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Shipping is not available ****************** Contact information is at bottom of the page. ****************** Need information for home or commercial meat production? Please review "Behind The Rabbitry" and "Rabbit How To's" for helpful information.
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forum discussions! Registration is simple. Join and participate in our discussions! Due to the problem with spammers, all memberships must be validated by a Forum Administrator. Please register in the normal fashion and validate the e-mail you receive from Texas Rabbit Connection. A manual approval is required as the final step. I apologize for this added step. However, it is necessary to maintain a suitable environment for our youth exhibitors.
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Welcome to Texas Rabbit Connection! It is time to reserve New Zealand and Californian meat pens for the 2009/2010 Texas county fair 4-H and FFA market rabbit show! Contact me prior to the breeding date if you wish to obtain Californian or New Zealand market rabbits for your county fair rabbit show. Although many groups are not able to provide a definite number of required pens, they are placed on the reservation list. I will accept tentative reservations with the requirement that an exact number be provided as the breeding date approaches. Texas Rabbit Connection supplies only Californian and New Zealand White rabbits for meat pen projects. The does are bred on the correct dates to have market pens available for many Texas County 4-H fairs. Contacting me in advance of the breed date will insure that I am able to provide quality rabbits for your 4-H and FFA projects. The does and bucks are routinely bred throughout the year to insure fertility when it counts! The rabbits are also maintained in a cool environment during those hot days of our Texas summers. Problems with temporary sterility are rarely seen in our facility. If you are interested in home or commercial meat production, please review the following: Note: I am located in Fairfield, TX. I don't deliver rabbits. I don't attend rabbit shows. If you are inquiring about breeding stock and cannot travel to Fairfield, I won't be able to supply the rabbits. Please consider the distance involved before reserving meat pens or breeding stock.
IMPORTANT: Please read! Provide the dates for the Judging Validation Age and Weight Rules This is helpful should your county allow for fryers older than 70 days and/or with weights more than five pounds. Without these dates, it is impossible to determine whether meat pens are available. We want you to be competitive. Providing all the required information will speed the process! PLEASE help by providing the information. Note: Kindling (birth of the babies) is approximately 31/32 days after the mating of the doe with the buck. For shows with a maximum 70 days of age, the does are bred 101 days prior to judging. If your show rules allow for the exhibition of rabbits older than 70 days, please note that when inquiring. It is important to provide the show date along with the validation dates. I cannot accept your reservations if your county needs to validate rabbits less than 33 days of age.
Some people are under the impression that producers of fryers for a commercial market such as a processor are not able to provide quality show rabbits for youth market pen projects. Many breeders are considered "commercial" due to the large volume of sales from several ventures. The earnings are reported to the IRS. Being a commercial business will not necessarily mean that inferior or lesser quality rabbits are being produced. However, it is possible that some meat breeders will not have rabbits with the type and conformation to provide quality meat pens for the project. These breeders may not be aware of the quality needed for 4-H and FFA market projects. Be certain to inquire about the availability of the correct type of rabbit needed for the market show. In order to maintain good productive does, rabbits should be bred on a regular basis. Some breeders do not have the outlet for the babies on a year round basis. As a result, the does and bucks are not bred as often as someone who breeds and markets rabbits regularly. When breeding is not occurring regularly, the possibility exists for the does to have become temporarily sterile and kindling will not occur on schedule to fill reservations. It has been found that bucks may be temporarily sterile as a result of summer heat which, of course, will affect the availability of a project. By this time, it is often too late to locate a suitable project. A suggestion would be to discuss this with your breeder of choice prior to reserving the rabbits. Do your research. Know what type of rabbit is needed for the meat pen project. Attending another county fair or a show sponsored by the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) might be helpful. Most exhibitors are happy to answer your questions. Suggestion: Please make arrangements to have a traveling container large enough to accommodate your purchase. A small cardboard box is not a suitable method in which to place rabbits for the return trip home. Good luck with your project! Thank you for allowing Texas Rabbit Connection to assist you. Reserving Market Pens Producers need to prepare well in advance by planning the breeding of their rabbits. County Fairs have specific rules regarding the age as well as the minimum and maximum ages on show date. In order for the breeder to provide rabbits meeting the requirements for your show, it is important that advance notice be provided to the breeder you have selected. Very few breeders will be able to assist should you wait until a week before validation to contact them. Plan ahead! The average gestation period for a rabbit doe is 30 to 32 days. If the age limit for the show is 70 days, the breeding will need to occur approximately 101 days prior to date of exhibition. A good market pen project doesn't usually happen by coincidence. Communicating with the breeder is an integral part of the project. Contacting a breeder 150 days before show date is normally sufficient. Providing essential information to the breeder can simplify the process.
Have fun with the project and enjoy your rabbits. Good luck on show day!
Fairfield, Texas 90 miles south of Dallas I am not able to provide listings that include other breeders with available does, bucks or meat pens. If you wish to contact other breeders, you may register for the forum. If you only receive email from someone on an approved list, check your Spam box for my reply. I respond to all inquiries regarding rabbits. I have found that Yahoo accounts do not always receive my replies. Due to time limitations and to maintain the health of the rabbits, I am not able to provide tours of our facility. If you are inquiring about breeding stock, please note that I rarely have breeding age does available for sale. It is my opinion that purchasing younger does and developing them in *your* environment is more practical and will yield better results. Please consider the travel involved from your location to mine if you are interested in purchasing rabbits suitable for breeding. ******************* Updated: 06/23/09 Texas Rabbit Connection © 2009 |
