| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 11 2011 : 9:00:16 PM
Hi girls -
A good friend of ours is desperate to get rid of about 10 mini lop bunnies. She says they are great pets and also good for meat. I've never eaten a rabbit in my life, so I'm not so sure how I feel about that (your thoughts, please!). I am interested, however, in raising them, mostly as pets and for their manure. I've never ever ever raised a rabbit before, and she is not forthcoming with information about caring for them, which is making me nervous. If any of you can share that information, or direct me to a good website or book, I'd really appreciate it. One concern I do have, though, is that our town recently passed an ordinance mandating that residents cannot have livestock... no chickens, no goats, nothing like that. I am wondering if rabbits would be considered as pets or as livestock in this case? See? I'm really a nubie with this one! Please help? I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
|
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 8:46:28 PM
85 is good. Once you have heat stroke I think you are just more sensitive to it though. You have to be real careful with diabetes though and getting too hot, it will make you reserve water on your heart. I'm a type one though so a bit different then type 2s. I'm not sure how it effects type 2's.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 8:26:47 PM
Ok i wasnt sure where it was, i grew up in Sharon Springs, we were out on the plains of kansas, then i moved up to Stafford, ks it is about an hr from Wichita. Yeah we cant afford to run the ac as we are all electric so i dont like the $500 electric bills and since i dont work we cant have a $500 lite bill so we have gone without the ac for several years. My dh and I are both diabetic too but if you never go in anywhere cool your body gets used to it and it doesnt know any different. I wish things were different so i could run the ac but at this time it isnt...lol. Today was nice tho about 85 degrees today!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 7:09:42 PM
right outside of Wichita. If I didn't have AC when it's 120, I would literally die, cause I have diabetes. Before diabetes I had a heat stroke once, and it almost killed me too. I just can't do it with out a/c.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 4:49:39 PM
Yeah once you start ice they get used to it and seem to not be able to function without it. We dont run ac for us in the house so when its 120 outside thats about what it is inside too..lol. I dont use ice for me so they gonna have to live with it like we do..lol. Where in kansas is colwich??
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 11:50:00 AM
I don't know I think I will keep doing the ice. Cause even with the wind when it's 120 in the shade out there, I'm miserable and I don't have a layer of fur. lol haha
BTW, I did have a dog die one summer from the heat. We had to go to a funeral and left a neighbor in charge, and he dumped the dogs, dog pool to "clean" it and never refilled it. The dog was used to sitting in the pool during the hottest part of the day. When we came back he had died from the heat. So I just can't do it.......
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 09:15:06 AM
Susan, Yes they do get cranky if they are left alone alot. We do have to trim nails often to get it to where they dont scratch the dickens outta ya! Now Most of the larger rabbits do get that way but i do agree about the FLemish! ours is so laid back and calm its great!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| coloquilter |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 08:14:25 AM
I can give you my opinion as far as pet rabbits.My Kids raised several lops. They were pretty easy to raise ,very sweet and gentle when young but everyone of them got very cranky as they aged.We used to have to put on leather welding gloves to handle one of them. My kids had lots of rabbits through the years and the lops were the only ones that got mean.My favorite was the Flemish Giant..He was sooo sweet and mellow .My Grandson has a couple of the netherland dwarfs now and they are nice pets as well.. |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 04:58:43 AM
We have about what you have Heather,i think we may have higher humidity tho not sure. I used to live in kansas so know what its like there too...lol. We use sheet rock for them to stand on as they can chew on it also and it wont hurt them to eat it and it keeps there teeth filed down. Yes bucks do go sterile at around 80 degrees unless it is under 1 year old. If it is under 1 year it will be good to go even with the heat. I never breed after Feb 1st maybe even sooner than that cuz you still have 60 days at least before those babies are ready to come off momma. I pull mine off momma around 4 weeks, i know a breeder that keeps hers on till 8-10 weeks but i think that is too long and mommas are going crazy..lol
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 8:58:08 PM
what are your temps there Brandee? Every one here does ice, but it does get around 120 degrees in the summer, so even with good ventilation it's murder out there!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| oldbittyhen |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 7:21:52 PM
Heat is death on rabbits, especialy for babies in a nest box, frozen water in plastic juice bottles work best (I have even put small frozen bottles in the nest boxes, once the bunnies have fur if we get a heat wave, otherwise I don't breed in the summer, only late fall and early spring), cause they are flat sided, and won't roll around and scare or pinch toes. My bucks will even straddle the frozen bottles, cause heat will cause sperm problems. Good venilation, clean once a day, if your cages are wire bottomed, give them a plank of pine (10 x 10 in.s) to rest on so they don't get sores on their feet and hocks, get them used to being brushed, cause they groom like a cat, and can get hairballs.
