How did you decide to have rabbits?

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Technically, they're livestock, but they're some of the most cuddly livestock imaginable. It wasn't just getting into rabbits, but getting into angora rabbits. They provide fiber for yarn that is an absolutely enchanting tactile sensation that is just amazing as well as something that can be made into shawls, scarves, etc. So the rabbits are a means to an end, not so much the destination. They're a lot of fun in an odd way, even with the higher coat maintenance.
 
I got caught up in a book series as a teenager and drew the characters as kitties, gaining the attention of a 4H kid who had a similar idea of drawing the characters as rabbits. I made friends with them and so I started drawing bunnies. Around that time I saw a music video with a bunch of black bunnies (AFI - Miss Murder), setting me on a dire need to acquire a bunny...which became bunnies. And more bunnies. ALL THE BUNNIES.
They were absolutely an impulse thing, but then it was like a switch flipped in my head and it hasn't switched back in over 10 years. LOL
 
When I was 8 me and my mom went to a rabbit show and I got to pick out whichever one I wanted. I ended up picking a Sable Marten Netherland Dwarf Buck. If I didn't pick him I would've picked a small baby black rabbit that was probably a New Zealand or Standard Rex or something
 
I raise rabbits for one purpose, fertilizer! Rabbits along with earthworms make for perfect soil for the land I own. I compost and put it directly on everything in the yard. I don’t use chemicals or synthetic products. Rabbits are wonderful creatures and provide a valuable resource. I wish I had figured it out long ago.
if I was to eat a rabbit I am sure it would be a fine meal, but if I harvest his manure we both eat the very best , me and him from the garden and forage for him. He serves me better alive.
 
I had a Rex named Bugs (bugs bunny of course ) as a kid living in a tiny apartment in the middle of the city- he was potty trained and super sweet. Fast forward 30 years and now living on a homestead in the country with a family of 8 during this crazy economic stuff it was one of the top livestock on my list of what we could do. We only have 1.5 acres. We have chickens for eggs but the starting up to butcher and house broilers wasn’t something we could do now. And I want to fill my freezer now lol! Also butchering rabbits costs next to nothing and I feel like with the other ways you can make money back from rabbits it will be easier to off set their feed costs.
 
hotzcatz said:
Technically, they're livestock, but they're some of the most cuddly livestock imaginable. It wasn't just getting into rabbits, but getting into angora rabbits. They provide fiber for yarn that is an absolutely enchanting tactile sensation that is just amazing as well as something that can be made into shawls, scarves, etc. So the rabbits are a means to an end, not so much the destination. They're a lot of fun in an odd way, even with the higher coat maintenance.
Click to expand...
I'm raising meat rabbits now, but I'm a knitter so I imagine raising angora in the future, maybe after retirement :p Have you raised non-angora rabbits? I'd love to hear about the major differences in the care required.
 
RabbitsOfTheCreek said:
When I was 8 me and my mom went to a rabbit show and I got to pick out whichever one I wanted. I ended up picking a Sable Marten Netherland Dwarf Buck. If I didn't pick him I would've picked a small baby black rabbit that was probably a New Zealand or Standard Rex or something
Click to expand...
pic of that lil white bunny is so darn cute
 
I started just over a year ago. I had two bucks given to me and a bit later, my son gave me two does. Well that was about a hundred rabbits ago. I absolutely love raising my rabbits. They are for meat but I also sell breeding trios and pets. I now have several mixes, along with purebred Flemish Giant and Rex.
It is hard to pinpoint a favorite. I have a little 7 lb. 4 oz. doe that is NZ/Chinchilla. She produced an amazing litter. (Chin/NZ/Rex) I kept two of her kits, now 16 weeks old. The doe is over 8 pounds and the buck is over 7 pounds. Pretty sweet for "Meat Mutts".
My biggest problem, I keep running out of cages. LOL
 
I volunteered last summer on a homestead with chickens, ducks, quail and rabbits. I thought quail would be a great food source, but changed my mind and decided that rabbits were more cost effective per pound.
 
Well, for me the Rabbits are therapy. I've some inherent issues with depressions, after a little breakdown about 10 years ago I got a medical therapy that wasn't working, and I had no intention or energy to be subject for a long try-and-error treatment with lots of side effects like lifelong dependency on drugs.

So I needed some reason to get up in the morning and not just keep staring at the ceiling til noon. I always wanted animals, but I have not enough time for a dog and a cat simply wouldn't do it. My grandparents had meat rabbits, and after I harvested ;) 2 wild rabbits in my garden to see if I can handle it. I thought since I love beeing outdoors that raising my own meat buns would be a good idea. Little did I know about what a bundle rabbits are :D

Well, it works, they keep me occupied and going and give so much in return, they are so much more than lifestock (which is kind of a problem sometimes :? ). I simply need something to care for to be happy and unlike a dog rabbits aren't too dependent on me and live their own lives.

Now two rabbits free roam my house, my two breeding does and my two pensioneers are outdoor rabbits.
There is that issue that leaving home is more difficult, but I have 2 teens in my road I pay for caring for my rabbits, and two other breeders in my road as backup if anything goes wrong, but I'm still reluctant to use that options, asking for help isn't something that's easy for me.
 

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