It was the first breed you mentioned, but I was going to recommend the silver fox as well. We raise New Zealand’s and Silver Fox. The NZ are okay, but our Silver Fox mom is just amazing. I’ve heard they make good moms, but by golly. She is amazing with her kits. She is usually bred a couple weeks behind our other does and her kits always catch up to the weight of the NZ kits despite being a couple weeks younger. Such good rabbits with great demeanors. While we are lucky that all our rabbits have great demeanors, our SF buck is my favorite rabbit. Such a sweet guy! Good luck rabbit hunting!
I would investigate the American Blue. Rare, and valuable, and excellent mothering abilities, plus you help with saving an old breed. Excellent meat rabbit.
I have both American Blue and White. They are the best breed I have ever raised. They were hard to find. I was on a waiting list for almost a year and had to drive over 1200 miles round trip to pick them up but it was well worth the time and expense to get them.
I love my Silver Foxes. I had a few Champaigns and they were very sweet easy keepers too. I have had California/New Zealand crosses that lacked in loving personality. By far my Silver Fox are my favorite. So many choices!
We had Tamuks, I had been told that they had the best meat to bone ratio and they eat less and get to processing weight faster. I hope to get back into breeding rabbits again as soon as I can get my hutches re-built.
I have Palomino, New Zealand and Blanc de Hotot's. I raise for show and meat. For those that are unfamiliar with palominos, they are great rabbits. Calm temperament, easy to handle, beautiful coloring, good mothers, no complaints from me. The kits grow as fast as my New Zealands. For meat purposes, I had two litters of Palomino x New Zealand kits. The first litter grew at an average rate during the hot summer. The second litter grew faster than the purebreds during the late summer/early fall. Palominos are in demand for showing in my area, so I rarely have to butcher them for meat because they sell out. New Zealand are in demand with other people who raise rabbits for meat. This year I sold more kits as breeders/show quality than butchered, and actually put me in profit. Selling some of the kits offset all the feed and supply costs, which means any meat I get is free to me. I agree with you that there will (and should be) people raising purebred rabbits. There are a lot of great uncommon or rare breeds out there that need help gaining popularity. Experimenting with hybrid vigor (and rabbit genetics in general) is fun, but a person will always need that pure doe and buck to start. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
We chose silver foxes because they are docile. Our children handle them regularly and we’ve never seen any aggression from a silver fox yet. They are becoming more common and colors are easier to find. We have blacks and chocolate. Looking to add lilacs in the future. In our experience the silver fox are great mothers. We have yet to lose a baby rabbit for any reason.
We had Silver Fox for a few years. The buck was wonderful. The major con was the does. They didn't want to mate. They would tuck their tail and grunt. I went through 4 or 5 does and finally gave up. The buck was recently rehomed after getting too old, so now more Silver Fox. Now we have NZ Reds, and they seem to be OK so far.
Supposedly, Polish used to be meat rabbits. They are so tiny though! I have Rex and Cinnamon, and then my husband surprised me with a Polish buck, and he wants to get a doe for him. Rex are awesome! Nothing feels soft after handling them, they are the softest things I've ever seen! Cinnamons don't seem to behave any differently, although my doe doesn't much like being handled, she cooperates, but she definitely dislikes it. The Cinnamons seem to grow faster than Rex, and they're pretty hard to find.
Back in '94 when I started in rabbit breeding Florida White rabbits were common in New England and I could easily get new "blood" to improve my heard. About 4 years ago I switched to Californians and was disappointed in their breeding. I've now tried to revert back to Florida Whites but they are hard to come by except in at least two to three States away, sometimes even more. Fl. Whites have great meat to bone ratio, they don't eat nearly as much as Cali's, and because they are small don't foul their cages near as bad as larger rabbits. I really plan on making a road trip in spring '22 for a new Fl. White heard.
Our two does are silver fox/new zeeland cross, both 12 lbs. They have big litters with 12 babies, they are good mamas and very sweet. They love their daily headrubs and they are so easy to handle! BTW, your advice to drive my one doe around the block before mating her with our buck: it worked! She was not grumpy anymore and our buck had some successful fall offs. Oh and another thing: we breed with something that was supposed to be a flemish giant. He is white, BLUE eyes and is now full grown, a year old and still just 8 lbs no matter what and how much we feed him. We think, we got cheated. He is a white something 😂😂😂 but produces good sized rabbits.
Dec 14th i expect my first 2 Florida White litters. I chose this breed due to my own health. I have very bad arthritis and need a smaller breed. I will be raising Mini Rex as my 2nd breed as well but do not have a breeding pair yet.
