Rabbits for meat

[Treasa]

Is anyone raising rabbits for meat?  I ued to raise them  for meat and fur as a kid.  Here in Phoenix where heat can be an issue.  I see lots about chickens but not rabbits.  I am interested in finding

Giant Chinchilla Rabbits.

[Faint Family Farms]

We breed New Zealand meat rabbits in Gilbert. We have ours in a room in the barn that is air conditioned during the day and left open at night. Send me an e-mail and we'll discuss some meat options for you.
Bill
Faint Family Farms
Gilbert
[e-mail]

[Treasa]

I will email you

[Trevor Ray]

We're planning on starting to raise rabbits in the fall... but haven't looked into all the details yet.

We do know that it's possible to raise rabbits here, and have met several people raising them. A few months ago we met a lady from Gilbert that raises the rabbits and sells them on craiglist...I'm pretty sure they were New Zealanders. If you keep an eye out on craiglist (or better yet use a notifier) you'll see them listed. Her's were in a covered shed, not sure if there was AC in it.

I also know another guy in my neighborhood that raises the giant flemish ones, not the best for meat production but an interesting, massive breed... he raises them to sell and makes good money on each rabbit. I think the guy in my neighborhood just keeps the rabbits outside under an big overhang and puts frozen water bottles in the cage to cool off the rabbits...

[Treasa]

I would rather be able to purchase meat as I am not to sure about the butchering part. I did raise rabbits here when I was a kid. we raised them outside in coops and hung wet burlap bags around in the summer to act as
evapap cooling.

[Julie]

Treasa, if you don't want to pay store prices... last I checked, LeeLee's Oriental Market is about the cheapest place I know of that has whole rabbit. With the state fair coming up, contact Jim Clark or Jenny Burdsal (They're superintendant and assistant). They can point you in the right direction for home butchered meat or good breeding stock. They've been in rabbits off and on as long as I can remember. In fact, Jenny and I used to show together back when we were in grade school and 4H many moons ago.

[Treasa]

Thank you so much for that info.

[MariaInWPhx]

Rabbits can present a challenge here in Phoenix. Temps over the 80s can render the bucks temporarily sterile, and over the 90s can be fatal.

Most rabbit raisers I know keep their animals in cooled barns. I've been out of the rabbit show system for awhile, but don't remember local Giant Chinchilla breeders. We have Rex :)

[Julie]

Im actually a Life Member of the Giant Chinchilla Rabbit Club. But as Chris said, they're not ideal for meat. Not when they're purebred. With the right cross, they do make great meat animals but if you're looking for a Chinchilla colored rabbit for meat, I'd go with Satins or Standard Chins. Florida Whites and Dutch are also great meat animals, though they're only 5-7# at maturity. Personally I didn't like looking at a barn full of solid white rabbits so we raised Satins and Silver Martens for meat that didn't meet show standards. Even butched a few Checked Giants out too.