WARNING: This diary discusses the raising of rabbits for human consumption. If this topic disturbs you, please do not proceed.
This Diary has been edited to include Florida White breed.
The previous diaries in this series are as follows:
Part 1: the argument for raising rabbits for meat.
Part 2: Shelter
Part 3: Nutrition and climate
Today we're going to discuss what breed of rabbit to get for your new rabbit enterprise and the pros and cons of each. The first thing to know about selecting a breed of rabbit for meat, is to avoid any rabbit with the word "giant" in its breed name. I know what you're saying "But Dawn, giants are the largest rabbits out there, surely those are the best meat rabbits right?" Meat rabbits are bred to have a high "meat to bone" ratio. Meaning they're muscular, but they have fine bone structure, even more so than birds. Larger rabbits, like the Flemish Giant, are meaty, but they're also large boned to support their larger size which is a less desirable trait when it comes time to process and quarter them. Larger animals are also harder to dispatch. The downside to the meat breeds is that fine bone structure makes them more fragile. It's much easier for a meat rabbit to break a leg or even its back compared to a larger or smaller breed. You don't have to treat them like eggs, but don't go dropping them or frightening them so badly they run into walls.
For purposes of definition, a meat breed is any breed of rabbit that is 8-12lbs adult weight (with the females being slightly heavier than the males). These can be further broken down into Commercial, Non-commercial, rare, and cross categories.
We'll begin with the commercial breeds. These breeds are used by large meat rabbit operations and they are bred to produce large litters (10+ per litter), produce litters back to back (we'll discuss that in the next diary on breeding). They're also bred to grow quickly and reach the desired butcher weight (5-6 lbs. for "fryers") quickly, usually in 8-10 weeks. The cons are that these breeds tend to be boring and uniform to look at. Because many meat processors will only take white rabbits, almost all commercial breeds are white albinos. Also commercial rabbitries don't exactly breed for temperament. You might have a very sweet rabbit, or a horror out of a Monty python movie. (by and large rabbits are not aggressive but pregnant does can be temperamental and we'll discuss that in a future diary)
The most popular commercial breeds (in no particular order):
1) The Californian: Californians are white with dark points (feet, nose, ears, and tail) like a Siamese cat. They have red, albino eyes. Their adult weight is 8-10lbs and produce litters of 8-12 kits which grow to fryer size in 8-12 weeks. Californians also have high quality fur making them desirable for their pelts as well.
2) New Zealand: Despite the name, this breed is American in origin. The colors recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) are White, Black, and Red, but crossing different colors can produce all kinds of patterns and effects. Adult weight is 9-12 lbs. and CAN be more aggressive than some breeds.
Non-Commercial breeds. Many of these breeds were either developed to be meat breed or as a fur breed but are now more often bred for show competition, than eating. They are still a good size for use as a meat rabbit, but are more bred for their looks than high production. There are several breeds and I don't know much about all of them but there are a lot of online resources including the ARBA website.
1) Harlequin: So called because these multi-colored rabbits tend to be one color on one side of their face, and another color on the other side.
2) Rex: This breed comes in almost every color combination including "broken" (which usually just means multi-colored)
3) Silver Marten: Comes in different dark shades of generally white tipped fur.
4) Bereven: A large meat breed developed in Belgium in the 19th century. They come in black, white and blue.
5) Crème D ‘argent: Developed in France in the mid to late 1800s, they were imported to the U.S. in the early 1900s where the focus was on breeding a "meat type" rabbit. This breed is now extinct in every country except the U.S. and the U.K. They are white in color with an orange undercoat giving it a creamy color. Litter sizes range from 5-8 kits and are reputed to be good mothers.
6) Cinnamon: this breed was developed in 1962 and has a russet colored coat. As rabbit breeds go it's fairly new and was created by accident by crossing a mixed breed buck with a checkered giant doe, and then matting two of the russet colored offspring together to produce a rabbit with a high sheen coat.
7) Satin: So called because it also has a high sheen coat. They come in several colors.
8) Palamino: comes in several different shades of golden.
9) Florida White: This is one of the underdogs of the meat breeds, being smaller than most (topping out at 8lbs). Because of that small adult weight they are often overlooked when people choose a breed of rabbit for meat. But they have several benefits including a higher than avereage meat to bone ratio (even among the meat breeds). They have reasonably large litters averaging 8 kits. And they grow out reasonably quickly at 10-12 weeks. But their biggest draw is their smaller size requires less feed and less space. If space is a premium, you should definately look into Florida White.
Rare breeds. These breeds have fewer than 1000 individuals worldwide. Several of them have very fine fur and meat qualities but for some reason have fallen out of fashion in the show circuit and may or may not be properly colored for commercial meat production. If you're interested in bringing a breed back from the brink of extinction, these are the ones for you.
