This heritage Beveren rabbit breed is ideal for beginners, 4-H projects, and learning best practices for raising livestock.
If you’ve ever considered raising rabbits, Beverens are an easy breed for beginners. They’re a unique multipurpose heritage breed that can be raised as beautiful pets, for showing, and for meat and pelts. They’re cold-hardy and economical to raise compared with larger livestock. Overall, these rabbits make a great project for youth to learn best practices for raising livestock.
The Beveren has fascinated me since I first saw it at an American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) show in Springfield, Massachusetts. I was captivated by their blue eyes. You can show them in 4-H and ARBA fairs and shows. They make great 4-H projects and will teach you a lot of practical life skills – and even show you how genetics work. For meat, you can process them as fryers, but I prefer butchering around 6 to 7 months old. This is when they just start putting on fat.
Beverens are an old heritage breed of rabbit that’s listed as “Watch” on The Livestock Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List, with more than 500 recorded at shows and 60-plus breeders in the United States. The Beveren originated in the 19th century in a town around the Waasland region of western Belgium. They were first brought to the United States around 1915. ARBA currently recognizes three varieties of Beverens: blue, black, and white. The blue Beverens are especially unique; they’re more of a light lavender blue than your normal slate blue. The fur of a Beveren ranges from 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches in length. Does have a maximum weight of 12 pounds, and bucks are slightly smaller, with a maximum weight of 11 pounds.
I originally started raising rabbits as my 4-H project because my club leaders, Jenelle and Jeff, said it was a good starting point. I continued because I like the competition at shows, and I’ve learned that larger meat breeds are a great source of protein for my family. My first two Beveren rabbits, Donzo and Princess Nope, are pets. Donzo, my first white Beveren buck, is now 6 years old and has inspired my 4-H presentations. Donzo even went to some ARBA shows until I obtained higher-quality rabbits.
I was able to attend a National Beveren Club meeting at the ARBA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2023, where I met other Beveren enthusiasts. Beverens are hard to find in the Northeast, but I was able to bring some back from the meeting to add to my rabbitry. My second Beveren, Princess Nope, is a chocolate doe that inspired me to join my mentors in getting the chocolate variety of Beveren recognized by ARBA. I currently have a trio of chocolate Beverens. This year, I’ll be breeding a chocolate buck and doe for my first chocolate litter.
Not every Beveren will meet the minimum standard outlined in the ARBA manual, and I won’t breed or show those that don’t. However, culls are destined for wonderful meals. Every part of the rabbit is used on many homesteads to ensure that everything has a purpose and nothing goes to waste. My father is allergic to poultry, so rabbit is an economic alternative to chicken. We also use the Beverens to help with the garden – rabbit droppings can be added directly to garden soil as fertilizer that adds nutrients without burning the plants.
My Beverens have led me to explore other heritage breeds, such as Royal Palm turkeys, Faverolles and Sebright chickens, Pomeranian geese, and Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs, and I’d love to get a registered Belted Galloway cow in the future, as mine is a mix. In addition to Beverens, I keep other rabbits: Silver Fox; New Zealand for the commercial 4-H meat pen; and show rabbits, such as Mini Rex, Netherland Dwarf, and Britannia Petite. I also have a couple of “pet” rabbits I decided not to breed but enjoy having around.
My fantastic Beverens even led me to learn more about genetics and to apply to the Pathways in Technology Early College High School so I can attend the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill my senior year of high school. I hope to go into agricultural business management.
I think others could learn a lot from raising Beverens, just as I have. Since I got started with my 4-H rabbit project, I’ve learned a lot about rabbit care and marketing. I’ve learned leadership skills, how to teach others, and how to give public presentations. I’ve learned about genetics and how genetic diversity is key to the breed’s survival. I’ve developed a love for heritage breeds. I also enjoy having a source of sustainable, economic food, though, in Mom’s words, “I just like to make rabbit nuggies.”
My parents are both Marine veterans. When we bought a farm, I was able to see what I like, and my parents have been able to learn along with me. In this way, I’ve found something I can do the rest of my life.
Why Choose the Beveren?
Rabbits are second to fish and beat chickens in feed-to-meat ratio, at an average of 2-1/2 to 3 pounds of pellet feed equaling 1 pound of meat. For a pound of beef, you’d need 8 to 24 pounds of feed. I might be biased, but Beveren meat is also flavorful and tastes better than chicken!
The average Beveren rabbit can be purchased for $125 from a reputable rabbitry ($250 for a pair), while a young calf costs upward of $500 just for a heifer. It takes approximately four months for a Beveren to reach roaster weight (5-1/2 to 8-1/2 pounds) for processing, while beef cattle take a minimum of 12 months.
Beveren litters are large, and we breed our Beverens twice a year. The young grow fairly fast, and the does are typically docile and make good mothers.
The Beveren is a hardy breed that does well here in the upstate New York cold, and they can be kept in all-wire hutches to simplify collection of their waste to be used as fertilizer.
Alexander Nelson, 15, lives with his parents in upstate New York on their family farm. He enjoys working with his rabbits, poultry, cattle, and goats on his 4-H projects and playing competitive Pokémon weekly at Plunder in Amsterdam, New York. His dream is to have his own farm-to-table food truck to share his love of good food.
