Rocky Rabbit Start

We were expecting a litter of rabbits this weekend, but when I fed evening chores, I found the pregnant doe dead in her nest box. No signs of labor. Perhaps the relentless heat and humidity in combination with being pregnant was too much for her

Over the past few months, we’ve been collecting breeding stock, observing, and culling as needed. Our first batch of bunnies came from auction, so I wanted to observe them to make sure they were healthy and generally looked good. We culled about half of our initial batch. The downside of buying at auction is that the quality of animals is really wild. You can’t ever be sure what you’re getting, unlike when you visit a farmer’s operation.

The rabbit that died came from our initial auction purchase. The good news, is that the buck seems to be strong. I did a post mortem on the dead doe and found a litter of seven, so I’m going to keep that buck around for a while longer.

Despite this minor set back, we’re moving forward. We have another doe that will be expecting in about 3 weeks, and I just bred another one this morning.

I’ve continued to selectively add some different breeding stock; however, finding other breeders is a challenge, which is why Christie went to auction in the first place. From this point forward, we don’t have any plans to bring new rabbits in. Instead, I’m going to select the best stock from what I have and line breed to grow the  herd to the quality that I want.

Looks like we’ll have fryers available this fall. Christie and I have been starting our rabbit production slower than some of you would like, but mistakes and losses are less costly that way. Plus, the chicken operation is funding the rabbit startup.

Once we get rolling, we’ll fall into a regular production schedule. We do have a waiting list of people who want rabbits, so if you’re interested and have yet to let us know, express your interest now.