Hi Chris thank you for the update I've just got 2 new Zealand does and I believe the buck is a Tamuk haven't bred them yet have to get another cage and nesting box. My first time and want to do it right ✅
Good point about hybrid vigor. I think Silver Fox are the way to go. 67% dress out weight, unique stand-up fur and most lines are carrying white these days. The SF white fur is unique and I've seen uniformity in the pelts of the 6 I've raised. Silver Fox only have stand up fur when pure blooded, so your pelts prove the lineage.
This Dude speaks the truth. We recently added Silver Fox to our Californian line-up. The Fox is a fabulous breed and easily rivals the size and robust nature of the Californian! Our differing claim is that the Silver Fox is quite mellow, calmer, and seeks attention. The maternal instincts and nesting habit are astounding. I guess it all depends on genetics vs. environment :-)
I have California, New Zealand White, and Silver Fox rabbits. My California doe is amazing and my Silver Fox buck is the sweetest and easiest to handle. I haven’t looked into other breeds, so this gave me some things to research as my does are hitting the end of their fertility and it’s time to start looking for replacements. Thanks, Chris!
We have New Zealand’s, and Tamuk Composites. We love our Tamuks! They are the sweetest, and they are great mothers. Our New Zealand’s are a tad skiddish, and just sensitive. Idk. Maybe because of the last breeder.
We've always taken our babies to auction till this year..it was really tough to harvest. Had a friend out to do the dispatch lol. Gave him the hides and I took the feet and made lucky rabbits foot keychains for Christmas! Overall good experience. Good luck choosing your breed. I've always done newzeland/rex because they make cute babies with good patterning and typically get big for eating 🙂
I have a few different breeds, but I mainly breed standard Rex. I love them, they are my top choice. There are better meat rabbits, but you can get decent growth rates and the babies are easy to sell for extra income. I also tan some hides and they are the best for that. You did mention the white pelt thing for crafting, actually you can get white Rex. Other breeds are great too. My current favorite meat rabbit is my silver fox doe. First litter was 11 kits, raised them all and grew out great. Thanks for the video Chris! Love the content. Whenever you start selling pure bred nz whites I might have to pick some up from you.
Good morning, from Hawaii! Love your videos and the info you share. I'm raising meat rabbits, Nz/Flemish hybrids, currently 3 does and a buck. My doe had her first litter and she threw 9 babies in a beautiful nest. I'm on the lookout for a pure NZ White.
Check with your local community College and high school ag programs. I got my new Zealands from school ag programs where they were tracking breeding and colors. They breed, raise and sell them to fund the program. Good luck and thanks for all you do!
I personally LOVE my rex(not mini) the temperment is amazing, great moms, I average 10 per litter. And in my area alot of people are looking for Rex. Grow out rate is a little slower than the NZ I had but it's worth it for me for the temperment and ease of rasing alone. I had a few NZ and they were straight up mean. I've also been breeding for heat tolerance in my lines. Usually I can breed from sept- early June with no real issues.
I just started this year, and my only rex doe JUST got old enough that I can try breeding! I definitely agree on their temperaments. They don't struggle much when recaptured from their free range time (in my living room) and they're not panicky when my small dog tries to harass them.
I started out with Rex and really want to switch back to them (I have cals right know and the does are awful) they were the best breed across the broad that I have come across
Chris, your point at 18:40 is well taken. Get purebred stock from a reliable source. This year we sold a four-pack meat stack of Californians to some kids that knew what they were doing....came back with Reserve Champion and GRAND Reserve Champion at the Waterloo County Fair.
Love my silver foxes!! Sweet, gentle, never grumpy!! Dont care if you handle the kits! Even first time moms are great!! Great nest builders..pull tons of fur!! Beautiful fur...my pure buck is chocolate, my pur does black with silver tips..dress out good ratio of meat vs bone...highly recomend them..treat them gentle and they respond in kind..got a new Zealand that attacks, but good mom, nice litters..bred her to my californian this time, got an American chinchilla buck that loves attention .beautiful rabbit...going to test bred ..mix and match to experiment.
I have Americans and love them. They are a real gem. I'm phasing out my rex and new zealands for Americans and silver fox. Americans have a longer loin which is our favorite part. They have great temperaments too.
I've wondered about this specifically with the Americans- I'm just learning and thinking and have Never tried farmed rabbit- so you like the American loin?? I'm wondering on taste of these breeds! :)
@@thesimpleandquietlifehomes1158 Yes. We love rabbit better than chicken. But we end up choosing the back legs last. I cook the front legs like chicken wings. And usually end up grinding the back legs into sausage. But the Americans are a mandolin shape. That is different than the commercial shape of the new zealands. Americans have longer loins and not as much in the back legs. So for us it works out very well.
