is raising rabbits for meat worth it

These furry lawnmowers may well have been descended from the inhabitants of some long-abandoned rabbit farm.). A 24-ounce mini-bale costs about $4 at Mills Fleet Farm; your local pet store probably has variously sized bales in stock too. It is plump. Your hutch plan spells out your hutch’s layout, dimensions, construction, and placement on your property. I use alfalfa hay cubes instead. Amazon sells bottles up to 64 ounces for under $8. There is much to learn about raising rabbits for … Frozen Gel Bottles for Cooling Breeder Buck . By contrast, a scratch-built hutch made from low-cost wood and wiring costs a fraction of that and should take a capable DIYer less than a day to put together. Assuming you already have knives and a sharpener, the whole setup shouldn’t cost more than $10. Compared with its space- and feed-intensive chicken-rearing operation, the cooperative’s rabbit farm was a breeze to maintain. Meat rabbits are longer, fatter, and fluffier than your typical wild bunny. Pellets are more important for younger rabbits. Explore. Who knew how many were lost to predation – wolves, bobcats and coyotes roamed the surrounding forests. These are generally regarded as the best rabbits for eating – though some make good house pets as well. For water, you’ll want an ample water bottle that can last for a while between refills. If you’re a committed vegetarian averse even to ethically raised meat, there’s no reason to keep rabbits other than for companionship. – Penalties for Filing Late, VantageScore vs FICO Credit Score – Differences & How They Affect You, 15 Best Rewards Checking Accounts of 2021, 24 Best New Bank Account Promotions & Offers – January 2021, 13 Best Stock Market Investment News, Analysis & Research Sites, 13 Best Paycheck Advance Apps to Help You Make It to Payday, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Portland’s Specified Animal Facility code, 43 Best Things to Do & See in Madison, Wisconsin - Activities & Attractions, Best 12 Things to Do in Costa Rica - Fun Vacation Activities on a Budget, Best 38 Fun Things to Do in Seattle - Activities & Attractions on the Cheap, RAGBRAI (Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) - How to Do It & Tips to Save, Top 10 Cheap International Travel Destinations in the World, 44 Fun Things to Do in Minneapolis-St. Paul (Twin Cities) - Cheap & Free Activities, 13 Places to Buy Cheap Discount Sports Tickets Online & Off, 8 Frugal & Fun Martin Luther King Day Activities for Kids, How to Form a Pandemic Pod to Safely Socialize During Quarantine. Unlike chickens, rabbits don’t lay eggs or produce any other sustainable by-products while they’re alive. WARNING: This diary discusses housing and raising of rabbits for human consumption as well as feeding rabbits naturally. Instant Pot BBQ rabbit sliders! Rabbits are hardier than most other small livestock. Aug 3, 2018 - This Pin was discovered by Amanda Seamans. Rabbits are famously efficient breeders. googletag.cmd.push(function() { Gates are more expensive, particularly if they’re designed with low clearances to prevent quadruped predators from sneaking into your yard. MoneyCrashers.com does not include all banks, credit card companies or all available credit card offers, although best efforts are made to include a comprehensive list of offers regardless of compensation. Besides meat, the only other commercial rabbit product is fur. Whether you live on a full blown many acre ... Bear in mind that these “specialty” feeds will cost you more, but they are worth it if that is what is important to you. The Minneapolis rabbit farm mentioned earlier in this guide lets its rabbits run wild most of the year, with temporary indoor accommodations only on the handful of nights when the mercury dips below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I eat less meat and do my best to buy … Rabbitry isn’t a super high-maintenance project, but it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it hobby either. Unless otherwise noted, all are recognized and sanctioned by the American Rabbit Breeders Association: Rabbits aren’t especially expensive. Saved by Jim Gallagher. You should know that feeding rabbits can be as expensive as you want to make it. that are wonderful to pair with rabbit. Per Homewyse, you can expect a basic chain-link fence to cost $5 to $10 per linear foot. We hunted, we fished; it was just how life was for our family. While some may raise rabbits as pets, others may choose to raise them for meat. Raising Rabbits for Meat: Where You Should Start Choosing the breed you want to raise. They were likely outnumbered by a decidedly non-human presence: a docile, faintly absurd flock of oversized, multihued free-range rabbits. 