After week ten, the rabbit eats more and grows much more slowly. So week ten is the optimal time to slaughter a rabbit. The reason people raise California and New Zealand rabbits for meat is that they are very good at growing to five pounds in 10-11 weeks.
They're not worth the effort. If you're serious about keeping rabbits for meat, you need a breed built for the job. Meat rabbits are longer, fatter, and fluffier than your typical wild bunny. These are generally regarded as the best rabbits for eating – though some make good house pets as well.
Although companion rabbits are capable of living 10 to 15 years, the vast majority of “meat” rabbits are killed at three months of age. Referred to as “fryers,” these baby rabbits weigh only 1.5 – 3.5 pounds. A small percentage are slaughtered at 8 months old or 4 pounds; they are known in the industry as “roasters.”
Rabbits have the potential to be one of the more profitable species to raise. They often give birth to large litters, and offspring grow fast and reach either market or breeding weight more quickly than any other species.
Just keep a young doe or two out of a litter and breed her to your same buck when she's about seven to nine months' old. You can stagger your breeding times, having one fresh litter coming in every six weeks from one doe or the other. But if you adopt this system, you can't exchange the young between the does.
Unlike beef, pork or venison, rabbit meat does not have a special name, it is simply called, "rabbit meat." Despite it being a rarity on many North American menus, it is a very popular dish across different parts of the world. Rabbit meat is unique from other meats in that it is entirely white meat.
Rabbit meat is expensive because fryers are not able to be effectively fed in large groups, require a more expensive feed ration than most other livestock and processing costs are higher per pound of meat sold.
TIL that rabbit starvation, also known as protein poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that is caused by eating too much lean protein and too little fat, carbs, and other nutrients -- even if the person is consuming an enormous amount of calories.
Answer: Two medium-size breeds, the New Zealand White (NZW) and the Californian, are the most important for meat production. They have white fur that is difficult to see if a few pieces are stuck to the carcass, and they have higher meat-to-bone ratios.
The general consensus is that rabbit tastes similar to chicken. This is not entirely true, mostly because rabbit has a gamier and more intense flavour. The texture is different too, rabbit being more on the dry side. Some types of rabbit with great taste include Californian rabbit, silver fox, and Cinnamon rabbit.
Now to the big question: how much will it cost to raise those rabbits to butchering weight? The cost to raise a fryer (young meat rabbit) up to 5 pounds is $4.65-6.30 each, depending upon your cost of feed.
At a rabbit show you will find bunnies for sale, usually between $20 and $75 each. Top quality rabbits of the most popular breeds, such as Netherland Dwarfs, Mini Rex and Hollands, can sell for as much as $200 and up.
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