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I raised meat rabbits for a bit and I agree with this assessment. They are pretty low maintenance. Before I had a good buck I took some doe’s to get bred. I’d never been around breeding rabbits. The owner wasn’t there and told me to put them in the cage with the award winning buck. I did and he went right to work...5 seconds and he fell over squealing like he was being murdered. I thought I killed the bastard.They are delicious. They are cute.
I got tired of butchering them so I quit raising rabbits.
It's really not hard if you have the time and cages. We even saved the turds to user as fertilizer
What a way to go....lolI raised meat rabbits for a bit and I agree with this assessment. They are pretty low maintenance. Before I had a good buck I took some doe’s to get bred. I’d never been around breeding rabbits. The owner wasn’t there and told me to put them in the cage with the award winning buck. I did and he went right to work...5 seconds and he fell over squealing like he was being murdered. I thought I killed the bastard.
Any currently doing this or have done it in the past?
Please share your thoughts and experience.
Thanks!
God, I wish that were me.......I raised meat rabbits for a bit and I agree with this assessment. They are pretty low maintenance. Before I had a good buck I took some doe’s to get bred. I’d never been around breeding rabbits. The owner wasn’t there and told me to put them in the cage with the award winning buck. I did and he went right to work...5 seconds and he fell over squealing like he was being murdered. I thought I killed the bastard.
God, I wish that were me.......
Yeah that’s if you are in a survival situation and all you eat is rabbit. Does not apply to everyday life.Cannot vouch but have heard that if all you eat is rabbit meat you will eventually starve ?
Can anyone verify or dispute this ?
Cannot vouch but have heard that if all you eat is rabbit meat you will eventually starve ?
Can anyone verify or dispute this ?
I’d do some researching first. Some states it is illegal to purposely release domesticated animals to start a “wild” groupI have some property that is perfect for rabbits to run on. Plenty of cover and piles to make burrows in. I have no issues with letting them go as I dont have a garden but would very much like to have free range rabbits. Does anyone know of a breed that is hearty and easily goes wild? Cottontails do well here but I cant find anywhere that sells them.
Thanks
Rabbit would sustain you for quite a while, but probably not forever. A 1 ounce serving supposedly has 39 calories and just shy of 6 grams of protein. Use that on a standardized diet and a 6-8 ounce portion of meat and do the math for caloric intake.Cannot vouch but have heard that if all you eat is rabbit meat you will eventually starve ?
Can anyone verify or dispute this ?
We have been raising rabbits for about two years. In our experience there wasn't much of a learning curve, but we did improve processes over time.
Housing:
We use commercially available cages from Fleet Farm. 24 x 24 for bucks and 30 x 36 for does. After the does kindle (stupid term for having babies) and the mother gets annoyed with them, babies get moved to some larger cages we acquired from a local former mink breeder.
Feed:
We feed them Timothy hay we get locally from a nearby farm. Give them as much hay as they can eat. We also feed them pellets to get them protein. I think we give them about 1/2 or 3/4 cup per day. Overfeeding pellets can make them fat. Apparently fat rabbits don't like to breed. Haven't had this issue, so can't speak to it.
Breeding:
Take a doe and stick it in the bucks cage. They'll do what rabbits do (usually). Once the buck falls off 2 or 3 times you can assume you have a successful breeding. Once you see it, you'll know what falling off means.
Males can/will go temporarily sterile for a few months if they get too hot (80+ temps). Rabbits do better in cold temps. Prefer sub zero temps to 80+.
Processing:
Choose your method of dispatching. There are pros and cons to each. This is how I do it; good video but not me:
Parents raised them for meat when I was growing up. That paired with the fact that rabbit hunting is my main type of hunting meant that my belly was never starved of rabbit meat. Rabbit chili and stew is so fucking good!
You’ve not had the pleasure of meeting this smart little beeeeeatch. Makes some dogs look like full tardslike a less smart dog
I think the OP is wanting to raise rabbits in case of economic collapse or apocalypse type scenario. A large animal is hard to butcher and even harder to store (no freezer/ refrigeration) for as long as the meat would last you. A rabbit could be butchered and eaten with no waste.May be a dumb question but what is the pro of this over compared to keeping a couple head of cattle?
May be a dumb question but what is the pro of this over compared to keeping a couple head of cattle?
People have raised them in a colony setting. You can fence in an area if you have the proper conditions to support it. ( This is very generalized so I encourage researching it in depth before attempting it. )Yep. That's the same reason I want to find a breed I can release on my property and shoot/snare as I want.
Oh I don’t know as far as going to economic collapse but it would be handy to have in place if it did.I think the OP is wanting to raise rabbits in case of economic collapse or apocalypse type scenario. A large animal is hard to butcher and even harder to store (no freezer/ refrigeration) for as long as the meat would last you. A rabbit could be butchered and eaten with no waste.
May be a dumb question but what is the pro of this over compared to keeping a couple head of cattle?
Hmm the storage is a good point. I’ve looked into smoking and salting meat but I haven’t seen a good consensus on how long that would actually stay unrefridgerated. It would suck to butcher a cow and have 3/4 of it go bad before it could get ate. A lot easier to keep them fresh if they are breathing right up until meal time for sure.I think the OP is wanting to raise rabbits in case of economic collapse or apocalypse type scenario. A large animal is hard to butcher and even harder to store (no freezer/ refrigeration) for as long as the meat would last you. A rabbit could be butchered and eaten with no waste.
I would think canning them would allow some to last for a year or two, but i do not have much experience in that. Gonna try it though. Prob with wild rabbitHmm the storage is a good point. I’ve looked into smoking and salting meat but I haven’t seen a good consensus on how long that would actually stay unrefridgerated. It would suck to butcher a cow and have 3/4 of it go bad before it could get ate. A lot easier to keep them fresh if they are breathing right up until meal time for sure.
I think u should drop the pidgeons and move up to emu!God, I wish that were me.......
Bookmarking this one lolrabbit cooked wrong is a nightmare. rabbit cooked right is incredible.
brown in a pan, then transfer to the slow cooker. add mushrooms, a cup of water, and cover the pile of meat in bacon strips. let it go about 6 hours, then have at it.
Interesting…We breed meat rabbits and meat/egg quail.
Rabbits are pretty easy. Hatch to table in about 10-12 weeks. Poop is great for the garden.
Jumbo brown quail are better meat animals. Hatch to table in 8 weeks and need less room. Plus the eggs are incredible. Poop good for the garden once it is rested. No eggs in the winter though, but chickens were the same.
I keep the rabbits and quail in identical cages and it works well.
We’ve tried chickens twice. They are disgusting animals and attract rats.
All the cages are 1/2x1 bottom wire 14ga. I do buy baby saver wire sides. It’s got 1/2x1 up about 6” then. 1x2 above that. The quail are brooded in a water tub in the shop until they’re big enough to go in the cages.Interesting…
Do you need baby saver bottoms for the quail or do you use non-traditional hutches?