Write an article based on this "Rabbit breeding stock can be obtained from many different sources. Get the right pen. Know that female rabbits will conceive at any time they have an "encounter" with a buck. The pen should be furnished with clean water each day. Feed a good quality hay. Hay should be contained in a lattice manger, or rick to keep it from being contaminated by the animal's waste. Another feeding option can be to use calf manna along with rabbit pellets, or "rabbit food"."
One good way is to go to a fair where there are rabbits and contact the owners which are usually listed on the show cases. 3 to 4 litters of 5 to 10 young can be thrown by a healthy, mature female (doe) each year. One male (buck) can service up to twenty to thirty does, but in order to keep the gene pool healthy, you should have one buck for each 5 does. Make sure you keep records of which does are bred by which bucks, and keep rotating the animals to keep the gene pool as large as possible. The best meat breeds are California and New Zealand or a combination of the two. Most consider the Flemish Giant unsuitable for a meat rabbit, due to the meat to bone ratio, also the amount of food consumed to meat ratio. It is okay to cross with a New Zealand for meat production. The pen should be a minimum of 5 feet (1.5m) by 6 feet (1.8m) for this large breed, but slightly smaller for the smaller breeds. Rabbits need space! The floor should be made of a sturdy wire mesh with about 34 inch (1.9cm) square holes to accommodate droppings and urine. Do give the rabbit someplace else to stand, however. Standing on wire full time can hurt a rabbit's feet. A full tray or box the full size of the floor of the pen with all four sides about 212 inches (6.4cm) high should be slid under the pen to catch the animal waste. This tray should be emptied once per week and rinsed with a disinfectant. Be careful when using bleach, as it will react with the urine and give off a harmful gas! A solid compartment about 112 feet (0.5m) long and 112 feet (0.5m) wide should be included in the pen to give the doe privacy while she is having her young. this will keep mortality of the young down to a great extent. Be sure there is plenty of dried hay in the pen when she is "due". There is no set estrous period. The young should be separated from the mother at about 6 weeks. The doe is ready for breeding immediately after separation from her young. The rabbit pregnancy period is 28-30 days, with the doe able to mate within hours of giving birth. However, it's advised to wait a month so as not to overtire her and drastically shorten her life span. The water should be contained in such a way that the animal will not contaminate it with its body waste. If in an open container, it should be elevated so that the top is at least 4 inches (10.2cm) above the floor. Conventional water bottles work very well also (except during the winter). Be sure it has a sweet smell, and has not been water-damaged and become moldy. Red clover and birdsfoot trefoil seem to be the most preferred by rabbits, but they will also do well on alfalfa, Kentucky bluegrass, timothy, and a mixture of native grasses. Do not over feed lettuces. Any fresh green food such as lettuce from the store or grass from the yard can give your animals diarrhea! However, if they are introduced to grass or weeds gradually, they can enjoy them regularly with no harm. It's the sudden change of food that is most harmful. Also, with free choice hay, the animals will regulate much of their own eating habits. Medicated calf pellets, available at a feed mill which dairy farmers frequent, can help keep your rabbits free from diarrhea. They will cost you less than the "bunny" pellets per pound, but can contribute to the overuse of antibiotics and are not available in all cities. Very important: When you are ready to butcher, place your animals in an especially clean environment for 2 weeks prior to slaughtering and feed them conventional rabbit pellets rather than the medicated calf food to clear the rabbits from the effects of the anti-biotic which is in the calf food. Remember these rabbits will not be considered organic which is a personal choice.