Raising Rabbits ideas? Suggestions

We are retiring in 2007 and DH wants to raise rabbits, and good sites on the web you would recommend.
And the kind of rabbits to raise, I was raised on a farm and we had the gray rabbits and dad raised and killed them for meat. They got big.

TIA
Lavina

LavinaMae - try posting this over on the "Farm Life" forum. I believe there are a few people over there who are raising rabbits.

Lavina, I've raised rabbits for years (altho right now we only have two).

Just curious...what is your goal for the rabbits? Show rabbits? Pets? Meat? Manure for gardens, etc?

Shoe.

Meat and Manure. We are retiring and moving to Pamlico County in 2007. The guy I had been getting goat dung from has sold all his goats he had there,so DH says he's building a green house and we are gonna raise rabbits for meat.
We have had the land and trailer there for 5 years and enjoy lots of weekend during the warm weather there. We are 1 mile from the water. We have lots of wild turkeys, deer and a bear in the area.
I have grapevines, pear tree and 2 pecan trees there so far.

Lavina

Wow! Sounds like ya'll will be retiring in a great area! (I'm jealous!)

As for the rabbits...I've only raised meat rabbits (although the two we have now are basically pets now). New Zealand Whites are perfect for raising for meat. They gain in size very quickly (6-8 weeks), their meat-to-bone ratio is perfect, they handle both hot and cold weather very well, and are also easy to work with.

At many points in time we had no less that 80 rabbits on the premises in various stages of growth. I love rabbit meat! (Rabbit stew, fried rabbit, rabbit braised and broiled in a black olive sauce, rabbit piquante, rabbit and dumplings...well, don't get me started!)

I'm looking for more breeder stock so if I find some perhaps I can help set you up, eh?

If we get them before we move I'll be the one having to take care of them but do you know the guy from Dunn who raises New Zealands, I followed a link someone had and he was listed in Dunn NC.
If DH retires either May or Sept he can look after them.LOL
I can hardly wait and I hope before long we can get to fish the water has been so choppy the last few times we were there no one was fishing.

Lavina

LavinaMae - are you going to be raising the rabbits for meat just for yourself or for sale/profit? Because if for outside sale/profit, there's a lot more to consider from what I understand.

No just for us. I was raised with rabbit meat and deer meat and I am tired of steak and chicken. Its too much trouble to do commercial stuff.I do crafts already and have craft sales its hard to keep up with .
I hope to work part time in a drs office after we retire. I have about 10 years to go before Social Security.

Lavina

I got this from thread in the Brug fourm on uses for rabbit poo It may be of some help.
http://www.arba.net/ American rabbit breeders
~Caren

I just have two pet rabbits, but they make more than enough rabbit pellets for my needs.
I love rabbit meat myself, but these are just pets.
I will have to look at that link and see what I can do that I haven't already with those pellets. I have wild rabbits that sprinkle the yard and deer also, but I dont' think that really helps with the fertilizing that much.