I found a tamuk buck threw Craigslist and have been trying to find a doe. I joined multiple facebook groups, when I ask ISO i get bombarded with scams. Can’t really find anyone within 150miles of me. I found one guy and talk to him last thursday he had like 3 does but when I got out there that weekend and drove 120miles he was sold out and only had bucks(that guy just kinda sucked but I’m trying to find local people) I gave up on finding a tamuk and am looking for any female to try and get started. My local feed store sells rabbits for 30-40$ but there pet breeds that are smaller and grow slow, I asked them about where they get the rabbits and they get them from 2 breeders that just do pet breeds. I’ve been trying for a few weeks now and just got lucky on the male, the post was over a month old and the guy happened to have 1 left that was 80 miles out,m.

So I will be a beginner, should I get younger rabbits to raise before breeding or should I get older breeders? Im a little stuck.

I'm in the northern hemisphere. Last year I had a dodoe breed in October for November babies. This year none have been interested for a month. Same set up, food, etc. I do give my does a rest between litters. I've been raising them 3 years. Who has success extending the season just a bit and how? Thank you.

Never had this happen before, but one of my does had something pull her front leg completely off at the shoulder. The leg was lying under her pen this morning and she was freaked out, labile, with “the stare” that a dying animals get. I had to put her out of her misery.

It seems the first hard freeze of the year every year some wild animal comes for either our chickens or rabbits.

I had to bring a rabbit inside for a couple weeks due to some bot fly larvae, but I'm unsure now if it's safe to put him back out in the 50°F and lower when he's gotten used to 70°F and up, and if it's not, how do I adjust him back to the outdoors?

I count 5 and I think they’re all alive 🙂 any recommendations for this I should be doing? Or is it best to just leave them alone? I plan to check in daily and remove any dead ones and feed mama a leafy green each day.

Had a neighbor warn me of distemper passing through neighborhood racoons, and it made me wonder if this could be caught by our rabbits in tractors in our yard. Is this something to worry about? I see there are rabbit vaccines against it. Wanted to hear what the veteran rabbit farmers know about this disease and its effect on rabbits. Thanks

NZ REW, I have less than 1 year experience, looking for advice.

I’m at the end of my rope with a mean mama. She has had 3 successful large litters, but I am sick of being grunted at, charged, etc. trying to give her hay or check on kits. Buck is aging as well and will need to replace him soon, so looking to replace the pair and expand to a trio. I do not want to grow out her babies for breeding stock as I believe aggressive behavior can be genetic (and learned from watching mama’s attitude). I have been strictly freezing them at weight, not selling or growing out for breeding.

What should I ask breeders to confirm the rabbits dispositions? Is this a NZ trait and I should look into a calmer variety?

I received a mated pair of rex rabbits back in june, after many failed mating attempts, I just left them together. They have been together for 5-6 weeks now and today she gave birth to a litter of seven. My wife found them on the grating when she went out for their evening meal. So I grabbed their nesting box, threw in some hay and placed the little ones all together, making sure not to suffocate them. They were moving very little, and cold to the touch. From what I read here, getting them together and dry is best. I added a small space heater, not pointing directly on them. They're in an open bottom hutch outside. I'm going to check them again in a little. I should have been checking her for lumps, but I gave up on them after trying for so long. How bad did I mess this up? Does the doe need to fit in the box with them? It's open top. I'm feeding extra pellets and Timothy hay, does she need alfalfa? What about bedding? There wasn't any indication of her wanting to nest, no fur, she used any hay I put in her cage as a litterbox so I stopped doing that months ago.

Can any Aussie or hot climate rabbitrys share their setups for keeping their buns cool!

Got our set up mostly done! (The double stack 30x30s still need a frame to lift them off the ground some) and I have discovered signs of rats. Now I am game for setting traps etc. but it got me researching rats and problems with rabbits and now I’m freaked out about them stealing babies etc! Consistent trapping and such will solve most problems? Any additional deterrents you see I can do? Our 6 rabbits (5 does and 1 male) are all under 5mo old, we are giving pellets freely to help with growth until about 8mo when we start dialing in more to what they require per day. That is the plan. But now I might have to rethink that if that’s what is attracting the rats!

We have an elevated structure for their cages. It’s all covered with a tarp but the bottoms are open and it’s getting below freezing. Do I add a heater?

Hi everyone, I want to start a rabbit colony for meat/pelts/live rabbit sales, and also for some extra food for myself. I have a bunch of questions, so I thought I would ask the experts! I've done a bunch of research, but I keep getting sort-of-grey answers. I plan on getting New Zealand Rabbits.

