Terms and Conditions

Why Should I Raise Rabbits for Meat?

We began raising meat rabbits in our apartment in 2015 after my becoming abruptly disabled forced me to need to sell my day spa and we were on a lower income suddenly. As a person who strives to be independent no matter what, my family and I sat down and hashed out a plan. My husband came up with raising meat rabbits after stumbling over a wild nest of rabbits in a field across the street. We knew we couldn’t keep wild rabbits since it is illegal so we set out to find domestic breeds. Rabbits  were simple, quiet and our landlady approved rabbits as an allowed animal. She didnt specify a limit ;) so off we went. We spent the next several months investigating breeds, talking, laughing and planning. We watched videos on how to, studied rabbit anatomy, pathology and took in as much knowledge as we could. 

Meat Rabbits grow fast and the turnaround is fast. Gestation of a rabbit is 28-40 days. You can re breed your doe immediately after she kindles. We personally wean ours at 6 weeks and attempt breeding when they are 4 weeks but to each their own. I do know people who breed that soon and wean that early. 

At 12 weeks old you can harvest 2-6# of meat from just one rabbit and each litter comes with 5-12 babies on average. An adult rabbit is fed 1/4 cup of pellets per 5# of body weight give or take. You should monitor the amount of feed and adjust it to make sure they dont get too thin or too fat.  If they are too fat, it will inhibit their ability to breed and can limit the size of the does litters.  Also provide unlimited hay daily. We prefer grass hay tho you can use timothy, orchard or alfalfa. Alfalfa isn't preferred as use with pellets can provide too much calcium, however if you're primarily fodder feeding it is a great option to keep your rabbits conditioned. For the best breeding environment, be sure they get ample sunlight/natural light as lack of such will keep them from breeding or producing.

We got started with three Rex does and a Silver Fox buck. They were beautiful. Two of the rex had full pedigrees and were from champion lines which at the time meant nothing to us. We wanted to learn to tan hides and work with pelts as well, a feat that we have yet to master. Cant be good at everything, but the freezer has some amazing furs for when we get it down, HA!  

What does it taste like?

Well, it  is a white meat that tastes like turkey with the texture of chicken would be my best way to describe it.  You can use it in recipes just the same as you would chicken.  It is an extremely versatile meat, low in cholesterol and fat. Well what about fat starvation people talk about then?  Domestic rabbit isn't as low in fat as wild rabbit so fat starvation isn't a big risk factor. Especially if you are cooking it in fat which most of us are. We also consume fat during the course of our day. Bacon wrapped rabbit is divine.  You can also eat the organ meats to supply yourself with enough fat to satisfy the need if you are in a survival situation. 

Why Gnomish Giants for meat?

The Gnomish Giants have been developed to contain both white and dark meat marbled mostly in the legs but is also found in the loins depending on the level of development  of the lines you are working with and wether or not someone bred true or crossed to another breed. Crossing a Gnomish Giant to another breed is counterproductive as it muddies the special traits developed, the growth rates and the super plush fur. Gnomish Giants were developed only from the highest quality rex and silverfox rabbits that won awards at shows  And while we are not creating a show rabbit, this was important because they were high quality, balanced animals.

If you think about it, in the 1980's we were all told fat was bad for us and we cut out so much fat from our diets that even if we all lived solely on domestic rabbit we most likely would consume more fat than we did on those diets. The all salad no salad dressing fad, the grapefruit diet...we survived.  Rabbit is also great for people on diets for cholesterol. Now keep in mind this is not to be used as medical advice in any way.

So Where Do I Go From Here?

