Raising rabbits

Anyone here raise rabbits?

I just acquired a buck and two does. Going to raise a litter every other month or so for some extra food. With everyone losing jobs and every penny matters will be kind of nice to have some independence.

I had wanted to raise chickens but it's illegal in our county so this is pretty much the only thing that is legal. Not to mention I raised them as a kid to feed our family.

i love rabbit but i cant kill em...too cute, but chicken on the other hand...they can be nasty

I havn't raised them since I was a kid.

Make sure you kill them young, thats when they taste the best. About 10-12 weeks they are still tender but big enough to make a meal. We raised Flemish Giant/New Zealand crosses, so the fryers were a little larger than average. Despite growing up on a farm, I always had a tough time killing animals. Once they were dead, I had no problem cleaning them but the killing I had a tough time with, so we gave a couple rabbits to the neighbor (who was a big hunter) to kill them for us.

Like brewing beer, raising your own food is often not going to save much over buying it at the store, especially if you have to buy much equipment. However you do have much more control over what goes into what you eat. The big factory farms are efficient but some of that comes at the expense of heavy medications and poor living conditions.

Craig

Growing up on a farm, I have butchered a lot of critters. I never cared for the killing part either, but it was all part of the deal.

My BIL used to raise rabbits, and we would butcher them. He lived in town though, and would freak the neighbor kids out by wacking these bunnies in the head

They were always good to eat, though.

The best nesting box I used was a bucket with a 1X4 across the front to keep in the bedding and kits and to keep it from rolling around. Roast rabbit with orange slices and sage (drooling). But what kind of beer to have with it? I would think something pale and hoppy. Maybe an APA ala left coast to compliment the citrus.

Rabbit droppings are good fertilizer for your garden and hop plants too.

I used to raise A LOT of rabbits. I had Paliminos that I would breed and show, but for every 1 quality show animal you got 10 sub-par specimens. They are a large bodied breed with a beautiful golden pelt, so I butchered and sold the meat as well as tanned the hides. I made a fair amount of $$ off them things

Tips for raising:
-plastic square buckets make great nest boxes that can easily be dumped and washed. Don't leave them in there too long though as the does like to eat them
-put the legs of your hutches in a large can of water, and put a little oil (cooking or whatever) on top. This keeps ants from climbing into the hutches and attacking your rabbits
-if you use wire hutches, put a small piece of plywood in one corner so that they can get off the wire. this prevents "sore hocks". If they do get sore hocks, preparation H on the sores helps clear them up.
-Watch for "Snuffles" (Pasteurellosis), it can quickly run through a hutch and wipe out a population. Read up on this and become familiar with the signs so that you can spot it early and either treat or cull without endangering the rest of your rabbits.
-When butchering, a lot of people like to "wack them in the head", but a bad shot can be cruel, and it looks rather disturbing. Try looking up or having someone show you cervical dislocation ("break their neck"). If done properly it is instantaneous and does not look nearly as shocking as hitting them with a hammer.

my $0.02

Thanks for all the great information. I remember helping when my mom used to kill and clean them all. Of course it was always my job to keep them fed and watered.

My wife wants to learn how to clean them but she doesn't want to have to dispatch them.

I'm going to read up on that cervical dislocation, i've always just whacked them on the back of the neck with a metal rod.