Meat Rabbits in MA?

I'm new to Permies.com, But not the ideas. We have a little homestead on the northshore with vegetable gardens, strawberries, grapes, peaches, blueberries, chickens, geese,and sometimes pigs. There are 9 in our household and our goal is to raise as much of our food as we can. We'd really like to add meat rabbits to our homestead, but haven't found any for sale nearby. Anyone here have some for sale? looking for a buck and 2 does. We will try any meat breed we can find. Any one know of a breeder in MA, NH, RI, VT, or southern ME?

My friend I spoke of in this thread is selling off her rabbits.

I've got a pair that have been producing kits at a good rate. The doe had a litter of 10 kits about a week ago. They will be ready to go somewhere around april 15th. I'm planning on keeping a couple to expand the herd and the rest will go to the table or freezer.
If you don't have any luck closer to home, I'll happily help you get started if I can.

You can also check the ARBA website where they have a breeders section to help you find good stock of the breed you're looking for.

Hi Craig,
Thanks for your post. a few questions....
Where in Maine? What breed do you have? I need a buck and 2 does. I'd like the buck to be from a different line.

I guess the best place to get a background you can see how I got started here: My first rabbits

From the best I can tell the buck I have is a Californian and the doe is either a Satin or something similar. This leaves me with a litter that is mixed breed. The kits so far have either been black or californian in coloration ( nothing mixed). Being that I only have the two adults, I couldn't provide you with animals from different lines, but I could get you half way there. In the current litter there are ten kits, so I could easily help you with either the buck or a few does. Since the does aren't going to breed until they are about 6 months old, you'll have a little time to find a good buck from another line if that is your aim.
I too will be adding some new blood to the mix this year. I really fell in love with raising rabbits so I'm going to take it more seriously this year by expanding the genetics.
Let me know if I can help at all.
I'm located near Belfast Maine.

Hi Craig, Thanks for your reply. Very interesting story. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm hoping to find some closer to us. 3 hours each way with kids who get carsick is more than I hope to do.

E. Barker wrote:Hi Craig, Thanks for your reply. Very interesting story. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm hoping to find some closer to us. 3 hours each way with kids who get carsick is more than I hope to do.

Long car rides are no fun with little ones. I've been there myself.
Keep searching and you'll find the right rabbits for your family. It's a very rewarding venture. Best wishes

Wish you were closer, I have a very nice NZ buck (12 weeks old) I really don't want to butcher because he is so nice but, I have too many bucks. I'm trying to give him (named Cotton) away to someone that needs a good meat buck and doesn't mind that he is young. (I did breed him to one of my does this week and, he did fine, so he definitely can breed.

(In AR, near Texarkana if anyone wants Cotton - message me.)

So did you get your rabbits, and where in Massachusetts are you? I'm in CT just south of Sturbridge/ Southbridge. Have some nice New Zealand / Satin mixed breeds that have been fine for meat purposes. At some point I might be looking for a new doe or buck so let me know where you're at!

Hey! We have a litter of German angora rabbits that are ready to go. They make good meat rabbits plus you get awesome wool from them! You can also bred them to new zealands and get a real nice meaty cross rabbit. I am raising new zealand/ flemish giant crosses right now too. They are only 3 weeks old right now so they aren't ready to go yet. I will be breeding pure bred new zealands soon. We're located in Ma. a few towns from Worcester. I always have rabbits around here! We are trying to grow most of our own food here too. It's tough with a tiny piece of land but it's still fun!

https://www.facebook.com/summitstfarm19

Hello all,
Sorry I haven't gotten around to following up on my post. I ended up getting Silver Fox rabbits. I love them, they are so beautiful! The does aren't full grown yet, so I haven't bred them. I'm on the north shore.

I'll keep you posted

Wow, those Silver Fox look beautiful, from pictures on the web. Where did you get them?

Hi Rebecca,
I got them from Pat at New England Grassfed. He's in Rhode Island