Lessons Learned with Rabbits

We received 4 Rex rabbits in mid-October, 2 females and 2 males (although the guy we got them from thought they were all females).  Here are some lessons that we have learned about raising rabbits.

1) They poop a lot.  I mean way more than you can imagine.  Our 4 rabbits come close to filling a 5 gallon bucket with manure ever 2 weeks.  This, to me, is a benefit of rabbits.  They are little manure factories and will provide me with tons of nutrients for my garden and/or garlic fields.  However, you need a way to gather the manure.  If you don't stack your cages, you can let it fall to the ground and use a shovel to gather it up.  If you do stack your pens, then you can use dropping trays under each pen.  I didn't want to mess with the trays, so I used some plastic, corrugated roofing set at an angle toward the back under each pen.  The urine and droppings drain to the back and fall into a piece of plastic rain gutter, which is set at an angle and empties into a 5 gallon bucket.  My manure maintenance is as easy as emptying the bucket when it's full and hosing off the plastic roofing & gutter to keep a clean rabbitry.

2) They do not like to breed in the middle of winter.  I've tried breeding my rabbits right after Christmas and the females were not receptive at all.  This has led us to the conclusion that it might be better to buy 4 rabbits in the spring, breed them throughout the spring, summer, and fall, then butcher the breeders.  Otherwise, we end up feeding 4 rabbits all winter with nothing to show for the cost of the feed, kind of a cost/benefit analysis.  If you do the last breeding late September, you can butcher the bucks and stop feeding them.  Then once the young are weekend, around Halloween, you can butcher the mature does.  Then you'll butcher the rest of your rabbits around Thanksgiving, before it gets really cold.  You can save the feed costs from Dec - Feb, and get new breeding pairs in March.  You should end up breaking even in the spring with the savings from feed and the time savings.

3) They require more maintenance during the winter.  This is due to us not having a heated water supply for them or any type of constant flow water system.  I'm guessing that most people WON'T have these things when they start.  So we end up going out every morning before work and every evening before bed to fill their crocks.  We also have an extra set of crocks that we thaw, so added supplies for keeping rabbits during the winter months.  Again, if you don't keep rabbits during the coldest months, Dec - Feb, you don't need the cost of crocks or the time spent filling the water 2-3 times a day.  That money can be used to buy your new breeders in the spring.

My next post will walk through the details of setting up my rabbitry, building the pens, the rack that holds the pens, and the manure collection system I have.

Superbowl Appetizer - Rabbit Nuggets

I wanted to make something that my wife and kid have never tasted, so during one hunting trip this winter, I saved the backstraps off of the 3 rabbits I got and put them in their own bag.  I had planned on making rabbit nuggets for the Superbowl for weeks.  I cut the strips into 1 inch nuggets, breaded them in pancake batter with pepper, rosemary and salt, then deep fried them in vegetable oil for approximately 5 minutes.  3 rabbits gave us 28 nuggets and both my son & wife thought they were amazing.  Needless to say, Debbie is totally on board with raising meat rabbits after two delicious rabbit meals.

Ingredients:
Rabbit backstraps
2 cups pancake batter
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp rosemary

1) Cut backstraps into 1 inch nuggets
2) Mix pancake batter
3) Add pepper, salt, and rosemary
4) Coat rabbit with pancake mixture
5) Fry in oil for 5 minutes or until dark golden brown

Meat Rabbits

I started doing research into raising rabbits for meat.  I recently got into rabbit hunting through my neighbor and my family LOVES eating rabbit.  However, it is cheaper and less time consuming to raise rabbits than it is to raise a beagle.  Plus, I have a food source I can count on, even though I love hunting, I can not count on my ability to hit game or for the availability of game.  I think I have 8 - 10 in the freezer right now from 5 or 6 trips this year.

Looking through Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, I saw a lattice house that held the rabbits.  I think we are going to build something very similar.  We have an area of the property that is over run by vines and located amongst some small trees.  The vines can grow up the lattice and provide protection from elements and the shed will fit in very nicely with the natural environment.

As far as the number of rabbits, I think we will start with 2 bucks and 2 does.  That should give us 1 meal of rabbit meat each week through the year plus allow us to build/replace our breeding stock.  Right now I'm leaning toward New Zealand or Californians.  Pretty basic rabbits with a body weight of 8-10 pounds.  The manure will be a great addition to our compost, which is mostly horse manure now (left over in the barn from the previous owner).  I still have to research housing facilities, food costs, etc. before we commit to raising rabbits, but right now we are strongly leaning toward it.