Why Should I Raise Meat Rabbits

We began raising meat rabbits in our apartment in 2015 after my becoming abruptly disabled forced me to need to sell my day spa and we were on a lower income suddenly. As a person who strives to be independent no matter what my family and I sat down and hashed out a plan. My husband came up with raising meat rabbits. they were simple, quiet and our landlady approved rabbits as an allowed animal. She didnt specify a limit ;) so off we went. We spent the next months investigating breeds, talking, laughing and planning. We watched videos on how to, studied rabbit anatomy, pathology and took in as much knowledge as we could. Along the way I decided I also wanted to create a new breed for meat but that story can be found on the Signature rabbits page. 

​

Meat Rabbits grow fast and the turnaround is fast. At 12 weeks old you can harvest 2-4# of meat from just one rabbit and each litter comes with 5-12 babies on average. An adult is fed 1/4 cup of pellets per 5# of body weight give or take. You should monitor the amount of feed and adjust it to make sure they dont get too thin or too fat.  If they are too fat, it will inhibit their ability to breed and can limit the size of the does litters.  Also provide unlimited hay daily. We prefer grass hay tho you can use timothy, orchard or alfalfa. Alfalfa isn't preferred as use with pellets can provide too much calcium, however if you're primarily fodder feeding it is a great option to keep your rabbits conditioned. 

 

We got started with three Rex does and a Silver Fox cross buck. They were beautiful. Two of theRex had full pedigrees and were from champion lines which at the time meant nothing to us.We wanted to learn to tan hides and work with pelts as well, a feat that we have yet to master. Cant be good at everything, but the freezer has some amazing furs for when we get it down, HA!  

​

​

​

​

​

​

What does it taste like?

Well, it tastes like turkey with the texture of chicken would be my best way to describe it.  You can use it in recipes just the same as you would chicken.  It is an extremely versatile meat, low in cholesterol and fat. Well what about fat starvation people talk about then?  Domestic rabbit isn't as low in fat as wild rabbit so fat starvation isn't a big risk factor. Especially if you are cooking it in fat which most of us are. We also consume fat during the course of our day. Bacon wrapped rabbit is divine.  You can also eat the organ meats to supply yourself with enough fat to satisfy the need if you are in a survival situation.

I you think about it, in the 1980's we were all told fat was bad for us and we cut out so much fat from our diets that even if we all lived solely on domestic rabbit we most likely would consume more fat than we did on those diets. The all salad no salad dressing fad, the grapefruit diet...we survived.  Rabbit is also great for people on diets for cholesterol. Now keep in mind this is not to be used as medical advice in any way.

​

So Where Do I Go From Here?

The best way to begin in my opinion is to get two does and a buck unless you are just two people then a doe and a buck will do. we sell large and giant breeds so you will want at least a 24x24 cage per rabbit or a 2x4' cage. A clean water source, fresh hay and either fodder or pellets. if you choose fodder you have some homework ahead of you. Pellets are completely balanced. We do supplement with Barley seed fodder but also use Kent 17% pellets.  In the beginning we used hay from the store which was very costly but we didnt know where else to go. Then we found farmers on craigslist for a huge square bale for $3 each. This made a huge difference in cost effectiveness. My suggestion, look around. Co-ops, feed and seed stores, Fleet Farm and other farm stores etc. A 50# bag of feed ranges $17-$22. 

​

Keeping Them Healthy

Bunnies can be fickle. There are many things that can go wrong from bloat and bordtella to heart attacks, broken limbs and the dreaded pasturella. So what can you do to prevent this? Keep your cages clean and dry. Every couple months, bleach or use dilution of vineger and water (NEVER COMBINE BLEACH AND VINEGAR IT'S TOXIC) and thoroughly wash your cages.

On our bunny potions page you will find for sale some supplements for teas to give your bunnies periodically to boost their immune systems. will this prevent everything? Of course not but it can give them a better chance at staying healthy.  Just make the teas and put it in their water bottles for a couple of weeks daily once every quarter (four times a year).

​

As always, we are happy to help with any questions you may have so be sure to message us. We don't have all of the answers but if we do we will glady give them to you.