Thanks Chris , for this review. No current plans t get rabbits, but we have discussed it. But, with our bigger flock of ducks, chikens & have incubator full of White wing jumbo Pharaohs from MySHire. a complete change of bird for us. plus we just sent three large hogs to processor. Dicided not to take on anything new for a bit. Will be following though.
We raised three hogs this year and ended up with 775 pounds of meat after processing. Might do four next year. Fed them mostly from my restaurant scraps so the food bill was very low.
If you have access to the ARBA SOP( standard of perfection) the breeds with commercial and body type were primarily meat producers If one is into spinning fiber, a good Angora will produce good meat quality and quantity. I loved my AmChins and Rex. Nestbox eye...my AmChins never developed that issue.
Good morning. I might disagree with some of what you have said. But it is easier to process rabbits if they all look the same. I have had rabbits since my twenties and now in my seventies.
I have a pair of new Zealand and a pair of American whites. The American buck is the biggest buck I've ever seen. The litter size is good and the doe is an awesome momma.
I agree. I have a broken black and a solid black and they are great and wonderful moms and when we breed the broken we get great markings that are different for the most part with each kit.
I breed Standard Rex, NZ's, and Tamuk's.... Your climate does dictate which breed is best. I am in Florida and most rabbits go sterile above 90 degrees. We are above 90 for 4/5 months a year! That's why I've added Tamuk to my herd which stay fertile up to 110 degrees.... Got my bases covered....
Hi there! I love your videos!! they've given me such good ideas, even as I keep angora rabbits :) But you've got me thinking about meats... I just started looking at best breeds like 2 days ago! So thank you on this!! I've been thinking of American Chinchilla, so thanks on your thoughts! :) thanks on the flemish info! and what do you think about champagne d’argent?? I've seen them called 'the black angus' of rabbits... and I've never tried rabbit!! we're looking around to see if we could do a taste test! ?? thoughts on chinchilla taste, champagne d'argent, also Silver Marten?? vs. white new zealand or california?? thanks so much again!! Love your channel!!
I've had NZW rabbits and added one Cinnamon buck later for several years now and am interested in getting a different meat breed like Silver Fox or Champagne D'Argent. After having White rabbits I think it would be nice to get some color. When I breed my Cinnamon buck to a NZW doe I get most of the litter all black and a couple brown color kits. I was hoping I would get a broken colored kit.
I seem to remember VW Family Farm on you tube mentioned that they got Tamuks, you may want to shoot them an email and see if they plan to sell any in the near future. If you don't know, they are located in Arkansas, I'm not sure if that's too far for you.
The reason NZs are so common... PelFreeze only buys white rabbits. That company set the bar for rabbits all those years ago when rabbit was commonly found in the meat case.
Like the other comment said pine or aspen shavings (note that it has to be pine or aspen, cedar and most other woods are toxic) you can also use paper shreds or hamster bedding (you can find that at most petcos/smarts.
Great video Chris, l learned a lot from you on this one. Never heard of Tomux rabbits. But, sounds like a good choice for me since I am in TexXas! I've done some cross breeding with my Netherland dwarfs & mini- rex's. They make great pets & pelts! Not bad eating either. I am hoping to start making some TH-cam videos of my own soon.
Tamuck rabbits are good but if its a cold month born rabbit it may have lost the heat tolerance. I will post on the fb group you I know someone that has pure pedigree new Zealand.
Where do you sell the hides and what do you have to do to them first? Am thinking about getting some rabbits but had not thought about the furs. Thank you for the informative videos you put out. Just found you and am looking forward to catching up!
Howdy Chris and hello from Southeast Texas! I am in the preliminary stages of beginning our rabbitry and would like to know if You have located any reliable sources for pure bred New Zealands? Truly enjoy Your channel and the content, please keep up the great work!
I breed Rex and New Zealand. I can cross them or not. I just had two litters and I'd give you some free. I've even got a small Polish doe. She is small but if I cross her with my Rex she produces some good fat chunky babies. Smaller frame but still good for the table. Right now I'm sitting on 13 babies and in two more weeks that will double. If anyone is in my area Custer SD leave a comment and anyone wants a rabbit or rabbits. I can get you started.
@@Kcas1798 yes that would be fine. I guessing people say that bad because of the size difference but the only way that could get dangerous is if there is a drastic size difference (like Flemish buck and Rex doe)
Vă salut, sunt din România aveți canal bun, înțeleg engleză puțin,întrebări,cu ce hrăniți iepurii mici și care este diferența dintre Argintiu Francez și Silver Fox
Chris I have started a small rabbit farm. When I say small I mean small. I live in the Philippines but I'm from Seattle. I don't know my breed of rabbits. How can I tell what breed of rabbit I have? My buck is larger then my doe they were born April this year. But they don't know the breed.
