off.

Does he have to fall off to confirm a successful mating? Or is the doe likely still pregnant without him falling off?

I’m tanning 2 rabbit hides for the first time, using a salt alum mixture for the brine. The hides are soaking in 2 gallons of water with 2 cups of alum and 2 cups of non iodized salt. They’ve been soaking for 12 days now. I just tested a small strip of the hide in boiling water and it curled up within a minute. So I guess this means the hides need more time to soak. I’m wondering if anyone has any wisdom or experience to share?

Looking for advice on how to cull a pet rabbit as humanely as possible (or tell me I’m a jerk for considering it). We got a Holland Lop from a breeder who was going to be culled because his mother chewed off his ears as a newborn. We took him in because we just wanted a rabbit to add to our small homestead for fertilizer and overall I just love having rabbits.

He’s really not a healthy rabbit and I suspect he has some dental issues. His eyes are constantly runny although not infected and clear. He will not groom himself and will consistently get build up of poop. He lives in a hutch in the summer with a wire bottom and indoors with a litter box during the winter. I’ve owned rabbits for many years and my previous rabbit lived to be 12 years old and haven’t dealt with issues like this before.

I’m really not prepared to be putting constant veterinary care into a rabbit. I know all animals need the occasional vet which of course we have a farm vet and a cat/dog vet. Am I an asshole for considering culling him myself? Something feels wrong about doing it to an animal I care about as a pet but spending hundreds at an exotic animal vet isn’t something I’m prepared for right now.

I want to get into homesteading after I graduate college and have some questions:

• How many rabbits do I need?
• What breed should I have? I want to sell the furs and use them to make leather, blankets, and clothes. So, I'm looking for a good meat bread with a nice coat.
• How many breeding groups should I have?
• How many does to a buck?
• How often I should bring in new bucks to refresh the bloodlines?

I'm planning to live in central Wyoming and I haven't started a family yet, so let's say enough rabbits to feed 8-10 people. I plan on having dairy goats and chickens, as well.

Let me know if I need to add more info. Thanks!

As winter is approaching, I’m becoming more concerned with if my rabbits will make it through the winter. I live where it is very cold. -40 is the same in imperial and metric at that temperature and that happens every year for about a week.

I bought plug in water bottle heaters and the such, but my biggest concern is every time I give my does a nesting box they use it as a litterbox, unless they’re expecting babies.

Wild rabbits are fine in my area, but I imagine they burrow. Mine are living in boxes with open bottoms. Will they be okay without a box?

TLDR; looking for advice from people in very cold climates on keeping rabbits in winter.

For friendsgiving we only have one duck and one turkey, but 6 adults and 8-10 kids.

So I'm bringing a dish of roasted rabbit legs/wings as a side to make sure all the kids have some fun and aren't fighting each other or the adults over turkey/duck legs/wings. Plus legs are more acceptable/palatable than whole roasted rabbit for newbies and I want these people's 1st rabbit experience to be familiar and enjoyable.

In looking for rabbit wing recipes, I found this article which claims you can butcher a second set of "wings" off the carcass, I don't understand how. Can someone explain these helicopter bones or share a video of how to butcher them correctly?

• note - NOT talking about legs plus wings. I'm talking about butchering in a way which gives 2 legs, 2 wings(front legs), and 2 more "wings" from the "helicopter bones"? So 6 total per rabbit.

I have a basic understanding of their feed requirements and what plants you can feed them and grow to feed them and how much space they need. my only issue is thw vaccines. Does anybody know what vaccines are dog food safe when given to a rabbit? Edit: I want to grow them in a colony setting, not cages. 1 buck & 2 to 4 does

I'm looking to buy live rabbits to slaughter and process. Around me several people raise and breed rabbits but do not keep them for the purpose and intent for them to be eaten. Do you need to buy specifically named "meat rabbits" or can I buy these larger healthy animals and they still taste fine and be healthy?

I have 11 months old doe that just wont lift for the buck, i have been trying to breed her for almost two months. When i checked her vent it was dark punk, but she still wont lift. The buck is 10 months old and i have first litter by him that Is two weeks old now so he is proven. Aby tips to get the doe to breed, i dont want to wait with her first litter any longer, because she will be soon year old. Thanks for tips

Wasn't sure if babies with some blood should be NSFW or not. Anyways she had 8 healthy babies! None were born on the wire. Seems she'll be a fantastic mother so far. My main question is if I should cover them with some of her fur or not? We are in Florida so it's not freezing out but it's starting to get cool (for Florida lol)

Not only Miss Muffits first litter but my first litter as a rabbit owner 😊 due date on the 21st but she's nesting today!!

I wanted to get a clamp to make it easy but it looked pretty uncomfortable for the rabbits so I went with a pen. I spray the ear, give a couple minutes to numb, wrap and try to tattoo. I don't press very hard, just enough to see I'm making contact really. I use short strokes and these assholes freak the f out. I got myself on the thumb a couple times with the pen.

Any tips? I'd hate to drop another $50-80 on a clamp set but if I can't figure it out I might have to, especially since they don't seem to like the pen very much anyway.

I‘ve been trying to get a good closeup of this, but it is black and somewhat sticky. I just processed one that was near this one that had botfly larvae inside it. It was separated from the others for a few weeks, so it wouldn’t be a fresh wound. I just noticed it today. Should I just clean it with rubbing alcohol?

My dog will only eat the heads when they are chopped into smaller parts. Currently I use a butcher knife, which works well, but the process is extremely messy. Any tips to make the process better would be appreciated.

I got this pretty girl from a family that couldn't keep up with her care anymore. They didn't have much info on her other than her parents were wild rabbits.

I wondered if her eye issues might be signs of siphilis or something else. I'm trying to figure it out so I can treat her and hopefully improve it. I'd appreciate any advice from someone who has seen similar to this with their rabbits.

I have an outdoor 600 sq ft dog kennel that's caged in, and I'm going to further fortify it with a hardware cloth skirt to keep vermin out.

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

The 2 options I'm considering:

Option A) Keep the concrete flooring and periodically hose/power wash out debris.

The concrete is smoothed and sloped slightly down toward the back, and at this back side there's a small gap where droppings can be hosed out. I was thinking of keeping that blocked with something for the vermin but then lifted when it's time to hose/power wash out the droppings.

Option B) Deep layering bedding method

Conversely, after I apply the hardware cloth skirting I would put a 2-3 inch layer of gravel in (so it'd retain less moisture during rains and would more easily drain out the back), then dirt/pine needles, then pine shavings on top. Then I would keep adding layers as I go and additionally rake droppings and throw them in the garden.

Which option would you pick and why? Thanks so much for any advice. Both seem doable but I seek your wisdom!

It’s day 22 and she keeps taking some of her hay and trying to make a nest. (I say trying because most of it ends up through the cage flooring.)

I wasn’t looking to put the nest in for a couple more days. Do I need to put it in now instead?

I live in the Alaskan interior. My rabbits have been doing remarkably well with the cold down to about 0F, but last night it got down to -20F and I'm considering putting them in my garage during these real cold snaps. Even with drinking warm water every 3ish hours they are definitely more chilled today. (I did prep by stuffing cages with extra straw and giving them free access to hay & feed and give them warm water more frequently)

The issue is: my garage is heated to around 40F. Will it be a problem to bring them from negative temps to above freezing? Or will it cause them to have trouble acclimating back to below freezing when it's nicer out? I don't want them to live in the garage all winter (and I dont think they would appreciate that either, they get to hang out in a run during the day which they love).