Dr Sandra Eady (right) passes Crusader rabbits to Kathleen Bowerman of the Snowy Mountain Gourmet Rabbit Company.
Crusader meat rabbits
CSIRO and industry partners developed the Crusader strain of meat rabbit, selected for traits of prime economic importance to meat rabbit production.
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16 September 2011 | Updated 20 April 2012
In 1999, CSIRO and industry partners began developing the Crusader strain of meat rabbit, selecting for improved litter size, growth rate, disease resistance and other traits of prime economic importance to meat rabbit production.
Funded by CSIRO and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Crusader meat rabbit breeding program produced superior livestock for the industry, as well as management and husbandry information on rabbit reproduction and the Crusader Enterprise Model for estimating gross margins.
The Crusader meat rabbit breeding program produced superior livestock for the industry.
The Crusader Enterprise Model allows the user to estimate returns from rabbit breeding.
Please note that the assumptions in this model were last updated in 2006 and users should seek current market information on inputs such as feed and rabbit meat prices.
In 2004 the Crusader breeding program was commercialised. Crusader rabbits can be purchased from Growtec [external link].
Results from the breeding program are available in a range of RIRDC publications that can found at the RIRDC website [external link].
For more information about meat rabbit farming in Australia, please see:
For information about the most common diseases affecting Australia’s farmed rabbits, please see:
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