- southernontariorab
Bunnicula is here!
Updated: Mar 30, 2022
Bunnicula is such a sweet and pretty girl and she is a welcomed addition to Ontario Rabbits. She is a New Zealand Flemish Giant cross and will be bred to our New Zealand Flemish Giant mix buck. I am looking forward to seeing what their kits will look like. I know most meat rabbit breeders prefer to breed New Zealand whites as white hair doesn't show up on the meat and it makes the meat look cleaner. I however like the looks of a broken coat and I think the Flemish Giant will just bump up their size a bit.
Here at Ontario rabbits our main goal is to work towards being more self reliant and the main purpose of the rabbits is to produce meat to help feed our family and make us less dependent on the grocery store. The rabbits also provide manure to fertilize our gardens, and the occasional sale if a kit to offset some of the feed costs.
Personally, if I was to buy a pet rabbit I would pick a broken coat over a solid coat. This played into my choice of which breeders to get. I will be selling the odd kit to help offset feed costs. The cuter the kit, the more likely someone will be interested in it over someone else's, if they are shopping for a pet. My next doe will likely be a solid and though I prefer colours, I am seriously considering white so I can also produce kits that can appeal to people looking for rabbits to process themselves, or for people looking for breeders for meat production.
There are a lot of things to consider. But I think Bunnicula was a great choice. She is calm, happy, social and in great shape. I am very happy with her and my choice. She will be spending the next 4 days or so in the house getting used to me, my son and Zoey the bulldog. She will be kept away from Marshall and quarantined to ensure nothing was brought in with her unknowingly. It is also supposed to be quite cold the next few nights and I would like to slowly introduce her to the outside during above freezing temperatures before moving her outdoors permanently. Rabbits can deal with the cold a lot better than they can deal with the heat, but it is still hard for me to see an 8 week old kit and just put it out into the elements, even with its rabbit house and shelter. I know it's for my benefit more than hers.
