Wynne Nicholas

Hello All,

I started adding livestock to my little farm last year.  I now have hens (layers) and rabbits.  My family loves lamb and I have become interested in raising my own.  I am currently planning on starting with lambs in the spring.  I am in zone 7B and I am curious what breeds might do best in this area.  I am looking for parasite-resistant hair breeds.  I am curious if anyone else in this same type of climate has favorites or has had success with these animals.  So far I have noticed in my local papers that people tend to prefer Katahdin's in this area as there are many of them for sale.  My plan is the buy a ram and ewe with a few weaned lambs to get me started.  

I am considering:

St. Croix:
I hear they are smaller carcasses but, high-quality meat.  I don't mind the small carcass as we have a small family.  I also hear they are big weed eaters and highly resistant to parasites.)

Dorper:
This appears to be a popular breed but, I don't see any for sale near me.  I guess this is the Angus of sheep big carcass good meat.

Barbados Black Belly:
Ok, I fell in love with these as soon as I saw them the first time.  I know they are slow to grow and have a smaller carcass but, I also hear the meat is top-notch.  They are also parasite resistant and they breed year long producing many twins.

Katahdin:
This appears to be the favored sheep in this area.  From what I know they are hardy animals, adaptable and good mothers.  They produce a lean, meaty corpse that isn't as gamey as some other breeds.  I have to admit they didn't jump out to me as the 'right' breed but, they do seem practical.

If you have any other breeds that I should consider or have an opinion on the ones I have mentioned please, let me know.

Wynne

Hello, I  have noticed that two of my bunnies that have just given birth have sores on their hocks.   I have resting areas for them to stand on but recently it seems they have stopped using them.  I am not sure what to do.  Originally, I had wooden flooring in a portion of the cage but, they seemed more interested in nibbling on it than standing on it.

Wynne

Thanks for your advice.  Unfortunately, they didn't make it through the night.  Do you know how long the doe should rest before we attempt to breed her, again?  We have a Buc who is ready.

So I bought rabbits not long ago from a local breeder.  When my wife and I came home today we were shocked to find 10 baby bunnies scattered around the bunny cage.  A few of them had already perished but, 8 of them had survived.   We promptly purchased a box for them and filled it with pine shavings for warmth.  We keep our females and male separate and had not yet started breeding.  Obviously, this rabbit was pregnant when we bought her.  Is there anything we can do to help the kits now that they are here?

Hello Permies,

I want to start by thanking the community here for all your help and advice.  One of my plans after buying my rabbits was to develop a simple application to track the rabbits and their offspring ( I am a software engineer by trade ).  The breeder I purchased from made me aware of several commercially available products that could save me the trouble.  Have any of you had any experience with these types of software?  I am currently looking at Evans and Hutch but I am open to other solutions.

Wynne

Thanks for your replies guys.  I want to make sure the rabbits are healthy and get plenty of nutrition.  

So a week ago I set up my hutch and built three cages for new bunnies.  My wife was able to find a local source for rex-breed rabbits.  The original owner breeds show rabbits primarily.  Initially, I wanted to purchase from him a "proven" buck and doe combination and a younger buck and doe.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to provide any proven breeders.  I ended up with one buck 12-14 weeks old a doe 12-14 weeks old and another 8-week old pair.   All of the rabbits look good and healthy.  We are pleased with our purchase.

I have a few questions.  I read in Storey's guide that you are better off raising rabbits that have been given primarily feed on feed.  I have noticed though that the rabbits seem to eat most of what we throw at them.  Earlier this week I was thinning out my radishes and decided to see if the rabbits would like the greens.  They devoured them.  One bunny, in particular, seems to really love them.  My children have fed them grasses and dandelions.  They seem to prefer just about anything to the feed.   If you drop fresh greens or flowers of any kind in the cage they will readily devour them before touching the feed.  Is there a reason why I shouldn't provide them with a diet of fresh greens, grasses (my plot of land is my granddad's old field the wheat or whatever it is,  still grows tall if we don't mow it and it is plentiful?  I have been thinking of setting them out in a small trailer and letting them eat the lawn for a while?

Secondly, I am wondering at what age I should start trying to breed the oldest pair?  I am hoping to get a few litters before the summer sets in.

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:Given your location, I'd recommend looking for a heat-tolerant breed. Brazilians are supposed to be good with heat and humidity, and they're also reported to have better disease resistance than most breeds. But they can also be hard to find in the US.

Just doing a quick search I came up with this list: https://petkeen.com/top-heat-tolerant-rabbit-breeds/

Rabbits can share space with chickens as long as they're far enough apart that the chickens can't peck noses and toes, and as long as the bedding is kept clean enough. If your rabbits start having breathing problems, first thing to do would be to separate them from the chickens.

Ellandra,

Thank you for replying.  I had not thought about considering the warm climate.  I appreciate the link.  I had satin on my honorable mention list.  Maybe they might be a better breed for me given their heat tolerance.

Wynne

Hello Fellow Permies,

I am a new homesteader.  I am currently living on my family's land in Northern Mississippi.  This year we are planning to get started with livestock.  I have decided on rabbits as my first livestock.  I went out and bought a copy of Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits and this weekend I am building the cages and hutch as described in the book.

The hutch is metal cages hung from a wood frame with a roof.  I will be hanging 4 cages as I plan to start with 2 Jr. Bucs a 1sr. Doe and a Jr. Doe   It will not be housed inside of a building it is free-standing.  I am looking at rabbit breeds to fill my cages and start breeding.  So far I am considering these breeds.

Florida White
Californian
Champagne d'Argent
New Zealand Red

If any of you have experience with any of these breeds or you can recommend another breed that I should consider please let me know.
I also plan to build grow trailers for the young rabbits to let them feast on the grass here.  However, in the future, I plan on adding a chicken coop to the property.  Does anyone know if rabbits can share an enclosure with chickens?