For a family of three I raised Mini Rex and was happy with the meat. We had them, though because my daughter wanted them for a 4H project. They are lovable and pelts are wonderful plus so many colors. Most were good moms and one was not but we also had a supermom. We could put little strangers in her litters and she never cared and raised them all. Kept them for 15 years but recently got out of them. May do them again after a break.
Hello i was wondering why my day 2 bunny turned purple then died. We unexpectedly found babies in our rabbits cage so i dont know much and what time should i feed them the mother just wont feed them we had 9 and only 3 survived. Thank you for reading i hope i can get any help i would very much appreciate it!
TAMUK is pronounced tam ook. TAMUCC is pronounced tam uck. Just a friendly tip from a TAMUK alum. Also, TAMUK rabbits are not a breed, they are a composite intended for terminal production. They do not breed true when you breed them to each other.
I find it weird how people say “New Zealand White” like it’s a different breed from New Zealand’s, even though its just a color variation of the New Zealand breed.
@@maragrace820 It's was an opinion, to me it is weird. I guess grammatically "odd" would be more proper, but weird in casual conversation suits this just fine as well.
Don’t waste your time with the Texas A&M Tamuk rabbits. I drove 12 hours in each direction to buy this breed of rabbit after a lot of research to find a reputable breeder. They do not hold up to the hype. I had some die from the heat, they did not breed in the heat they didn’t grow out that well.
Handle them regularly. Bring them in for at least 30 mins a day and just sit with them don’t hold them but get them used to you you can also get/make a play pen if you are worried about them running away this is what has worked best with my breeding does they used to bite kick and scratch but no as much anymore
@@maragrace820 I've raised shown ans researched domestic (and a bit of wild) rabbits for over 10 years. Been able to eat rabbit from probably 9 different breeders, all different breeds. The only ones that taisted different was one that was on a poor quality diet, and one that was free range and forage fed. (You can also easily find this information on the internet, and probably in some physical texts as well) Note: wild rabbit and domestic rabbit will taste different as they are not the same type of meat, but wothin domestic breeds they do not differ in flavor.
Flemish have way to much bone to meat ratio and your feed bill will be astronomical compared to the meat you’ll get off them. You want high meat low bone ratio,and Fast growers. None of those traits are Flemish giants.
Just my opinion...I've had tamuk... I'm in Tyler Texas & they are NOT that great. Their meat is NOT that great either. They are NOT as heat tolerant as one might think. Pelts are NOT that good either
It was the first breed you mentioned, but I was going to recommend the silver fox as well. We raise New Zealand’s and Silver Fox. The NZ are okay, but our Silver Fox mom is just amazing. I’ve heard they make good moms, but by golly. She is amazing with her kits. She is usually bred a couple weeks behind our other does and her kits always catch up to the weight of the NZ kits despite being a couple weeks younger. Such good rabbits with great demeanors. While we are lucky that all our rabbits have great demeanors, our SF buck is my favorite rabbit. Such a sweet guy! Good luck rabbit hunting!
Our sliver fox buck is our favorite too! He is such a sweetie pie!
I would investigate the American Blue. Rare, and valuable, and excellent mothering abilities, plus you help with saving an old breed. Excellent meat rabbit.
I have both American Blue and White. They are the best breed I have ever raised. They were hard to find. I was on a waiting list for almost a year and had to drive over 1200 miles round trip to pick them up but it was well worth the time and expense to get them.
I prefer litters of 7 to 8. Not too many for one mom to feed, and not too many for me to deal with.
Agree
👍
I love my Silver Foxes. I had a few Champaigns and they were very sweet easy keepers too. I have had California/New Zealand crosses that lacked in loving personality. By far my Silver Fox are my favorite. So many choices!
Florida Whites are hands down my favorite for all of the reasons you mentioned.
We had Tamuks, I had been told that they had the best meat to bone ratio and they eat less and get to processing weight faster. I hope to get back into breeding rabbits again as soon as I can get my hutches re-built.
I have silver fox
I think they're a great breed
I'm waiting until 16 weeks for harvest as I want the pelts too
I have Palomino, New Zealand and Blanc de Hotot's. I raise for show and meat. For those that are unfamiliar with palominos, they are great rabbits. Calm temperament, easy to handle, beautiful coloring, good mothers, no complaints from me. The kits grow as fast as my New Zealands. For meat purposes, I had two litters of Palomino x New Zealand kits. The first litter grew at an average rate during the hot summer. The second litter grew faster than the purebreds during the late summer/early fall.
Palominos are in demand for showing in my area, so I rarely have to butcher them for meat because they sell out. New Zealand are in demand with other people who raise rabbits for meat. This year I sold more kits as breeders/show quality than butchered, and actually put me in profit. Selling some of the kits offset all the feed and supply costs, which means any meat I get is free to me.