The best way to begin in my opinion is to get two does and a buck unless you are just two people then a doe and a buck will do. we sell large and giant breeds so you will want at least a 30x30 cage per rabbit or a 2x4' cage. A clean water source, fresh hay and either fodder or pellets. if you choose fodder you have some homework ahead of you.  Most brands of pellets are completely balanced. We do supplement with Barley seed fodder but also us Manna Pro Grow 18% pellets.  In the beginning we used hay from the store which was very costly but we didnt know where else to go. Then we found farmers on craigslist for a huge square bale for $3 each. This made a huge difference in cost effectiveness. My suggestion, look around. Co-ops, feed and seed stores, Fleet Farm and other farm stores etc. A 50# bag of feed ranges $17-$22. (Since then hay prices have doubled but it is still cheaper from a hay farmer and fresher. 

When should I breed?

A female can mature as early as 12 weeks but tend to mature around 5 or 6 months. Some may take longer as there is no one size fits all to their development. I have found breeding earlier tends to create a better mothering instinct. The larger the breed, the longer it takes for them to mature sexually. Males on the other hand do become ready a lot sooner. They are ready from 12 to 16 weeks. You can tell when a boy is ready by pulling back and exposing his penis to see if it has developed and the testes have descended. A female, the only way I have found to check is to put her in with the buck and see if she will let him breed her.  This method isn’t foolproof because does May lift before ovulation begins just because hormones are there. But don’t get discouraged if you start early and she doesn’t kindle in a month, just re breed her right away. I have known females to kindle as early as 18 weeks and a 12 week old buck to impregnate his own mother. So if you don’t want any unwanted litters I would keep these things in mind when allotting cage spaces. 

Can I breed siblings?

The answer to this of course is yes. This is called inbreeding.  But you do need to be aware that it will bring up any negative genes hiding within your rabbits if they are there. It doesn’t create them, it just exposes them. But it also brings out the best of genes within them which is why so many show breeders will do this kind of pairing to create better quality rabbits. It should be done with caution and with intent. If you get sickly rabbits from a pairing, don’t repeat the pairing and definitely cull the animals for meat rather than breeding or selling them. They will only have health issues. So this process could be a big mess, or a huge boon to your program.  Never choose a rabbit to hold back based on color or “cuteness” as this can lead to diminished quality in your stock. 

What is line breeding and have you done it?

line breeding is used to better your stock, lock in traits you want and can be done for up to 12 generations if done properly. The rule is cull hard. Line breeding has served us well in the creation of the Gnomish Giants. 

I bred my does but they didn’t have babies, now what?

This happens to everyone and can happen for many reasons. Is your doe a first timer? What is the age of the doe? Is she too old to breed? Could she be sterile? Is she over weight? Has it been extremely hot or cold causing temporary sterility? How old was the buck? Does the buck have a split penis? Have you checked for STDs on both animals? There are many things it could be. After ruling out the above things, the only thing left to do is re breed your doe. She can and should be re bred as soon as possible after day 40 from her last breeding date. Waiting May cause her to become stubborn about wanting to be bred again or create excess fat around her organs leading to smaller litters or again, no litters. If she is too fat, remove pellets for a few days to a week and feed just hay and water and re breed her again. This can also be done to a stubborn doe to encourage breeding. Sometimes excess weight will cause them not to want to breed.  And remember, natural lighting. 

Chapter 3. Why a pet bunny? (Most of us are fond of our rabbits so I am including this section here as well)

How do I care for my new bunny friend?

So you just got a new little furry friend, or you are thinking about it but what do you need? Number one is a cage or hutch big enough for your bunny when it is full grown. Our bunnies will be between 9-14# so it is best to get 2 foot by 3 foot minimum size.

Plan on letting your bunny out daily for play and exercise. Be sure to clear the play area of all cords and anything you don't want chewed.  You may want to give your bunny a day or 2 to settle into his or her new home before giving too much play time as they can be a bit nervous even tho they are well socialized, they are in a new place with new people.  But do hold your bunny on your lap and stroke his ears slowly to help him bond with you and give him or her time to explore while supervised.

