Meat rabbits

11 years ago

I got three rabbits recently... the guy I bought them from told me that they are Flemish Giant and the other one he mentioned I didn't hear it all, and I think he said it was a "Something-Spot" cross... ? The only "Spot" I know of is the English Spot. I thought perhaps he meant the "Checkered Giant". But there's no way to find out now, and it doesn't really matter. :-)

Anyhow, I was curious - if we should decide to let these rabbits have babies, and decided that we wanted to use the offspring for meat, would this be a good meat rabbit? When is the best age to transfer them to the freezer?

Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

buckeye_brian2
11 years ago
Any large framed rabbit is not a particularly good meat rabbit. They will eat you out of house and home and the meat-bone ratio is not optimum. They will grow and taste excellent...you will just have a lot more bone and it will cost you more to get to the 5-lbs. Example: A 5-lb FG rabbit will have a lot more bone weight than say a NZW or Californian.

As far as age goes, I get 5-lb rabbits around 10-11 weeks old. I have Californians and NZW/Cali crosses. I butcher at 5-lbs. That is the optimum age / weight for a good tender fryer rabbit. Once they get between 14-16 weeks old, they start to toughen up. Then they turn into roasting or crock pot rabbits.
User
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks! I ended up just keeping one of them for a pet... and decided not to mess with the meat side of it for now. Californian and FL White are ones I have heard good things about... if I decide to start raising for meat, I will most likely go with the californians. So you have a had good success with crossing the californians and NZW? What about the Chinchilla rabbits? I haven't heard much about them. Or Mini Lops? I need to just to research I guess. :-)
Related Professionals
Bainbridge Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Baton Rouge Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Greenfield Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · South Sioux City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Medford Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Rock Hill Landscape Contractors · Lawrence Landscape Contractors · South Sioux City Landscape Contractors · Binghamton Landscape Contractors · Las Cruces Landscape Contractors · Middlesboro Accessory Dwelling Units · Middletown Accessory Dwelling Units · Rockford Accessory Dwelling Units · Yakima Accessory Dwelling Units
buckeye_brian2
11 years ago
I have had a lot of success with the NZW / Cali crosses. I took my original FB Cali does and crossed them with a FB NZW buck. I keep the best looking does at 10-weeks and re-breed to the NZW buck. The rest go to freezer camp. So far I am on 3rd generation and they keep getting bigger and better.

I have heard good things about American Chinchillas. I do not have experience with them. I stick to the REW (red-eye-white) rabbits because that is what my customers want.

Florida Whites are a lot smaller rabbit, but are supposed to have the best meat - bone ratio of any meat rabbit...they are just small. If you have a large family, you would need to double up on numbers to feed everyone. FW's are popular with small families, empty nesters and retired folks because one rabbit will feed them without left overs.

Mini Lops are a pet or show rabbit. I have never heard of anyone breeding them for meat. I guess if you raised them to sell, you could eat the culls.