3 to 4 litters of 5 to 10 young can be thrown by a healthy, mature female (doe) each year. One male (buck) can service up to twenty to thirty does, but in order to keep the gene pool healthy, you should have one buck for each 5 does. Make sure you keep records of which does are bred by which bucks, and keep rotating the animals to keep the gene pool as large as possible. The best meat breeds are California and New Zealand or a combination of the two. Most consider the Flemish Giant unsuitable for a meat rabbit, due to the meat to bone ratio, also the amount of food consumed to meat ratio. It is okay to cross with a New Zealand for meat production.
3 to 4 litters of 5 to 10 young can be thrown by a healthy, mature female (doe) each year. One male (buck) can service up to twenty to thirty does, but in order to keep the gene pool healthy, you should have one buck for each 5 does. Make sure you keep records of which does are bred by which bucks, and keep rotating the animals to keep the gene pool as large as possible. The best meat breeds are California and New Zealand or a combination of the two. Most consider the Flemish Giant unsuitable for a meat rabbit, due to the meat to bone ratio, also the amount of food consumed to meat ratio. It is okay to cross with a New Zealand for meat production.
A solid compartment about 1 1⁄2 feet (0. 5 m) long and 1 1⁄2 feet (0. 5 m) wide should be included in the pen to give the doe privacy while she is having her young. this will keep mortality of the young down to a great extent. Be sure there is plenty of dried hay in the pen when she is “due”.
The young should be separated from the mother at about 6 weeks. The doe is ready for breeding immediately after separation from her young. The rabbit pregnancy period is 28-30 days, with the doe able to mate within hours of giving birth. However, it’s advised to wait a month so as not to overtire her and drastically shorten her life span.
You will need a 12" to 18" length of 1⁄2 inch (1. 3 cm) pipe to kill the animal. You will also need a keenly sharpened knife to skin and eviscerate the animal. You will need a pan to place the carcass of the animal in after you have skinned and eviscerated it.
The following breeds will weigh approximately this much when fully mature; Netherland Dwarf 2 1/2 lbs. , Jersey Wooly 3 1/2 lbs. , Holland Lop 4 lbs. , Mini-Rex 4 1/2 lbs. , Dutch 5 1/2 lbs. , Havana 5 1/2 lbs. , Florida White 6 lbs. , Mini Lop 6 1/2 lbs. , Rex 9 lbs. , Palomino, 10 lbs. , Satin 11 lbs. , New Zealand 11 lbs. , French Lop 12 lbs. , Flemish Giant 13+ lbs.