What should I feed my bunny friend: You will need a good quality hay. Hay should make up 75-80% of your bunnies diet. We prefer grass hay as it provides a wide variety of nutrients as well as fiber. you can also use timothy, Orchard or Alfalfa. Alfalfa being the least desirable as it can provide too much calcium to your rabbits and cause health issues. Next you will need rabbit pellets with a minimum of 16-18% protein as our rabbits are large to giant breeds. Follow the feeding directions on the package.  Always keep fresh clean water available.  If they don't have water they won't eat.  You can add 1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar to the water bottle as well to add nutrients and boost their immune systems.  Be sure it is apple cider

vinegar and not apple flavored vinegar which is made from corn not apples. 

Tips and Tricks

Litter Training: Rabbits can be easily litter trained. We get reports back that our bunnies

are trained within a day or 2 after going to their furever home but may take longer.

It's all individual.

Be consistent in your training. You always want to use Pine bedding and never cedar.

Cedar will cause respiratory issues and death to your new friend. I would also avoid the

colored stuff because they will eat it and the dye is not good for them.  Never use kitty litter. 

Until your bunny is trained keep the litter pan inside the cage or hutch.  Keep all bedding to

the litter pan only so she doesn't get confused where to go. Don't change the pan too often while

training.  The scent tells her to go back there.  Put any excess poops into the pan so she learns

that is where they go.  Training can take up to 2 weeks. Some learn a lot quicker. Once trained

you can keep additional pine pans outside the hutch for use when on play time. be patient. 

Should I get my bunny fixed? If you are keeping your bunny indoors as a pet you will probably want to get your bunny fixed. It helps maintain temperament once they reach sexual maturity as well as keeps them comfortable if you don't plan on breeding them.  Do you have to do it? No.  If your bunny is not having any behavioral problems once they reach breeding age and you dont want to have them fixed, then by all means it is not necessary. 

You can use indoor or outdoor hutches. Both should have a place where the rabbit can sleep. Any droppings should be removed daily and the cage cleaned thoroughly once a week replacing your rabbit’s beddings.

Outdoor enclosures should be raised, waterproof, secure from predators and located under an open, airy area preferably in the shade and out of the wind.

Finally, clip their nails when they become long and let your bunnies spend a few hours outside their cages and interact with you. Rabbits require your time and attention. Do not just put them in their cages and forget about them.

Bunny Health

Bunnies can be fickle. One of our sayings around here is that “Rabbits like to die.” Well that’s morbid, isn’t it? Being a prey animal has its disadvantages. Rabbits have huge litters and are always ready to breed (I didn’t say willing ha!)

There are many things that can go wrong from bloat and bordtella to heart attacks, broken limbs and the dreaded pasturella. So what can you do to prevent this? Keep your cages clean and dry. Every couple months, bleach or use dilution of vineger and water (NEVER COMBINE BLEACH AND VINEGAR IT'S TOXIC) and thoroughly wash your cages.

On our bunny potions page you will find for sale some supplements for teas to give your bunnies periodically to boost their immune systems. will this prevent everything? Of course not but it can give them a better chance at staying healthy.  Just make the teas and put it in their water bottles for a couple of weeks daily once every quarter (four times a year).

As always, we are happy to help with any questions you may have so be sure to message us. We don't have all 

of the answers but if we do we will glady give them to you. 

Follow proper care and husbandry to ensure they are free of fur mites, ticks, and fleas.

Cleaning 

Ensure they are not soiled especially on their bottoms to avoid flystrike. One of my pet peeves is urine soaked bottomed and feeted rabbits. Thing is, it can happen to anyone. Yellow, not brown. If you see brown feet, something is either wrong with the bunny health wise, or the owner cleanliness wise. Rabbits like to pee on things and sit in them. Whether it is a blanket or a bunch of hay or it’s litter pan. They can be taught, generally. Most of them anyway. Sometimes you get that stubborn one who carries hay to a corner just to go potty on it and then lay in it. FRUSTRATING! Spot clean them if necessary. You can absolutely wash a domestic rabbit. Especially one that is well handled and socialized. It isn’t necessary to drench your rabbit tho so only get them as wet as needed to do the job. This was what I came up with one day out of frustration because other people swore by vinegar, baking soda, corn starch etc and nothing ever did the job.