I agree with you that there will (and should be) people raising purebred rabbits. There are a lot of great uncommon or rare breeds out there that need help gaining popularity. Experimenting with hybrid vigor (and rabbit genetics in general) is fun, but a person will always need that pure doe and buck to start.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
What time of the year do the FFA and 4-H kids purchase their Project 🐰
We love our Silver Fox and Crème d’Argents!!
could you say why you like the creme d'argents?? thank you!!
I would love to raise Cremes if i could afford it. I hear they are an endangered breed
I would recommend the American Blue breed.
We chose silver foxes because they are docile. Our children handle them regularly and we’ve never seen any aggression from a silver fox yet. They are becoming more common and colors are easier to find. We have blacks and chocolate. Looking to add lilacs in the future. In our experience the silver fox are great mothers. We have yet to lose a baby rabbit for any reason.
We had Silver Fox for a few years. The buck was wonderful. The major con was the does. They didn't want to mate. They would tuck their tail and grunt. I went through 4 or 5 does and finally gave up. The buck was recently rehomed after getting too old, so now more Silver Fox. Now we have NZ Reds, and they seem to be OK so far.
I've had Silver Fox twice, and hesitate getting them again for the same reason!
Champagne d' argent also gives the NZ and Cali competition.
Supposedly, Polish used to be meat rabbits. They are so tiny though! I have Rex and Cinnamon, and then my husband surprised me with a Polish buck, and he wants to get a doe for him. Rex are awesome! Nothing feels soft after handling them, they are the softest things I've ever seen! Cinnamons don't seem to behave any differently, although my doe doesn't much like being handled, she cooperates, but she definitely dislikes it. The Cinnamons seem to grow faster than Rex, and they're pretty hard to find.
Back in '94 when I started in rabbit breeding Florida White rabbits were common in New England and I could easily get new "blood" to improve my heard. About 4 years ago I switched to Californians and was disappointed in their breeding. I've now tried to revert back to Florida Whites but they are hard to come by except in at least two to three States away, sometimes even more. Fl. Whites have great meat to bone ratio, they don't eat nearly as much as Cali's, and because they are small don't foul their cages near as bad as larger rabbits. I really plan on making a road trip in spring '22 for a new Fl. White heard.
I have a fenced area for my composting, I call it the retirement villa.. have a couple older, non producing rabbits out there.
Our two does are silver fox/new zeeland cross, both 12 lbs. They have big litters with 12 babies, they are good mamas and very sweet. They love their daily headrubs and they are so easy to handle! BTW, your advice to drive my one doe around the block before mating her with our buck: it worked! She was not grumpy anymore and our buck had some successful fall offs. Oh and another thing: we breed with something that was supposed to be a flemish giant. He is white, BLUE eyes and is now full grown, a year old and still just 8 lbs no matter what and how much we feed him. We think, we got cheated. He is a white something 😂😂😂 but produces good sized rabbits.
Dec 14th i expect my first 2 Florida White litters. I chose this breed due to my own health. I have very bad arthritis and need a smaller breed. I will be raising Mini Rex as my 2nd breed as well but do not have a breeding pair yet.
Hi Chris thank you for the update I've just got 2 new Zealand does and I believe the buck is a Tamuk haven't bred them yet have to get another cage and nesting box. My first time and want to do it right ✅
Good point about hybrid vigor. I think Silver Fox are the way to go. 67% dress out weight, unique stand-up fur and most lines are carrying white these days. The SF white fur is unique and I've seen uniformity in the pelts of the 6 I've raised. Silver Fox only have stand up fur when pure blooded, so your pelts prove the lineage.
This Dude speaks the truth. We recently added Silver Fox to our Californian line-up. The Fox is a fabulous breed and easily rivals the size and robust nature of the Californian! Our differing claim is that the Silver Fox is quite mellow, calmer, and seeks attention. The maternal instincts and nesting habit are astounding. I guess it all depends on genetics vs. environment :-)
I have California, New Zealand White, and Silver Fox rabbits. My California doe is amazing and my Silver Fox buck is the sweetest and easiest to handle. I haven’t looked into other breeds, so this gave me some things to research as my does are hitting the end of their fertility and it’s time to start looking for replacements. Thanks, Chris!
We have New Zealand’s, and Tamuk Composites. We love our Tamuks! They are the sweetest, and they are great mothers. Our New Zealand’s are a tad skiddish, and just sensitive. Idk. Maybe because of the last breeder.
