[Pat Lamar]

Ironically, Belgian Hares USED to be a preferred meat rabbit... BUT... that was a LONG time ago and when they had TWO different Belgian Hares: the "Heavy-Weight" Belgian Hare, which no longer exists, and the finer boned Belgian-Hare that we know of today. Unfortunately, I don't know why the Heavy-Weight Belgian Hare fell from favor and I can only assume it had to do with the body structure, itself, since the "full-arch" body type isn't preferred for meat purposes.

Pat Lamar

 

[Kwings]

Kwings, thats a really interesting cross. The belgian hare looks rather petite next to your buck. I would be worried about birthing problems with big kits. Perhaps a belgian buck with a giant chin doe might be better. I would really be interested in seeing the results of your litter at 10-12 wks. A followup post would be great.

She had no trouble giving birth to the 4 big kits she had, I'll defiantly give a follow up post when they are 10-12 weeks. ^_^

 

[PulpFaction]

It seems I read that the Giant Chin is supposed to have finer bones and better efficiency than the Flemish. Wasn't it the Giant Chin that was the first breed to make anyone a millionaire, and is thus called the million dollar rabbit? Of course some of that was fur, which wouldn't help you these days, but the other half was that he was getting a good carcass.

The primary reason they fell out of favor, I've been told, is simply that people discovered they could dye a white coat any color, including chin, and the white rabbits just got worked with more and became more efficient and consistent.

That said, if your personal preference is for a giant rabbit (I've mentioned before that I prefer them for outdoor colonies,) they should do you right.

Plus, if you kept up on your pairings and bred good rabbits, you could also sell show and breeding stock. They are quite rare.

 

[Pat Lamar]

Yes, the Giant Chinchilla is the "Million Dollar Rabbit," and made Mr. Stahl a millionaire. Ironically, though, MOST of it was because of the fur.... AND the fact that Mr. Stahl successfully sold live rabbits by mail order through the Sears & Roebuck catalog! LOL He was a marketing genius in his time! The meat was simply a "by-product," but both the fur and meat aspects were quickly overrun with the advent of the New Zealand rabbit. Giant Chins have the same semi-arch body type as the Flemish Giants and they also have "fairly heavy" bones. The American Chinchilla has the preferred "commercial" meat bearing body type and size.

Pat Lamar

 

[Honorine]

In our 4H club we have kids with Giant Chins, and Standard Chins. The Giant Chins do look very much like light gray Flemish Giants, ears aren't as large, neither is the head and they have a bit less bone, and they don't tend to have that long shoulder look. Standard Chins on the other hand are small, think max weight is 7 to 7 and a half lbs, they have a very compact commercial type, really cute heads and great fur. I have heard of American Chins being considered a decent meat breed, and being used in crossbreeding programs. All rabbits are made of meat, it just depends on how long you want to grow them out and pour feed into them.

 

[Patt]

We have raised meat rabbits from a chinchilla buck for 5 years now. We get nice sized meat rabbits and we finish out the fryers on pasture.