So our favorite way to clean soiled feet or bottoms is dish soap (any brand), a tooth brush, a damp wash cloth, a dry hand towel and warm water. Fill a small bowl half full of soapy water. Dip the toothbrush in and saturate it. Scrub the area gently but firmly until you see the stain lifting. Get it nice and foamy on the fur but not so much you can’t easily get it back out with the damp wash cloth. Back and forth and side to side. This may take a few minutes per area. Make sure to keep your bunny calm and use a second person to hold if you have a nervous bunny. Once the area has been brushed well, use your wet washcloth to wipe the soap off. If you had a lot of soap, get another small bowl of warm water to re dip the cloth in, ring it again and repeat till the suds are gone. Then take your dry hand towel and buff the area until dry. We find our bunnies actually enjoy this process and it aids bonding as if we are a mother or sibling grooming them. The result will be fluffy squeaky clean fur. From there they will be encouraged to keep themselves groomed better. 

**note** I don’t recommend using important towels or washcloths for this. We use older ones. 

Do not forget to monitor their weight and general health conditions.

Check them regularly to ensure they don’t have overgrown teeth. In the case of overgrown teeth, give them 

more hay, gnaw toys, and roughage to help wear down their ever-growing teeth as they can injure soft tissues 

inside their mouths if ignored.

Bloat

Bloat is something that will kill your furry little friend. What causes bloat? Feeding the wrong foods, feeding to many treats like carrots, introducing wet foods and too much grass too quickly Or unbalanced gut flora. Keep probiotics such as Benebac on hand to treat any GI issues that arise. Loose cecotropes is one that can benefit from a probiotic.  Anytime you give a rabbit an antibiotic you must also give a probiotic or the antibiotic can wipe the bacteria out of the rabbits gut which helps digest their food. This leads to liver failure, bloat and death. An overdose of antibiotics will also cause liver failure and death.  If you do have to give antibiotics, use caution with dosage. It needs to be precise. 

Herbs And Treats & more

Feeding

*Use good feeders designed for pellets.

*Don’t mix feed, they will dig one out to get to the one they like best and it isn’t good for them. Only mix feed 

when you need to transition them to a new feed.

*Use grass hay, it doesnt need to be anything special. Just not moldy. They love brush!

*How much hay and grass should I give them daily? About the size of their body, plus pellets. Pellets, go by 

the size of their head. Their head and stomach are close to the same size. You need that much a day. But you 

should also give as much as possible as 80% of their diets come from hay. We free feed hay to our rabbits for 

proper gut health. Don’t over feed pellets. This will cause stomach issues like loose cecotropes.

*Don’t use old feed. Filling the feeder with pellets and letting it set overnight causes the binder in the feed to 

get damp and the pellets to fall apart.  Rabbits don’t eat the dust in the bottom and it will go to waste.

Don’t overfeed your non working breeding stock. Fat rabbits don’t breed. 

Treats: 

Plant foods can be started around 4 to 5 months in small amounts.

What is ok and what is not. Here is an extensive list to help you along.