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 5:59:06 PM
I live in east texas and i dont use ice or frozen water bottles i just make sure that there is adequate ventilation and i run a box fan on high at the end of the barn pulling air out. Yes Heather i would say that if you have mini lops that weigh more than 8 lbs they are over weight...lol. My Flemish Giants dont even weigh 25 lbs and they are the largest rabbit breed that there is.
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 3:39:31 PM
Thanks Brandee I've never had show ones.
Nini, also they don't take heat well, if you are going to have them outside, you will need to be able to put ice out in their hutches (usually people put a bowl of ice, or water bottles filled with water and frozen). Or they could die from the heat. So that's why some people bring them in the house. Also you will not want to feed them just anything like you would think. Bred rabbits can't eat a lot of "grass" and such as in the story books, cause they have been bred so much they are used to the feed, and not veggies, etc. And if they are pregnant some times you have to give them extra stuff.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 2:39:55 PM
You girls are AMAZING!!! THANK YOU! I am going to print up everything you said in addition to buying books. I am really actually kind of excited... I just have to really think it through. If there's anything else you think I should know, PLEASE do tell! I'm SO grateful! I knew I could count on my farmgirl sisters!!! HUGS - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
|
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 1:42:20 PM
No for show The mini lops max weight is 6 1/2 lbs holland lops max weight is 4 lbs. I think you are talking about Dwarf Hotots?? their max weight is 3 lbs They are ok. I sold my breed out as they like to bite and scratch alot even when handled all the time. Plus for show bunnies they are extremely hard to get that eye ring right. If you are wanting a small rabbit the smallest is the Netherland dwarf at 2.5 lbs. You can go to www.arba.net and check out the breed lists. Yes there is alot of expense in getting started in the last 4 years of running our rabbitry i have spent about $30,000. That is buying cages, water bottles, feeders, building a small barn and getting started with some stock.
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 10:51:02 AM
actually mini lops are under 25lb I have never had a mini as small as 8 lbs, that would be a holland lop.
For sure get a few magazines and rabbit books. I will say though there is a big initial expense of the cages/hutches, they can run hundreds of dollars. I got one for 500 in NYC, (that of course was NYC prices) and was for a indoor hutch (had a poop/pee catcher underneath! lol) Wood & metal ones are slightly cheaper. Mine was also plastic and was special flooring to not hurt their feets.
Mini just means under 25 lbs so don't get surprised if they get pretty big!
I want to do hitoes next though. They stay under 2 lbs and are not for eating. But, super cute. I have done mini lops most my life though but never ate them, they were always just pets. But, I have considered doing them for meat the last few years. I may yet. They can be potty trained, however, don't let them roam the house with out your supervision (they like to chew on things) mainly cords, however, mine never liked cords, loved my yoga mat though! lol haha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 09:45:02 AM
I just read some more of your post, rabbits dont require shots. Also they would only need to be wormed if they touch the ground. Now they may get ear mits that would need to be treated and can spread from one to another.There is no proven cause of bloat in a rabbit but from not getting enough fiber wont cause bloat, They get all the necessary probiotics from eating there poop at nite. They only eat a certain shaped one that they know has all the probiotics in it. If you are going to raise these for meat, do not rabbit tractor them as then you would have to use a chemical wormer on them and there is a withdrawal time of 15-30 days before you can eat the meat, so the best way to not have to deal with it is keep them seperated and off the ground. My rabbits live in a open sided barn all year around with no heat unless they are kindling. They can handle the cold very well and prefer it to the heat.Rabbits are very easy to take care of, we have ours set up on a 2 liter water bottle and we only feed 1 time a day, and we dont have stacked cages so no cleaning. So with 10 i would say it would take less than 30 minutes a day to fill water bottles and feed. When we had 250+ it took 4 of us over 4 hrs a day for feeding and watering.
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 08:56:24 AM
I just read some of Dianes post, you only need to feed them once a day. You need to feed the large breeds 6-8 oz a day, that is the size of a tuna can. I dont feed them any extra when they are pregnant as they can get too fat and wont be able to birth with out complications. I do feed double the ration after they have kindled tho. I know some people can get feed cheaper than i can but it takes 1 bag of feed per rabbit for every 3 months. So at 3 months i have $20 in the feed. I dont process mine out till they are at least 6 months for weight. so that means for that one rabbit i would spend $40 for a 2.5-4lb rabbit so that figures out at the cheapest $10 a lb for rabbit meat. So if you really want to do this for meat you need to take the time to figure out time, money, houseing, who will take care of them if you have to go out of town, and if you think you will make money selling rabbits i would say turn around and walk away..lol
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 08:48:35 AM
I will go ahead and say that i dont know how well using mini lops for meat would be, yes they do get semi large, around 8 lbs for does. But the thing is that most people consider them pets as they are so cute. I dont recommend raising them for meat as they do grow slower than a meat rabbit variety would. If you go with a good all purpose rabbit food that will be all the vitamins and minerals that they need.They will eat greens but it isnt good for there stomach and can cause scours. The Manure is good but if you house them outside once the manure gets wet it smells alot. They dont require alot of care so they are a good pet. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. I have run a rabbitry for over 4 years now. At my highest rabbit count i had over 250~ Now we are just raising Mini Lops for 4-h and ffa shows!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 07:02:51 AM
Awwww... SO cute, Diane! Thank you SO much - you have been extremely helpful! I think I'll start by calling the city and seeing what we're allowed to do, first. If that's okay, then I'll buy that book, for sure, and then decide.
