RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN
Well-known member
I have always had critters, I mean who wouldn't want a cute fluff ball of joy that you can eat? ps. I raise silver foxes, and I am trying for this next litter to be in the freezer, the keyword is trying lol.
What caused your interests in rabbits?
- Thread starter Nibbles
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We homeschooled and animal husbandry is important to us. And to have a meat source that is not as expensive as grocery stores. That was 30 years ago. A couple years ago our daughter, with a son, asked about growing rabbits again. Along with teaching kids how important it is to know how to raise your own meat. And composting manure for the garden for better tilth in the soil.
. And with the world the way it is now days. Food security is important. And the thought of our families eating hormone n steroid free meat is also important.
My beautiful wife told me that it also takes the pressure off of me to harvest a moose every year. So although I will always be out moose hunting whenever I can. But not having to stay under a tarp at night in pouring down rain. And miles of tough county to hunt. I can say that I really appreciated that.
. And with the world the way it is now days. Food security is important. And the thought of our families eating hormone n steroid free meat is also important.
My beautiful wife told me that it also takes the pressure off of me to harvest a moose every year. So although I will always be out moose hunting whenever I can. But not having to stay under a tarp at night in pouring down rain. And miles of tough county to hunt. I can say that I really appreciated that.
My interest is for meat. I saw the shelves go close to bare and the prices skyrocket in COVID and decided that if supply chains are going to be that fragile, I'd better do all I can to ensure my family is covered when it comes to meat. We have quail and rabbits at this point, and eventually I'd like to add a dairy goat. I'm also working on growing adequate fodder to feed all the animals. This amounts to prepping our lame arizona soil to plant moringa trees and other various plants - the bunny pellets are a great help for that - and currently I grow barley fodder in the rabbit shed.
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Yes! We are raising rabbits and quail too. In the north woods with short growing season and sandy soil. Rabbit pellets gave me the nest garden on 50 years even during a drought year.
Oooh, I like the birthday present aspect! I have one coming up that should justify some new KW cages!
About 4 years ago I decided since I'd moved to a larger more rural property for retirement that I would start a bigger garden. That huge investment of money, time, and trial and error resulted in a year-round garden and some fruit trees. Then I decided that if we were going a small homestead route I should add some livestock. I was thinking rabbits and a friend suggested quail. After intensive research it seemed like quail would be easier and less problematic. However they were very expensive since we built them a superb aviary. I had as many as a hundred birds at one time, hatched my own, thought I would be happy with the basic brown originally, but then discovered all the colors and had to have them. We were inundated with eggs but not much meat. So then I started thinking a few months back about supply chain issues etc etc, was having trouble getting decent meat in the market (which I mostly cook for our dogs}, and thought maybe it was time to go with rabbits. Rabbits make sense because in the same length of time and for about the same cost as a 10-week-old quail that I can eat, I can have a rabbit. We don't compost the quail poop but the rabbits are perfect sources of both meat, dog chews, and fertilizer!
I have two champion Poodles and co-own a third, and both one of my dogs and myself are sensitive to chicken, and neither of us can eat chicken eggs. I also can't eat turkey unless it's organic and doesn't have any chemical water added to it. I won't buy turkey anymore since the Butterball I cooked for Thanksgiving ended up being 30% water! I have never had that happen before, and my friend who said oh her Butterballs were always awesome had the same thing happen and was appalled.
I butchered a cull rabbit from where I got my first pair, and it was good eating for days! Everybody enjoyed it, even my picky dogs were crying for more! I used to cook rabbit for my first husband in the '80s. I was surprised that it's no longer available anywhere except online for high prices, and even more difficult to find any live meat rabbits within a two or three hour radius. I was lucky to find American Blues locally, and New Zealand crosses an hour away. Then I found a New Zealand Red trio an hour away in the opposite direction.
Once I had decided to get rabbits, I culled my quail down and turned my second quail run into a rabbitry. I now have nine adults and 13 two week old kits. I'm adding cages to my space to provide for growouts and any that look promising that I might keep. I'm hoping to be able to have growouts to sell, the best to keep, and the rest to eat. We are actually selling 5 gallon buckets of very clean bunny berries for $15 to $20 per bucket. I let my husband keep the cash since he is the one who cleans. I'm the one who finances everything but he does cheerfully pitch in his labor. I'm also composting the berries that are mashed with urine and hay in the trays. My patio garden is currently fully planted but I'm going to start adding berries to my second garden, and mulching my fruit trees with that and my compost.
