Rabbits

Rabbits for Food, Supplement Income, Barter 

Or all of above!



 From what I have read a lot of people raise Rabbits off of the ground for sanitary reasons of "clean meat"? I am giving mine a yard when the new building goes up. I will be eating them and think it is a healthy environment to the health of the rabbits. Now I may change my mine once I get into "rabbitry" full blown. Of course either way you do this it is of personal preference.

The most popular rabbits for consumption are the
New Zealand and the California. It is also OK to cross breed these two.
Rabbits are low fat and low cholesterol and all white meat. These traits make rabbit meat very healthy and desirable. Rabbit meat is becoming very popular and is also becoming a mainstay in your local grocery store. I might add that at this time they are on the high end of the price scale in the public market. This is even more reason to raise your own.


Here are a few examples of hutches I thought I would show you.



 The one above is off the ground as you can see. This is a pretty basic hutch and I think it would be of low maintenance. The out side attachment is constructed of all wire which lets the waste fall onto the ground and there fore you can scoop the waste out from underneath and use it for fertilizer. The inside is where they would have the weather break of sun and heat or winter weather. This is also their home to deliver their babies or "kits".



This hutch above and below is allowing them to be on the ground obviously. The one above is a  sweet one in my opinion, You have the walk through gate for ease of cleaning and it looks like they either have a two story or there are two inside hutches back there. The main set back on this hutch that I see is that pray could get over that low fence. Other than that, this would be a good size to have for one families supply of meat from rabbits in my opinion.

The bottom hutch is the one we like the most and are going to model our hutch after.
First of all it is covered and safer from predators. Also a larger area therefore less time spent cleaning and it is tall enough to walk through. The sloped roof of ours will raise up for cleaning and maintenance.
This seems to be a win win for us.



Here are a few facts of rabbitry:

I have three rabbits and I feed a cup a day of feed as required and a fifty pound bag lasted me two months. In addition I got a small bag of alfalfa for treats. I am now on my second bag of feed but I am still on my small bag of treats. I also give carrots and celery etc.
Rabbits become pregnant when ever put with a male as they do not have "heat" cycles. They carry kits for 28-30 days. The mother, doe, can instantly get pregnant after birth. This is not recommended because it is very hard on the doe and will ultimately shorten the life span.
The New Zeland Rabbit will fully mature at 6-10 months and weigh approx. 10lbs.

I hope this has answered some of your questions about raising rabbits for food and has encouraged you to venture into Rabbitry. Do not forget as a bonus of homegrown healthy white meat we also get their skins (pelts) to make anything you want. Make hats, hand warmers,etc. You can also sell the pelts as they are desirable.

So a quick pro rabbitry:
Healthy meat
Pelts
Fertilizer
Low cost to raise

Happy Rabbitry and Enjoy