1: What do you feed your rabbits, and how much/how often? - If possible, I'd like to just leave the feed in there and check up on them once a day. I would also like to make their diet 50% leaves/clover/leafy greens when I have them in the summer, and give them as much hay as possible to reduce pellet costs.

2: How much room/shelter do rabbits need? - Right now I have a small shed that's about 8x12, and I plan on making a little closed of area on the side with some grass. I'll be fencing it off (including the ground so they don't dig).
2.5: Temperature? - I live in Ontario, so temperature is also a concern. The winters on average get to about -10C at night, but go as low as -20C every couple years. Rabbits have fur, and I'll be giving them boxes with bedding, so I'm not too concerned about that. It's the summers I'm more worried about! They get to about 32C at the hottest each year, and this little shed probably turns into a small oven. Should I be worried? Is a little ventilation near the ceiling and the hole in the wall going outside going to be enough to keep the rabbits mostly happy?

3: How often should I expect rabbits to breed? - I was hoping to have 2 does and 1 buck in a colony and just leave them be, though I'm a bit worried that I'll accidentally end up with 30 rabbits and not enough space. Should I create a separate little pen to keep the buck in? How long are does pregnant for, and roughly how often can/do they breed? Also, how old are the does when they usually stop? Is it a bad idea "genetically" if I replace a doe with a daughter and still have the same buck?

If you suspect that I'm missing anything else, please don't hesitate to give me tips! I'm really new to this, and the closest I've done is helping my brother with chickens. Thank you!

I’m preparing to give my pregnant does their nest boxes tomorrow morning. This is the first time I’ve bred rabbits.

My nest boxes are layered with cardboard, pine shavings on the bottom, and then packed with straw. I packed in a bunch of straw fairly tight. Is that the correct way to do it? Out should it be more loose packed with less straw?

It wasn't as bad as all the videos and people made the first time out to be, which is good. It took almost 45 minutes because I had to keep rewinding the video but it can only get faster.

When people talk about weight and the percentage they get compared to live weight are they talking just processed, internals out and head and feet off? Or is that a deboned actual meat weight percentage? I got 51% of live weight as a bone in carcass from a silver fox.

I purchased a doe that had sore hocks at 3 months old. (I know I should have checked before purchase-lesson learned). I worked really hard to help her heal her feet and successfully was able to get her to a point where she had no open sores on her feet. She’s housed with double foot pads to help.

However, she just had he first litter and I noticed today that the sore hocks are back (not as bad as before, but definitely there).

My question is- will she always be susceptible to sore hocks and is this something that is typically passed down? I’d hate to cull her for Thai because otherwise she’s a good mom and have decent litters.

I’m unsure what the issue is but I have a doe who seems unwilling to breed. She is a New Zealand doe and was told she was around 6 months old when I got her, however no matter what she seems unwilling to breed. Wondering what might be causing this or if I’m doing something wrong?

I've seen some things say free feed and some say limit. So is it a limited free feed, if that's even a thing?

I have 2 litters both 2 weeks old. I've been feeding 3 cups of pellets daily which is about 14oz in my feed. One usually takes all day to eat it all up so she seems to be fine. The other eats it all by morning and is jumping in the feeder. I increased her to 4 cup, about 18oz, and she still acts like she is starving.

Should I just be free feeding and put 6-7 cups in to fill up the feeder before her babies are even out of the box eating pellets too? I was gonna go full free feed when they are out and about but 5-6 cups just for the mom feels a little much.

Edit: they both have 6 kits and the litters were identical weight 2 days ago when I weighed.

Anyone have experience making their own pellets? I've got a lot of rabbits now and they're eating a lot of pellets. I'm considering buying alfalfa, oats, etc in bulk and do it myself with a pellet mill. Is this a fool's errand? Have any of you run the numbers on the economics of making pellets vs buying them? The reason I'm asking is I was at TSC today and I usually buy NatureWise performance 18% feedbacks from a local AG store but it's Sunday so I went to TSC. TSC offers 15% protein "livestock" rabbit feed in 50lb bags and it's $19 or something like that. The performance feed I usually get is 40lb bags for $24. I'm wondering if my cost to run my own pellet mill would make it worth the trouble.

Ive been looking and asking where to get my hands on some rabbits in new york. I’m able to find pet rabbit breeds, but I want d’argents or new zelands. No one is offering on Long Island. Websites like craigslist and Facebook marketplace turn up zilch. And I’m not looking to drive all the way upstate or go across the sound to Connecticut. Does anyone know of a decent way to investigate and find local breeders?

I have two does that were born June 7th. I started trying to breed last week. My females won’t lift for the bucks. I’ve read about tricks you can do to help them along. I’ve switched their cages over night etc. I haven’t tried sunflower seeds or apple cider vinegar yet or the rubber band method But am I trying to early? Are they still too young?