I am pretty sure that her bunnies are Easter impulse purchases from a year ago. Their kids are little, so I'm sure that poses a problem in handling the bunnies. The bunnies multiplied recently, and they just don't have the time or ability to care for them as they should. The fact that she hasn't been forthcoming about care information concerns me - have they had their shots?? Are there any health problems?? Is it just waaaay too overwhelming and expenseive to care for them??? I'm thinking we can do this, though, truly.
We actually have a nice chain link fence running along one side of the yard that is intertwined with wisteria and roses, with a large antique lilac smack dab in the middle. I was thinking that since it's a nice, shaded area, we might be able to make a rabbit run there for the warmer months. We do have wild rabbits in the neighborhood - not sure if that's anything I need to be concerned about or not?
Our vet is an old country farm vet, so we shouldn't have any problem there.
I'm a bit concerned about our dog, but usually if she knows something is important to us, she respects it. I just don't want her to go nuts and frighten them by barking at them all the time, scaring them - literally - to death.
Our garage isn't heated, but there is a wonderful space near my husband's work area where we could set up cages and a small heat system. We actually have a heating system out there, but it hasn't been hooked up in years. I'm sure we can make it safe and comfortable for them.
I'm definitely not sure about the meat part... I'd eat it just fine, I just don't know that I could eat my pet! ;) When I was little, my aunt had given us a slaughtered lamb for helping with the hay baling one year... it was the runt of the litter, the one I'd dress up and play with whenever I was visiting her - MY pet!!! I cried and cried and cried and threw SUCH a fit whenever it was on the table... I got more than one spanking over it from my Dad, to be sure. I never ate lamb again until my adult years, primarily because it was a staple in my husband's family. Now I love it.
Anyhow...
I just need to be very well-educated about raising rabbits and have a plan before I discuss this with my husband. My biggest concern is the city ordinance - I REALLY wanted chickens, but, to his relief, they're not allowed. (CITY BOYS!) We'll see! I'll be making some calls after homeschool today! :)
Thanks so much, Diane! I really, really appreciate it! Your rabbits are so cute! And your pictures are really helpful, too! :)
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
|
| Fiddlehead Farm |
Posted - May 12 2011 : 05:30:11 AM
Nini,
We rescued 5 rabbits from a 4-H'r that lost interest. Two died from bloat, not being fed properly. We got the Stories Guide to Raising Rabbits and it really helped us. Back to the rabbits, one was pregnant and she had 2 babies. One baby was still born but the other survived and is doing well. We named her Mini-Me and we have been handling her since she was little and she loves nose scratches. They are easy to raise and the rabbit poo is wonderful for the garden. It does not even need to be composted first. Rabbits can be classified as pets not livestock. My DH wants to raise them for meat so we bred the big female named Moosie again. The meat is very low in fat and high in protein and low cost from feed to meat ratio. I will leave the butchering up to him. He was going to buy a contraption that he saw on-line that breaks their neck, but I think the most humane way is to put one .22 in the back of the head.(sigh) We buy their pellets in large bags and feed once a day unless pregnant or nursing. Always make sure they have a constant supply of Timothy Hay. The number one cause of bloat and death is not enough fiber. We currently have 4 rabbits, one male and 3 females. We are making a rabbit tractor so they can have some exercise and grass. Currently house them in the garage in 4 seperate cages, but once our back yard fence is done they will be moved outside into a rabbit hutch we are going to build. There is a fine line between pet and livestock. I don't know what your ordinance requires but I know we are breaking the law with our rabbits. I just don't advertise that I have them. Also the 6 ft high privacy fence we are doing will help. Good article in this months "Countryside and Small Stock Journal" about meat rabbits. There is also information at Grit Magazine and Mother Earth News...both of these have on-line articles on rabbits.   .JPG) A few pictures of our hutches and our first baby rabbit Mini-Me.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
|
|
