Rabbit Breeds Suggestions?

[BlackTigerCurse]

Hello! I'm planning on getting rabbits in the pretty distant future (like minimum 4 years away yet) and I was wondering what breed people would recommend for me. I've kind of done some research but I haven't really fallen in love with anything yet. They would be mainly meat rabbits for my dogs and family to consume on my homestead. My current plan is to house them in a shed with a big fenced area, so space won't be an issue because I can just make that enclosure bigger if need be. They'd be free-roam within their shed/pen area so they can interact with each other and have space and freedom to move around and be happy. My homestead will be more of a hobby then anything else tho, so I would still socialize with the rabbits occasionally. I do have a really in-depth plan about this, so if you have any questions just ask and if I don't have an answer I'll do my research until I do

I'm open to getting more then one breed of rabbit also, so if you know of one or more breeds please post them all.

Things I'm looking for in my rabbits:
*Can withstand the cold and heat. I live in Minnesota, which means it gets both brutally cold and hot at different times of the year. Tempature extremes can range from -30 F in January to +110 F in August. More typically they stay anywhere from 0-90 F tho

*Big enough to be worth harvesting for meat.

*Generally friendly with people. I know every rabbit is an individual, but I want my kids to be able to handle them (with supervision ofc) without the fear of being bitten

*Unique patterns/colors. I just don't want them to all look the exact same, like my goal would be a breed of rabbit like Ancona ducks, varied patterns and such so you can tell one apart from another. Not persay black and white, but a breed with a uniqueness about each rabbit.

*Friendly with other rabbits. Again, I know temprement is not guarenteed, but I want to give my rabbits the best chance to be successful in a community.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

current plan is to house them in a shed with a big fenced area, so space won't be an issue because I can just make that enclosure bigger if need be. They'd be free-roam within their shed/pen area so they can interact with each other and have space and freedom to move around and be happy.

This can work, but often can turn into a mess. Male rabbits especially will fight to the death. Generally meat rabbits are butchered at a younger age. Trying to catch them will be hard and stressful. They won't necessarily be happy.

Breeding rabbits in general are moody and want to be left alone. I don't think you can have free roaming rabbits that are friendly. The kits need to be handled young and often and that's impossible when they aren't caged.

Females are receptive immediately after giving birth, so in a colony a female will be pregnant constantly. You will quickly be overrun with rabbits as they are able to reproduce by 4-5 months of age, and will have multiple litters a year.

Baby rabbits are adorable, adults can be temperamental if left intact.

Not trying to discourage you. Just sharing what I have learned keeping and breeding rabbits.

 

[NatJ]

Things I'm looking for in my rabbits:
*Big enough to be worth harvesting for meat.
*Unique patterns/colors. I just don't want them to all look the exact same, like my goal would be a breed of rabbit like Ancona ducks, varied patterns and such so you can tell one apart from another. Not persay black and white, but a breed with a uniqueness about each rabbit.

The "best" rabbits for you are probably ones you can buy locally, so they are already used to the local conditions and so you can evaluate them in person before buying. Ones raised with the style of housing & feeding you intend to use will probably do better than ones raised differently.

As regards specific breeds and types:

If you want purebreds, in recognized colors, I suggest New Zealands. Get a solid color (black, blue, or red), and the "broken" version of the same color. Broken means it's spotted in white and some other color. The white is caused by just one gene, so you breed broken to solid and get about 50% each. The spots are arranged somewhat differently, so it's easy to recognize each rabbit.

Mixing breeds and colors of rabbits can also work well. New Zealands and Californians are probably the most widely available of the meat rabbit breeds. Californians only come in one color, and New Zealands come in a variety of colors. Mixing them can give even more colors. Mixing them with something else can give more colors yet.

Mixed-breed rabbits can be just as good as purebreds for meat, IF someone was selecting them for that purpose (large litters, good mothers, fast growth, meaty body shape.) But check how the breeder was raising them, because rabbits that do well in wire cages on a diet of pelleted feed might not do as well if you raise them in different conditions.

The best meat rabbits usually weigh about 8 to 12 pounds at maturity. Smaller ones don't have as much meat. Larger ones spend a lot of time growing bones before they start to put on muscle. It usually works best to butcher the rabbits about 8-12 weeks old, at which point they are less than half their mature weight (but they are more tender at young ages, and the will grow more slowly if you try to raise them for longer.)

If you want to see pretty pictures and a bit of information about different breeds of rabbits, you can look at the website of the American Rabbit Breeds Association:
https://arba.net/recognized-breeds/

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. Rabbits are usually caged for a reason. I would suggest you get the book Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett. It is a good beginner's book and if memory serves it has pictures and a description of the breeds of rabbits. For meat you are probably better off with New Zealands or Florida Whites.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

As far as breeds go, Creme D'Argents and Silver Fox are beautiful and friendly rabbits. There isn't a unique pattern to them unfortunately, but they grow thick coats, are very pretty, and would do great in a MN winter and will shed it out for the heat.