We've always taken our babies to auction till this year..it was really tough to harvest. Had a friend out to do the dispatch lol. Gave him the hides and I took the feet and made lucky rabbits foot keychains for Christmas! Overall good experience. Good luck choosing your breed. I've always done newzeland/rex because they make cute babies with good patterning and typically get big for eating 🙂
I have a few different breeds, but I mainly breed standard Rex. I love them, they are my top choice. There are better meat rabbits, but you can get decent growth rates and the babies are easy to sell for extra income. I also tan some hides and they are the best for that. You did mention the white pelt thing for crafting, actually you can get white Rex. Other breeds are great too. My current favorite meat rabbit is my silver fox doe. First litter was 11 kits, raised them all and grew out great. Thanks for the video Chris! Love the content. Whenever you start selling pure bred nz whites I might have to pick some up from you.
Good morning, from Hawaii! Love your videos and the info you share. I'm raising meat rabbits, Nz/Flemish hybrids, currently 3 does and a buck. My doe had her first litter and she threw 9 babies in a beautiful nest. I'm on the lookout for a pure NZ White.
Check with your local community College and high school ag programs. I got my new Zealands from school ag programs where they were tracking breeding and colors. They breed, raise and sell them to fund the program. Good luck and thanks for all you do!
Anything with a full grown weight of 9-12 lbs. I like REX. They are great for me
I personally LOVE my rex(not mini) the temperment is amazing, great moms, I average 10 per litter. And in my area alot of people are looking for Rex. Grow out rate is a little slower than the NZ I had but it's worth it for me for the temperment and ease of rasing alone. I had a few NZ and they were straight up mean. I've also been breeding for heat tolerance in my lines. Usually I can breed from sept- early June with no real issues.
I just started this year, and my only rex doe JUST got old enough that I can try breeding! I definitely agree on their temperaments. They don't struggle much when recaptured from their free range time (in my living room) and they're not panicky when my small dog tries to harass them.
Yeah I had one get out of his cage outside and he hopped right over to me and I just picked him up.
I started out with Rex and really want to switch back to them (I have cals right know and the does are awful) they were the best breed across the broad that I have come across
We are very happy with our TAMUKS especially down here in Ms the heat tolerance is excellent
Your content is absolutely pure gold. Thank you so much. Please keep up the rabbit and quail videos!
I could rekommend a Swedish hertidge breed called Gotlandskanin they are extremely hardy and feed effective. And very good mother's.
Chris, your point at 18:40 is well taken. Get purebred stock from a reliable source. This year we sold a four-pack meat stack of Californians to some kids that knew what they were doing....came back with Reserve Champion and GRAND Reserve Champion at the Waterloo County Fair.
Hi, I might be in the market for Californians. Where should I look for a reliable breeder?
Love my silver foxes!! Sweet, gentle, never grumpy!! Dont care if you handle the kits! Even first time moms are great!! Great nest builders..pull tons of fur!! Beautiful fur...my pure buck is chocolate, my pur does black with silver tips..dress out good ratio of meat vs bone...highly recomend them..treat them gentle and they respond in kind..got a new Zealand that attacks, but good mom, nice litters..bred her to my californian this time, got an American chinchilla buck that loves attention .beautiful rabbit...going to test bred ..mix and match to experiment.
I have Americans and love them. They are a real gem. I'm phasing out my rex and new zealands for Americans and silver fox. Americans have a longer loin which is our favorite part. They have great temperaments too.
I've wondered about this specifically with the Americans- I'm just learning and thinking and have Never tried farmed rabbit- so you like the American loin?? I'm wondering on taste of these breeds! :)
@@thesimpleandquietlifehomes1158 Yes. We love rabbit better than chicken. But we end up choosing the back legs last. I cook the front legs like chicken wings. And usually end up grinding the back legs into sausage. But the Americans are a mandolin shape. That is different than the commercial shape of the new zealands. Americans have longer loins and not as much in the back legs. So for us it works out very well.
Thanks Chris , for this review. No current plans t get rabbits, but we have discussed it. But, with our bigger flock of ducks, chikens & have incubator full of White wing jumbo Pharaohs from MySHire. a complete change of bird for us. plus we just sent three large hogs to processor. Dicided not to take on anything new for a bit. Will be following though.
We raised three hogs this year and ended up with 775 pounds of meat after processing. Might do four next year. Fed them mostly from my restaurant scraps so the food bill was very low.
If you have access to the ARBA SOP( standard of perfection) the breeds with commercial and body type were primarily meat producers
If one is into spinning fiber, a good Angora will produce good meat quality and quantity.
I loved my AmChins and Rex.
Nestbox eye...my AmChins never developed that issue.
You may want to investigate a TAMUK, Taxas A&M University Kingsville. I’ve had good luck with them
Good morning. I might disagree with some of what you have said. But it is easier to process rabbits if they all look the same. I have had rabbits since my twenties and now in my seventies.