1) Blanc de hotot: Originating in France, these rabbits are all white except for thick black "eyeliner" patches over both eyes. Very attractive rabbit that top out at 11lbs.
2) Silver: This is one of the oldest recognized breed of rabbit and are recognized in 3 colors: Black, Brown, and Fawn (with silver hairs interspersed).
4) American Chinchilla: This breed was designed more as a fur rabbit to resemble chinchilla fur, but also has a larger size than the Standard Chinchilla (one of the progenitor breeds of the American Chinchilla) for meat breeding. Its population peaked to 17,000 individuals in 1929 and has declined since. A large, hardy and gentle breed that averages 9-12 lbs.
5) Silver Fox: Designed to mimic the fur of its namesake species being dense and luxurious, it also has a very high dress-out weight for meat breeds.
6) The American: (Disclaimer: this is the breed I'm planning on getting myself.) This breed was developed in the U.S. in the 1918 and was very popular as both a meat and fur breed through the 40s. It is recognized in solid blue and Red-eyed white (also known as REW) but black Americans are also available and often crossed with Blue Americans to produce darker blue offspring. It was one of the first and best breeds to be available in solid blue. It has the uncommon "Mandolin" shaped body, thick in the rump and long in the loin it is an excellent meat breed. It is one of the rarest breeds in the U.S. with approx. 500 members, and found ONLY in the U.S. and Canada (which has their own line of Americans, mostly white, called "Can-Ams"). They average 9-12 lbs. They are hardy, docile, produce large litters, and are typically good mothers with young reaching market weight fairly quickly (8-10 weeks).
And lastly the crosses. If rabbits were dogs, crosses would be the mutts. These are fine for the purpose of meat breeding and are common in back yard rabbitries. They tend to be less expensive to obtain by virtue of not being showable in competition.
Regardless of breed, there are a few qualities that you want a meat rabbit to have. They should be, well, meaty. They should feel dense, and heavy for their size. They should have bright clean eyes, clean ears, and clean feet. Most rabbits, especially white ones, will have some yellowing (urine stains) on the feet, but it shouldn't be excessive. Rabbit feet should also be free of sores and their nails should be trimmed and not too long. Rabbits should be alert, and should tolerate handling well (we'll cover proper handling in a later diary). If you're interested in keeping the fur, it should be dense and soft and clean, whatever color it is (although during seasonal molts in the spring and fall it may not be any of those things). Their front teeth should not be too long and they should be straight. These are all signs of a rabbit that has been taken good care of and well bred. If you plan to show the rabbits in competition, the nails should all be the same color (as it is a disqualifier if they're not).
So where does one FIND rabbits? From people who breed rabbits silly! Rabbits can often be found for sale on craigslist (in the farm and garden section), rabbit enthusiast websites (most breeds have their own club/site) or yahoo groups. But before you buy a rabbit, here are a few things to consider:
1) Papers or no? If you want a pedigreed rabbit, that is going to cost more (depending on the breed). But the only reason you'd want a pedigree is if you intend to also breed rabbits for show. If you do want purebred rabbits, stick to one breed. Especially if you're a small rabbitry you do NOT want the hassle of multiple breeds that require separate breeding stock. If you're working with crosses or don't care about pedigree, then you can get rabbits in every color of the rainbow if you want.
2) Age. If you want to get started right away, you should get a buck or doe that is at least 9 months old. For a doe, it's even better if she's already has a litter or two under her belt so you can ask questions about what kind of mother she is, what her litter sizes are. You should also ask the breeder what kind of mother HER mother was (if it's known), since those maternal qualities are often passed mother to daughter. Also for a buck, you can ask how successful his past matings are what kind of litter sizes he sired. An older buck is less a concern than an older doe as does have a much shorter reproductive life (much like humans) and reach the end of their reproductive life usually in their third year. Another benefit of getting a rabbit at sexual maturity or older, is that its already developed and you get can get a better idea of how well developed it is. Rabbits that look very promising at 2-3 months don't always grow up fulfilling that promise. Don't worry about asking a breeder too many questions. Any breeder worth a darn will be eager and enthusiastic when it comes to talking about their rabbits and good ones will keep detailed breeding records.
3) What comes with a rabbit? If you buy a rabbit from a breeder, it should at MINIMUM come with a bag of the breeder's brand of rabbit pellets, usually enough to last a week or two while you transition to whatever feed you have. If a breeder refuses to provide that, go somewhere else. A rabbit from a show breeder will also often have a tattoo inside the left ear with an identification number (which is necessary for showing).
Next part: Rabbit Sex Ed.