RABBIT SAFE VEGETABLES-

Alfalfa Sprouts, Artichoke Leaves, Arugula, Asparagus, Baby Sweet Corn cobs, Beet Greens, Beetroot, Bell Peppers (green, yellow, red, orange…), Bok Choy/Pak Choy, Carrot Greens (tops), Carrot (limited amount, due to high sugar content), Celeriac, Celery, Cucumber, Chard, Chicory Greens (aka Italian Dandelions, Clover, Collard Greens (be cautious, may cause bladder issues due to high calcium), Dandelion Greens, Eggplant (purple fruit only; leaves are toxic), Endive, Escarole, Grass (if cut from your back yard-I spread it out and dry it), Kale, Lettuce (Dark Green/Red Leaf, Butter, Boston, Bibb, or Romaine – NO ICEBERG [no nutritional value, may cause diarrhea]), Mustard Spinach, Nappa/Chinese Cabbage, Okra Leaves, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Radish tops (Limited amounts: can cause bloat), Raspberry Leaves, Rhubarb (RED STALKS ONLY – POISONOUS LEAF), Squash: Yellow, Butternut, Pumpkin, Zucchini, Swiss Chard, Turnip Greens, Watercress, Wheat Grass, Zucchini,

SAFE IN MODERATION:

Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Mustard Greens, Spinach

SAFE FOODS:

Agrimony, Alfalfa, Apple, Balm, Banana, Barley, Basil, Beetroot, Blackberry, Borage, Broccoli, Buckwheat,  Burnet, Chamomile, Caraway, Carrot, Celery, Chicory, Chickweed, Chinese leaf, Cleavers, Clover, Coltsfoot, Comfrey-feed fresh young leaves and also dry for winter tonic, but most breeders say they feed it slightly wilted, Coriander, Corn, marigold, Cow Parsnip, Cucumber, Dandelion, Dead-Nettles, Dill, Dock BEFORE FLOWERING, Endive, Fat hen, Fennel, Goosefoot, Goosegrass, Goutweed BEFORE FLOWERING, Ground elder BEFORE FLOWERING, Hawkbit, Hawkweed, Heather, Hedge parsley, Horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, Knapweed, Knotgrass, Kohlrabi, Lavender, Lovage, Mallow, Marjoram, Mayweed, Maywort, Meadowsweet, Melon, Milk thistle, Mugwort, Nipplewort, Oats, Oxeye daisy, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas, Pear, Peppermint, Pigweed, Plantain, Pumpkin, Purslane, Radish GREENS
Raspberry, Sage, Savory, Shepherd’s purse, Silverweed, Sow thistle, Soya, Strawberry, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes (fruit only leaves and stalks are toxic!), Trefoil, Vetch, Vine leaves, Watercress, Watermelon, Wheat,
Yarrow

SAFE TREE AND SHRUB LEAVES-Should always feed only fresh young leaves: Acacia, Apple, Beech, Birch, Blackberry, Cherry, Hazel, Horse Chestnut, Lime, Mountain Ash, Mulberry, Pear, Poplar (not black), Raspberry, Strawberry

SAFE TWIGS-
Apple, Birch, Blackberry, Fir, Hazel, Hawthorn, Maple, Pear, Raspberry, Spruce, Willow

SAFE FLOWERS-

Aster, Daisy, Geranium, Geum, Helenium, Hollyhock, Honesty, Marguerite, Marigold, Michaelmas daisy, Nasturtium,
Rose, Stock, Sunflower

SAFE HERBS-

Basil (Lemon, Globe, Thai, Mammoth, Sweet, Genevieve), Borage, Chamomile, Caraway, Clover, Chervil, Comfrey, Coriander/Cilantro, Dill (Fernleaf, Mammoth), Fennel, Garden Cress, Groundsel, Lavender (Not for pregnant does; can cause miscarriage), Lemon Balm, Lovage, Marjoram, Mint (Pineapple sage, pineapple mint, apple mint, orange mint, peppermint, lemon thyme, cinnamon basil, lime basil, lemon basil, sweet basil, licorice basil, “licorice mint” (anise hyssop), spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, and basil mint.) Oregano, Parsley (Curly and Flat-Leaf), Rosemary, Sage (Pineapple is quite good), Salad Burnet /Small Burnet, Summer Savory, Tarragon, Thyme.

Be certain that if feeding from outdoors that you do not feed where weed killers or other chemicals have been sprayed as this will be fatal for your little friend.. I hope this information has been helpful.