I have a pair of new Zealand and a pair of American whites. The American buck is the biggest buck I've ever seen. The litter size is good and the doe is an awesome momma.
New Zealand for life! I love the colorful ones you don't have to stick to albino
I agree. I have a broken black and a solid black and they are great and wonderful moms and when we breed the broken we get great markings that are different for the most part with each kit.
We have blues, blacks & broken NZ’s. They are great! Good litter sizes and decent moms. Great temperaments as well.
I failed to mention I’ve raised meat rabbits for many years and the Tamuk were in pens side by side next to my New Zealand’s and Californians.
I breed Standard Rex, NZ's, and Tamuk's.... Your climate does dictate which breed is best. I am in Florida and most rabbits go sterile above 90 degrees. We are above 90 for 4/5 months a year! That's why I've added Tamuk to my herd which stay fertile up to 110 degrees.... Got my bases covered....
Hi there! I love your videos!! they've given me such good ideas, even as I keep angora rabbits :) But you've got me thinking about meats... I just started looking at best breeds like 2 days ago! So thank you on this!! I've been thinking of American Chinchilla, so thanks on your thoughts! :) thanks on the flemish info! and what do you think about champagne d’argent?? I've seen them called 'the black angus' of rabbits... and I've never tried rabbit!! we're looking around to see if we could do a taste test! ?? thoughts on chinchilla taste, champagne d'argent, also Silver Marten?? vs. white new zealand or california?? thanks so much again!! Love your channel!!
I've had NZW rabbits and added one Cinnamon buck later for several years now and am interested in getting a different meat breed like Silver Fox or Champagne D'Argent. After having White rabbits I think it would be nice to get some color. When I breed my Cinnamon buck to a NZW doe I get most of the litter all black and a couple brown color kits. I was hoping I would get a broken colored kit.
I find the complete opposite to be true on selling pelts. I can almost always sell colored and broken pelts. All white pelts rarely sell for me.
I seem to remember VW Family Farm on you tube mentioned that they got Tamuks, you may want to shoot them an email and see if they plan to sell any in the near future. If you don't know, they are located in Arkansas, I'm not sure if that's too far for you.
The reason NZs are so common... PelFreeze only buys white rabbits. That company set the bar for rabbits all those years ago when rabbit was commonly found in the meat case.
What is your thoughts on the American Blue rabbits?
Chris I have no straw kits do 2 December got ideas what to use for nesting no dryer either
I’ve used pine shavings/flakes and Timothy hay in a pinch
Like the other comment said pine or aspen shavings (note that it has to be pine or aspen, cedar and most other woods are toxic) you can also use paper shreds or hamster bedding (you can find that at most petcos/smarts.
Roughly what would you think the white dyeable pelt would sell for? I have no frame of reference for this yet.
Great video Chris, l learned a lot from you on this one. Never heard of Tomux rabbits. But, sounds like a good choice for me since I am in TexXas!
I've done some cross breeding with my Netherland dwarfs & mini- rex's. They make great pets & pelts! Not bad eating either.
I am hoping to start making some TH-cam videos of my own soon.
Awesome. Good luck on getting your channel up and going.
Tamuck rabbits are good but if its a cold month born rabbit it may have lost the heat tolerance. I will post on the fb group you I know someone that has pure pedigree new Zealand.
Where do you sell the hides and what do you have to do to them first? Am thinking about getting some rabbits but had not thought about the furs. Thank you for the informative videos you put out. Just found you and am looking forward to catching up!
I'm doing silver foxes!
Lol @11:33 was that a fart??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Haha hahahaha. I'm pretty sure it was...
Can't beat trio of purebred NZ white for starter. 2 bucks are redundant. Why feed them both?
Howdy Chris and hello from Southeast Texas! I am in the preliminary stages of beginning our rabbitry and would like to know if You have located any reliable sources for pure bred New Zealands? Truly enjoy Your channel and the content, please keep up the great work!
Does it make a differance witch breed (new zeland/california) is the doe or buck? Great channel, thanx
So my doe stopped feeding her babies at about 3 weeks. In 2 days I've lost 7of 9 babies. What happened?
Question: why did you not use any of the buck/doe bred?
do you have a video on feed or mixing pellets here are expensive $20 a bag i mix with oats to thin it out but oats are $16 a bag to
What’s your opinion on TAMUK rabbits?
I breed Rex and New Zealand. I can cross them or not.
I just had two litters and I'd give you some free.
I've even got a small Polish doe. She is small but if I cross her with my Rex she produces some good fat chunky babies. Smaller frame but still good for the table. Right now I'm sitting on 13 babies and in two more weeks that will double. If anyone is in my area Custer SD leave a comment and anyone wants a rabbit or rabbits. I can get you started.
