From:  sjames1 
Date:  Tue Mar 30, 2004  10:30 pm
Subject:  Re: {OHG} Rabbits
 
Good evening everyone :)

I've been raising & showing rabbits for 10 years & am a
working member of the American Rabbit Breeders Ass., the Holland Lop
Rabbit Specialty Club & the National Mini Rex Rabbit Club.

I started out 10 years ago with Californians. IMP&HO the Californians are the 
best way to go for meat rabbits. They only eat 6 ounces per day of feed plus
a small handfull of hay whereas the Flemish Giants eat more than 12
ounces of food per day plus a BIG handfull of hay. They only get up to
6 pounds unlike the Flemish Giants that get up to 14 pounds & more.
The smaller rabbits have better tasting & more tender meat than the
bigger rabbits & you keep your cost down & increase your profits.

If you are going to sell the meat then you will need a license from your
state Ag. office. Forget the local extension office, they know nothing.
But be ready to be looked at with a fine tooth comb cause they will be
at your house every month!!

Connie, you made some great points & I agree with 99% of what you said
BUT & it is a VERY BIG BUT (sorry) I have to disagree with you on one
very important point. Rabbits are NOT Rodents!!! Where it is very true
they LOVE to Chew, on anything, they belong to the Order Lagomorphs,
which includes rabbits, hares and pikas. These animals differ very
markedly from rodents in several ways, most of which relate to their
natural diet of grass. Rodents, like humans cannot live on grass.
Lagomorphs are built to do just that. When I say "grass" I'm talking
about wild rabbits. Domestic Rabbits should never be given grass as
it will upset their tummies.

They have special front teeth, with a second set of upper incisors
behind the visible Bugs Bunny ones, so that the lower incisors force
grass blades between the two upper sets to snip them off (like a mower
blade and cutter bar). And they have special back teeth - broad and flat
surfaced to grind tough flexible grass. All this is unlike rodents who
have big strong front teeth to gnaw hard food with, and smaller less
powerful back teeth that are only needed to crush any bigger bits of the
gnawed stuff.

Once they have eaten the grass, lagomorphs have to digest it, and again
this is very different from rodents. Rodents eat similar foods to humans
and digest it in the same way. Lagomorphs have more in common with other
grass eaters such as cows and horses - they all use gut bacteria to turn
indigestible grass into something digestible. Cattle have a special
stomach so they can ruminate and chew the cud, horses have a huge
appendix to act like a brewer's vat and break down their food (or get
colic when it goes wrong), rabbits pass food through their gut twice -
first time for the bacteria to break it down to make caecotrophs, second
time to absorb the goodness themselves. This act of coprophagy (eating
their own excreta) is the most dramatic and obvious way in which we can
be sure that rabbits are NOT rodents.

The best cage to get for your rabbit's is an all wire one. Connie is
right that they will chew through a wooden one & be yard bunnies before
you know it :) Wire is best to because it is easier to keep clean &
doesn't collect the fungus & bacteria that the wood does, I learned
this the hard way :( There are several great places on line that sell
cages. "KW Cages" (kwcages@aol.com) is one, Trammells Treasures
(they only have an email address tho), Hart's Bunny Barn
(www.hartsbunnybarn.com), Quality Cage Co. (www.qualitycage.com),
K.D. Cage co. & supplies (Kdcage@nltc.net), Ca-Mar's Equipment Co.
(www.DaMars.8m.com), Klubertanz Equipment Co.,Inc. (www.klubertanz.com),
& Bass Equipment Co. (www.bassequipment.com).

If you look for rabbit shows in your area, there is usually someone
there that sells cages & equipment.

The best thing for me to suggest you to do is to join the A.R.B.A.
(www.arba.com). They are a treasure trove of information, a great place
to advertise + they have a great scollarship program for youth. It is
very family oriented & a great hobby for the whole family.

BTW, here is my website: http://www.winsteadweb.com/index1.htm
just keep in mind that I REALLY need to update :)

Hope this helps :)
Sherrie Winstead
zone 7b in GA. 