I'm figuring that it's an investment that I can downsize if necessary or upsize if necessary. But I feel like I really need to have everything in place. I am not sanguine about how 2024 is going to unfold. I expect more supply chain issues and probably some shortages, and for prices to keep going up. I have not had a steak in over a year. We only eat beef as meatloaf or pot roast, and even then not very often. I make a pup loaf for the dogs. I can't find decent lamb, pork is also hard to find decent cuts. Of course we live up in the mountains an hour each direction from any big cities, so that's part of it. I figured that I will fill my freezers with a trip to Costco every now and then and rabbit, with occasional quail for soup.
I have two champion Poodles and co-own a third, and both one of my dogs and myself are sensitive to chicken, and neither of us can eat chicken eggs. I also can't eat turkey unless it's organic and doesn't have any chemical water added to it. I won't buy turkey anymore since the Butterball I cooked for Thanksgiving ended up being 30% water! I have never had that happen before, and my friend who said oh her Butterballs were always awesome had the same thing happen and was appalled.
I butchered a cull rabbit from where I got my first pair, and it was good eating for days! Everybody enjoyed it, even my picky dogs were crying for more! I used to cook rabbit for my first husband in the '80s. I was surprised that it's no longer available anywhere except online for high prices, and even more difficult to find any live meat rabbits within a two or three hour radius. I was lucky to find American Blues locally, and New Zealand crosses an hour away. Then I found a New Zealand Red trio an hour away in the opposite direction.
Once I had decided to get rabbits, I culled my quail down and turned my second quail run into a rabbitry. I now have nine adults and 13 two week old kits. I'm adding cages to my space to provide for growouts and any that look promising that I might keep. I'm hoping to be able to have growouts to sell, the best to keep, and the rest to eat. We are actually selling 5 gallon buckets of very clean bunny berries for $15 to $20 per bucket. I let my husband keep the cash since he is the one who cleans. I'm the one who finances everything but he does cheerfully pitch in his labor. I'm also composting the berries that are mashed with urine and hay in the trays. My patio garden is currently fully planted but I'm going to start adding berries to my second garden, and mulching my fruit trees with that and my compost.
I'm figuring that it's an investment that I can downsize if necessary or upsize if necessary. But I feel like I really need to have everything in place. I am not sanguine about how 2024 is going to unfold. I expect more supply chain issues and probably some shortages, and for prices to keep going up. I have not had a steak in over a year. We only eat beef as meatloaf or pot roast, and even then not very often. I make a pup loaf for the dogs. I can't find decent lamb, pork is also hard to find decent cuts. Of course we live up in the mountains an hour each direction from any big cities, so that's part of it. I figured that I will fill my freezers with a trip to Costco every now and then and rabbit, with occasional quail for soup.
I've actually owned rabbits off and on ...New Zealands in Florida, Satins in TX, Minis in California and again in Montana years ago. I was visiting a friend who raises chickens, hogs, rabbits, etc... for sale and she was showing me her Rex bunnies. I wasn't especially connecting with them because they acted half wild. Then I met this New Zealand buck - he reminded me of my siamese coloured cat, Captain Jack Sparrow. It was love at first sight. I named him CC for short. My friend offered to sell me a black NZ doe she had intended to keep. Then I added the Rex (from a new litter) and the Satins. The fact that I chose meat rabbits was a bit startling to my friends and family. I'm a vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian most of my life. I love gardening and growing my own food. However, my dogs are meat eaters. Rabbits can be good for bartering,and their poop goes into my gardens. I sell rabbits to 4H families, homesteaders, and as pets which helps pays for their pellets, hay and straw. The rabbits bring joy to my life. I bring the bunnies around to visit the seniors in assisted living which brightens their lives and mine.
Rabbits By DK
Raising rabbits for meat and pelts since Feb. '23
I wanted to raise livestock, and they were dual purpose (well, more than dual) and they were affordable.