Is it safe to cross a Rex doe with a NZ buck? I’ve always been told no so I’ve never tried.
@@Kcas1798 I cross New Zealand buck with my Rex and haven't had problems
@@Kcas1798 yes that would be fine. I guessing people say that bad because of the size difference but the only way that could get dangerous is if there is a drastic size difference (like Flemish buck and Rex doe)
I'm surprised you didn't mention much about bone to meat ratio. Small, medium and large boned rabbits and the pro and cons of each
Vă salut, sunt din România aveți canal bun, înțeleg engleză puțin,întrebări,cu ce hrăniți iepurii mici și care este diferența dintre Argintiu Francez și Silver Fox
One of my favorites is a french lop
Thanks you sir we are following from East Africa
How about a Flemish giant cross ?
What would you say about havana rabbits do you think they would be good enough to breed with say a California or New Zealand?
Chris I have started a small rabbit farm. When I say small I mean small. I live in the Philippines but I'm from Seattle. I don't know my breed of rabbits. How can I tell what breed of rabbit I have? My buck is larger then my doe they were born April this year. But they don't know the breed.
I'm going to be buying some TAMUK
Thank you for information. Blessings🙂
do the black rabbits have a harder time in the heat?
What do you go with the fur?
For a family of three I raised Mini Rex and was happy with the meat. We had them, though because my daughter wanted them for a 4H project. They are lovable and pelts are wonderful plus so many colors. Most were good moms and one was not but we also had a supermom. We could put little strangers in her litters and she never cared and raised them all. Kept them for 15 years but recently got out of them. May do them again after a break.
What do you do with the fur?
Hello i was wondering why my day 2 bunny turned purple then died. We unexpectedly found babies in our rabbits cage so i dont know much and what time should i feed them the mother just wont feed them we had 9 and only 3 survived. Thank you for reading i hope i can get any help i would very much appreciate it!
Did you find the Tamar rabbit?
What about Flemish giant and Continental giant?
too big, meat not as good
The offer I made him, I will extend to any of the meat breeders and stock breeders.
Where are you located? I'm looking to buy 2 females and 1 male, to start.
TAMUK is pronounced tam ook. TAMUCC is pronounced tam uck. Just a friendly tip from a TAMUK alum. Also, TAMUK rabbits are not a breed, they are a composite intended for terminal production. They do not breed true when you breed them to each other.
where do you buy rabbits from.
Is a Rex Rabbits a good breed for meat ?
I find it weird how people say “New Zealand White” like it’s a different breed from New Zealand’s, even though its just a color variation of the New Zealand breed.
Not weird.
@@maragrace820 It's was an opinion, to me it is weird. I guess grammatically "odd" would be more proper, but weird in casual conversation suits this just fine as well.
Don’t waste your time with the Texas A&M Tamuk rabbits. I drove 12 hours in each direction to buy this breed of rabbit after a lot of research to find a reputable breeder. They do not hold up to the hype. I had some die from the heat, they did not breed in the heat they didn’t grow out that well.
i just got rid of mine too i feel that feel time for a change for a bit
how to keep your rabbits from biting
Handle them regularly. Bring them in for at least 30 mins a day and just sit with them don’t hold them but get them used to you you can also get/make a play pen if you are worried about them running away this is what has worked best with my breeding does they used to bite kick and scratch but no as much anymore
Are there any rabbits that taste better than others?
No they all taste the same. Diet can change the taste for better or worse
@@uftc1324no they don’t all taste the same. Rabbit is my favorite meat.
@@maragrace820 I've raised shown ans researched domestic (and a bit of wild) rabbits for over 10 years. Been able to eat rabbit from probably 9 different breeders, all different breeds. The only ones that taisted different was one that was on a poor quality diet, and one that was free range and forage fed. (You can also easily find this information on the internet, and probably in some physical texts as well)
Note: wild rabbit and domestic rabbit will taste different as they are not the same type of meat, but wothin domestic breeds they do not differ in flavor.
Are u selling them or eating them
so you don't like reds?
Champagne d'Argent?
good food
mind if i ask your opinion on flemish giants for meat?
Flemish have way to much bone to meat ratio and your feed bill will be astronomical compared to the meat you’ll get off them. You want high meat low bone ratio,and Fast growers. None of those traits are Flemish giants.
Just my opinion...I've had tamuk... I'm in Tyler Texas & they are NOT that great. Their meat is NOT that great either. They are NOT as heat tolerant as one might think. Pelts are NOT that good either
If you are serius about meat rabbits, the best is Tamuks. Period.
A bit too hybrid. developed in a lab. no thanks.
End of the day Californians are my favorite for meat. There's a reason they're ranked 1 or 2 in most cases.
Nothing wrong with Californians. They are a great breed for sure.