Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well just added some new life to the rabbitry.

A couple more little young does that I may keep or eat.


The fellow didn't want to sell me his big rabbit breeders but I did get the big flemish buck. he also had a checkerd giant doe about 10 lbs and a bigger flemish buck maybe a 12 pounder, The one I got is about an 8 pounder.
He also told me he thought that a california-newzealand cross makes a fast growing hybrid like offspring, but couldn't remember what male or female. I never heard of such and thought california rabbits were derived from new zealands. Any one every hear of that?

Acording to this paper, (link below), the fast growing meat hybrid is by crossing the california buck with a new zealand doe. I've never had californians before but the flemish throws kits, while not as fast growing as the new zealands only a week behind it continues to grow at same rate for two more weeks making larger rabbits. As far as food ratios go new zealands win at 6 weeks. While at large scale those are big numbers but in the backyard it's worth a couple more weeks. Looks like I need to be me a california breeder buck.

http://www.csiro.au/proprietaryDocument ... foPack.pdf
"For commercial meat production, New Zealand White appears to be the principal breed being used in Australia. New Zealand Whites have many desirable traits such as rapid growth rate, good carcass quality, good prolificacy and mothering ability (Source McNitt et al. 1996). The other major meat breed is Californian. Although it finishes at a lower weight than New Zealand White, it has higher carcass yield and meat-to-bone ratio. In Europe and the US, hybrids produced by crossing Californian bucks with New Zealand White does, are used extensively for commercial farming thereby combining the best qualities of both breeds. Flemish Giant, a heavier slower growing breed, has potential as a terminal sire breed despite its poor reproductive performance and high maintenance costs. As rabbit production becomes improved further, the growth potential of Flemish Giant could be exploited through terminal sire development."

I had to drain the system to keep from freeze damage. Low 25F/-5c tonight and 22F/-6c tomorrow night.

http://www.csiro.au/science/CrusaderRabbits.html#4

http://www.csiro.au/proprietaryDocument ... foPack.pdf

Caged rabbits will suffer in the heat. Bucks will go sterile over 95 deg. F, or so I have read. After a few months of cooler temps he will be restored. Here in the desert it often goes over 95 so I keep my rabbits in a closed insulated room with an evaporative cooler. The frozen water bottle laid in the cage will cool them as they will lay next to it. However, mine chewed holes in the bottles and flooded the catch pans.
The rabbit room is near the battery bank so I run the fan on 12 volts DC. A thermostat starts and stops it at 85 deg. F. I do not breed them at all in the summer. I am debating if it is worth while keeping them here. I havent had a litter live this winter. My buck is not a strong breeder with lots of misses.Unless things improve by summer I may butcher my breeders and use the space for hay storage.
Incubating eggs yield lots of roosters just to maintain a flock of a dozen layers. With them in the freezer I do not need the rabbits.

In summer the lake temps reach into the 90's here with night time temps in the mid to upper 80's in the dog days. Rabbits always were fertile, still got good litters from good does.Not to say that the dog days of summer wasn't miserable for them and any other critter that has to wear a fur coat in the 90's When the temps hit upper 90's and tripple digits something probably should/could be done to ease their conditions. I never have other than freezing the water bottle (and not the one they lay against) Lowe's has those mist cooler set ups, may look into along with a fan. May have to feed differently so as not to sour their food.

I picked up a dressed rabbit today from the store to see if they'd be worth raising in the future.

When I brought it home I realized I have no idea how to cook it ! Anybody have some favorite relatively easy recipes to cook rabbit?

If it matters, I only have one two-pound rabbit.

Google it theres over 1.000.000 hits 5there

Only ever stewed them and serve over mash potatoes.

I'm hungry now.
Mark

Sure, but I was looking for tried and true favorites

2 rabbits quartered. take kitchen shears and cut ribbs out and flip them to the trash. Then take two beaten eggs, one cans of your favorite beer, 2 cups of flour. Salt, pepper, and mix this up good. Dry rabbit pieces and dip in batter and set on wire rack to dry for about 30 minutes. In a 10 qt black pot with basket and gallon of oil. Get oil hot that when you flick a pinch of dry flour it sizzles. Then dust rabbit pieces with a little dry flour and tony's seasoning. Put pieces in oil and fry until golden brown about 10 minutes. Make sure pieces are seperated, Then turn heat down and cook for another 25-30 minutes. Remove and drain oil off by putting pieces on a clean wire rack or paper towels.
Almost better than sex

That sounds great!

I have always thought rabbit should be slow roasted or stewed because of the gamey taste, but I have never eated farmed rabbit, maybe they are more tender.

Deep fried rabbit thanks for the idea BRB.

Farm raised rabbits aren't a lot tougher than chicken but without the fat.
The wild rabbits over in the us are a totally different critter and are definitely too tough for frying. It's a dark meat when cooked when farmed rabbit is almost white. I belive most all tame rabbits are of European decent while the wild ones over here are native and are very spooky. If you catch a tiny baby you may be able to keep but anything older will kill itself by jumping against the cage. I guess like hogs a few generations in the wild they revert back.