What Breeds of Rabbits are Best for Raising Meat

If you have wanted to start raising your own meat, but aren’t sure where to start, consider raising different breeds of rabbits. I know rabbits were not the first animal to come to mind for me, but living on a small suburban lot, I didn’t have many choices. And I am kind of glad I didn’t because raising meat rabbits has been such a great experience for our family.

I don’t know if we would have gotten started had we more land and choices for raising our own meat. So if you are thinking you might want to raise your own rabbits, you will want to make sure you get the right types for meat. Just like any livestock, there are many breeds, and there are breeds of rabbits that are better for raising for meat than others.

Momma New Zealand Rabbit with her babies

As you might know, I brought rabbits onto our homestead (actually our backyard at the time) because I had seen first hand what their manure did for my garden. I wanted to have access to as much of it as I needed. What I did not think was that I would start raising rabbits for meat. However, being that we were on a small suburban lot, we could not raise any other animals for meat as we desired, so we jumped into raising a backyard breeding trio of rabbits for meat.

Why Should You Add Rabbits to Your Homestead Besides the Meat? Click Here for more info.

What to Look for In Meat Breeds for Rabbits

You could pretty much butcher most types of rabbits for meat, but there are certain breeds that are better than others. Here’s what to look for when picking meat breeds.

Grow Out Rate – You want rabbits that grow out quickly so that you are able to butcher around 10-12 weeks of age (some people butcher younger). You want a good feed conversion so you are not spending more money on feed than needed.

Below is a growth rate chart you can use to see if your rabbits are measuring up.

Age	Good Growth	Excellent Growth
6 weeks	2.7#	3-3.25#
8 weeks	4#	4.25-5#
10 weeks	5#	5.5-6#
12 weeks	6#	6.5-7#
16 weeks	7#	7.5-8.5#

Meat to bone Ratio – Some rabbits like the Flemish Giant are big rabbits, but a lot of their weight is in their bones and they do not have as much meat as they should for their size. A meat breed will have small to medium bones. The rabbits listed below have good meat to bone ratio.

Good Mothers/Litter Size – When you are raising rabbits, they reproduce fairly quickly. That is good a good reason to raise them. Yet, some does consistently have litters of 5 or 6 while others have litters of 10. If you are going to be feeding the same, you will want the breeds that have bigger litters. Along with that, you will want good mothers. Some breeds are a bit aggressive or tend to eat their young. Those are not rabbits you want in your meat program.

My Top 6 Breeds of Rabbits

These are the rabbits I have either had or I wish to have in the future due to how great they are for raising for meat.

New Zealands

New Zealands are one of the best known rabbit breeds for meat. They have a great grow out rate and are also one of the larger rabbits, being between 9 and 11 pounds for the bucks and slightly larger for the does. They come in a huge variety of colors, so if you enjoy having colorful litters, New Zealands can be fun to have around.

New Zealand bunnies are a great breed of rabbit for meat.

I have had white, red, black, blue and broken (which means multiple colors). They are an American breed that originated in California. New Zealands have always been a healthy and vigorous breed for me. I haven’t had any issues with my does, but sometimes they can be a bit aggressive or aren’t overly friendly. Most of my rabbits are New Zealands.

Californians

Californians are the other best known meat breed for rabbits. They were originally a cross of New Zealands and Chinchilla rabbits. I think they are pretty cute with their black spots on their nose, ears, and feet, with the rest of them being white. They are a bit smaller than New Zealands with mature weight being between 8 and 11 pounds.

Californian rabbits are white with black noses and ears.

Mothers are typically more gentle than the New Zealands. Keeping a Californian doe and a New Zealand buck can make a great combination because they are both great meat breeds, but having the calmer Californian as the doe to mother is best. Many of my New Zealands came from this combo.

Silver Fox

The silver fox is the breed I first started out with. I had researched a lot before getting rabbits and silver fox were the top of my list. I was so happy to find that some people from church had some and they were looking to get out of rabbits. Unfortunately I didn’t know enough yet to ask the right questions. They were not in good breeding condition and I never could get either of the 2 does bred. It was an unfortunate situation and taught me to be a bit more careful to get rabbits from reputable breeders. However, I still want to find the right breeding stock for silver fox and get to raising them again.

They are big rabbits and fast growers and good sized with the bucks around 9-11 pounds and does averaging 10-12 pounds. Silver Foxes are similar to a New Zealand in size and have great pelts for tanning. They were developed in Ohio, and therefore hardy in cold and prefer cold to heat. They have a thick coat and are the only breed with a standing coat – if you brush it forward it stands up. Silver foxes are considered an American heritage breed. They are known to be good mothers with good temperaments.

Silver foxes come in a few different colors. Most are black, but brown and blue are growing in popularity and easier to find than they used to be. Silver Foxes used to be a bit rare, but there are now more breeders and they can be found in many parts of the United States.

Champagne d’Argent

The champagne d’argent is one of the oldest rabbit breeds and comes from the Champaign region of France. It is known for its silver color and has been used as a meat breed since the 1600s. They are a beautiful silver color and are prized for their pelts. Champagne d’Argents do have a good size for meat, though, coming in around 9-12 pounds at full size.

They are said to have a bit higher fat content than other meat breeds. While many do use this breed on their homesteads, I have never seen any around me for sale and have not raised them on our homestead.

Creme d’argent

The creme d’argent is a breed I really want to get on my farm. Tiffany from Teal Stone Homestead has convinced me that I really need these rabbits in my life because she has such beautiful ones. They are more rare, and there not a lot of bloodlines. So it is harder to get good breeding stock. Creme d’argents are just a bit smaller than a silver fox or New Zealand, and about the same size as a Californian. Bucks get to 8-10.5 pounds while does will average 8.5-11 pounds.

They have a beautiful pelt that are nice for tanning with their cream ticking and orange undercoat. They were developed in France and came to the US in the 1920s. Tiffany says she loves her cremes because they are personable and curious. They are considered a threatened breed with how few numbers they have and need more good breeders.

Standard Rex

I have raised the standard Rex on our homestead since I replaced my Silver Fox rabbits. I love their fur and how calm and friendly they are. While they are not top in growth for size, they are top for pelts with a velvety soft fur that is different than any other rabbit. I have found them to be much calmer and friendly than my New Zealands and great mothers.

I continue to keep the Rex in my meat program because of this and also they are easy to sell as pets to help with the feed cost. People looking for pets love how soft and cuddly they are.

A Breed to Shy Away From

Flemish Giant

A lot of people think that the Flemish Giant is a great meat breed because they are so big. But in my experience, they do not grow out real fast. And also their meat to bone ratio isn’t great. They are growing out a lot of bone in the time they grow. We had two brothers that were wonderful rabbits, but this is not a breed we want in our meat program. I do know of some breeders who have been successful with breeding the Flemish Giants to a Rex for a nice cross for their meat program. This did not work out for us, but might for you.

What’s Missing?

I only included six different rabbits on my list. They are 6 of the top rabbits for meat, but that doesn’t mean they are the only ones you should look for. There are other types that will do just as well. I added these six because they are great for meat, but also I have experience with them or want to have them on my homestead.