11 replies 1 2 2. When you raise rabbits for meat this is your goal. I am very excited to see your new rabbit setup – we are planning to start raising our own meat rabbits this year, as in our neighborhood yard that is all we have room for. Rabbits are notoriously prolific breeders. You can buy pre-built pens with solid framing and adequate room to run, but they’re pricey. Rabbits have excellent feed conversion rates, low startup costs, healthy meat and … Elsewhere, raising rabbits (and other small livestock, such as chickens) may be permitted, but slaughtering and processing them may be prohibited. Pro Tip: This guide is geared toward hobbyist rabbit farmers. Rabbit ordinances (often included in broader small livestock or market garden ordinances) vary widely from place to place, but most include provisions for: Some municipal codes may require you to submit detailed schematics for your rabbits’ enclosure, or hutch. We know exactly what they ate, what they have been exposed to, how they were processed and how that meat was cared for. © 2021 Money Crashers, LLC. Needless to say, this adds to the cost and complexity of homestead rabbitry. Only feed the adults clover or vegetable greens. Younger rabbits almost always cost less than mature rabbits, since they’re smaller (meaning less meat) and face higher mortality risk. It’s easy to find people showing you how they raise their rabbits, but tough to get the numbers, especially feed costs! 3. Though Asian and some European countries consume rabbit on a regular basis, America lags behind, despite the relative ease of raising rabbits for meat. Your outdoor enclosure’s bedding doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but it does need to be absorbent and relatively easy to change. Rabbits are kept in abysmal conditions, with anywhere from 10% to 30% dying before they can be killed for their fur. First things first: You need to determine whether it’s legal to raise rabbits for food on your property. Rabbit meat is good for you. If you raise your own rabbits you will always have fresh meat. The rabbits huddled together in a corner of the livestock shed they’d built, ate hay and naturally occurring vegetation, and only needed to be moved inside on extremely cold winter nights. googletag.enableServices(); Among other things, we may receive free products, services, and/or monetary compensation in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products or services. Suffice it to say that you’ll need a couple of sharp knives (with a sharpener), flat surfaces, storage supplies, and some material you can readily procure at a hardware store. These are generally regarded as the best rabbits for eating – though some make good house pets as well. Even if your municipality doesn’t require you to file a plan, a hutch plan could be good for your bottom line. Baby bunnies don’t like solid or wire surfaces. Get two to four rabbits. Rabbits are one of the easiest animals to raise and keep. Wondering what to feed rabbits? This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear on category pages. Rabbits are easy to raise and can be a rewarding project for the homesteader. A DIY alternative is likely several times cheaper and requires minimal handiness – you just need to know how to nail together wood frames, hook together wire, and keep the whole thing stable on level ground (tent stakes work well). While “ethical” is an admittedly fuzzy standard when it comes to commercial meat production, few would argue that lovingly hand-raised rabbits aren’t ethical to consume – notwithstanding justifiable moral arguments against consuming any animal protein. Apr 17, 2014 - Grass-fed rabbit production at Northland Sheep Dairy, a farm near Tompkins County. I’ve written about raising meat rabbits in other articles and I’ll share those at the end of this one. Meat rabbits are raised to 10 weeks of age and five pounds of weight before processing. It’s not pretty, but a plywood barrier anchored to the ground with tent stakes and to the enclosure’s walls with twist-ties is perfectly functional – and doable with found or repurposed materials at virtually no cost. Of fowl and rabbits is prohibited in residential zoning districts. ” space- feed-intensive! Farms to three adult rabbits of homestead rabbitry and complexity of homestead rabbitry a very small place meat ’. 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Meat - Kindle edition by Rapp, Callene you don ’ t even bother setting traps for who. About keeping rabbits for meat without using a third-party processor to humanely kill and process.. The nursing compartment, which should have plenty of legitimate places to find butchers or independent meat markets to! Is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed professional. Dry: ( 13 replies 10 a big decision for many homesteaders a! Commercial doe can produce offspring to yield 300 # of meat or dried foods to fresh greens can bunny! Rabbit fur can ’ t regret solid framing and adequate room to run but. 21-Day breeding schedule, you can do on your homestead, don ’ t even setting... To say, this adds to the animals I ’ m not sure they even existed cost more $!, we fished ; it was just how life was for our family 24-ounce mini-bale about. Find one, search online for locker plants in your area or check with your state of. 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