Considering getting outside show rabbits, help me decide

[rcstanley]

I've always wanted to raise an animal I could show and breed. I'm considering rabbits, but I'd prefer it / them to live outside. I live where it is hot in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter. I understand meat rabbits can be raised in these conditions and my chickens do fine. Would a show type rabbit do OK (obviously it would be in cage / hutch with protection from the elements)?

 

[cavemanrich]

I have never raised any rabbits but do fed the ones that come into my yard. I also feed many others, like squirrels and song birds. I remove food for the night to discourage predators from hanging around. (raccoons, opossum, skunks, rodents)
Here is one to consider. It does not qualify for SHOW, or to BREED, but definitely a SHOW STOPPER.

WISHING YOU BEST.... I hope you at least got a chuckle out of this.

 

[Silkiesarefluffydinos]

I also do not have much rabbit experiacnce, but my friend breeds and shows, and she definitely recommends hollandlops. She has a lot of success with breeding and showing them. Personally, if I got a rabbit, it would most likely be a hollandlop.

 

[cavemanrich]

I have little knowledge about rabbits, but will share what a family member tried in the past.
They kept pet rabbits in an outdoor hutch for their children to play with. These were pet store type, I don't know of breed. Then they encountered a few wild baby rabbits in their yard. They placed them into hutch, not same as their current rabbits, but separate. They fed them well, just like their pets. They lived and grew, but did not survive very long. They came to the conclusion that wild rabbits just did not do well in confinement. That is why I only feed the ones that come by me and do not try to make them as caged pets.

 

[Zoomie]

I used to raise show rabbits in Utah... the winters were pretty severe where I lived way up in the mountains.

What is hard for rabbits is HEAT. The cold they can handle just fine. (One exception. I knew a lady who SHEARED her Angora in the MIDDLE OF WINTER. It died! Big surprise! So NO, you can not cut off all their hair in the middle of winter and expect them to survive!!!) I had a barn that had a roof and 3 solid sides with good strong wire on the front (to keep out raccoons and other predators). This had excellent ventilation. You will need to protect from predators. I did lose rabbits to having raccoons grab them and pull off a leg or something. You get up, the rabbit is not dead yet, you have to put it out of its misery... not a pretty sight.

I raised: Mini Rex, English Angora, French Angora, Silver Fox and Tan. They all did great. Because my barn had a nice big roof they were in the shade in the summer and stayed pretty cool. Some people will put fans in their barns if the weather is too hot. Again: it is the HEAT that is hard on rabbits. Not the cold. Just like chickens they need to stay dry, and have good ventilation. My cages were all hung at least 2' above the ground so the droppings would fall far from the rabbits. I would then rake up under the cages. Do not let them sit in wet bedding.

My rabbits did so well that I won enough ribbons to make a quilt out of the ribbons. A king-sized quilt. I see no reason at all why you could not do even better than I did.