rabbits for meat

Marcmc

Just a moment of madness I'm thinking of buying a few rabbits to farm for meat I know little about them. I have a secure run that I use to rear chicken in summer months and turkeys in winter so the run will be empty from Christmas to march/April until weather improves for broilers. Any advice gratefully accepted any feed in particular, etc etc?

davidk1394

Wouldn't it be easier shoot a few wild ones ?

pedigree 6

Marcmc wrote: »

Just a moment of madness I'm thinking of buying a few rabbits to farm for meat I know little about them. I have a secure run that I use to rear chicken in summer months and turkeys in winter so the run will be empty from Christmas to march/April until weather improves for broilers. Any advice gratefully accepted any feed in particular, etc etc?

We used to breed a few here. But it was more a summer thing and outdoor at that. Will they breed outdoors and rear young in the winter? Cold! Young dying? We didn't do it indoors. Litters about maybe six young, I think?
For meat I suppose you'd be looking at the meat breeds.
Then you'll have to source stock as well.

We used to get a meal made up from gain feeds for feeding them along with the grass.

The thing I remember about them I think is if you handle the young and the doe gets your smell off them, she will kill them.

Marcmc

Shooting would be handier but I have no gun so that rules that out. I wasn't planning on breeding just buy in ten young and fattin them

Sam Kade

Rabbits were an alternative farm enterprise back in the 80's same as deer, there was only one man that made money out of deer.

_Brian

Sam Kade wrote: »

Rabbits were an alternative farm enterprise back in the 80's same as deer, there was only one man that made money out of deer.

Neighbors of ours were breeding them in the 80's, went badly and they ended up releasing them, they had no chance in the wild and ended dead through the fields.

whisky_galore

Is there actually a market for them?

Bass Reeves

Op I imagine that you will need to breed them if you rear them. It is unlikly that you will find anyone that is selling young rabbits for rearing to finish. It was big in the 80's but that was because there was a markets for the pelts as well. If I remember rightly the pelt was worth as much if not more than the meat.

mayota

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Op I imagine that you will need to breed them if you rear them. It is unlikly that you will find anyone that is selling young rabbits for rearing to finish. It was big in the 80's but that was because there was a markets for the pelts as well. If I remember rightly the pelt was worth as much if not more than the meat.

I think the OP plans to get young rabbits at the pet shop and fatten them.

Marcmc

Yeah like I said I know nothing about it
I'd imagine young are hard to get and pet shop would be too expensive and wrong breed ill look into it a bit more

ganmo

the problem I see is that you only want to do it for a short period. Ya need to find someone who breeds them and is willing to sell them to you. And then someone to buy them off you when you're ready.

Sure try a few for your own pot as a start

Marcmc

I have no intention of selling only for my own use only intended keepin 10 max

Genghis Cant

Seeing as you're set up for fowl would broilers be an option for you?

pedigree 6

Guinea hens.

Marcmc

Already have brioler they don't trive in the cold and guinea hens are too noisy

Annelie78923

Hi,

Years ago, I used to keep rabbits for the pot --- 2 California does and a black buck, mix of 2 large breeds I forgotten the name of.

Personally, unless you really like rabbit meat (and it IS nice), it's a lot of work, along with some annoying frustrations. So, this is what I can tell you:

Mine were kept in the garden in large wooden hutches, a harsh winter is no problem at all.

Time to raise from birth: 8-12 weeks. Meat weight you can expect: 2-4 pounds. Perks: rabbit liver. Very nice. Dogs might enjoy the paws and ears. Meat keeps well in the freezer, and butchering the carcass is quite fun and easy once you worked it out, even deboning them is quite simple. Low fat, high protein and not a very strongly flavoured meat.


Now for the bad sides.

1) Almost everyone I know ends up with babies dying to diarrhoea at some point. Apart from this being smelly and infectious, it's also a heart sink and most victims are best culled instead of cured with much effort (and, the condition is very painful for them). You can sort of cure it with Peptobismol, but, once you have that problem, you can fairly much burn your cages and cull your animals. Don't feed them anything but pellets and hay, no veg, no grass, because that can make them sick. Check the liver of butchered rabbits, if it's got white flecks, chuck the entire carcass and if you encounter this more than once, you might have a serious problem in your flock.

2) Killing the rabbits. You can get a bolt for this, but it's not very reliable. Or you can use a hammer to stun, some people just break the neck and then bleed, but this is all not very humane because you might just break the neck and not kill outright. The best way is to use a simple airgun, and once the animal is DEAD you can then bleed it out by cutting the throat and hanging upside down. Be sure to gut and skin before Rigor Mortis sets in(you have about 20 minutes), after 2 days in the fridge, you can then butcher the carcass. It's not something you want to do if you're weak, this job is quite hard on the hands. Best let someone experienced show you(more than once!), mistakes here do produce very unhappy results.

3) Rabbits will eat their babies (partially) at times, which is not a nice sight, so be sure to inspect the entire hutch.

4) People will be freaking out because you are so mean and eat those cute bunnies. Never mind that you're actually raising them for 2-3 month and that your critics do not let the rabbits get born in the first place --- logic does not beat 'feelz'. If you have a neighbour go crazy over this, it can get interesting once they are on a crusade.

5) Cost. It's not very cheap, you have to ensure you get good feed with enough protein(or they won't put weight on, use proper breeder pellets) and keep them in ample amounts of hay. With cages, accounted, it'll cost you a little more than what the butcher sells them for and that is not counting the daily chores of keeping them clean.

Tip: you can use a plastic cat litter tray as a loo(or another such tub with high sides), line with newspaper and a bit of straw. The buns will keep using one corner, and they do like it clean. Cleaning the loos is a daily chore.

6) Foxes. If they don't get at them, they will freak your buns out anyway, just for the fun of it. And foxes will find you!

7) Daily chores: cleaning, feeding, keeping the bowls or feeders clean, fresh hay to munch on and setting up the watering (invest in a bucket with drippers set up here, the bottles are hard work to keep clean and full). Expect about 10 minutes per cage, probably 15, daily.

8) Rabbit manure. It's good for the garden, but it smells and takes time to compost. And it's heavy.

9) Cages required: 1.20mx08.mx0.8m per cage, with the kits moved into their own boxes at 5-6 weeks, 3 heads per box. The buck needs his own box and, at times will try and pee on you as you pass by. Not all of them do, but, they are cheeky like that, it's a compliment in their eyes. The buck needs cuddles and some attention every day, and your does will behave better if you spend time with them as well. Some does are nice and gentle, others can be mean and bite, for no reason at all.

So, that's basically most of what I've learned (feel free to ask questions if you still have any).

On mature reflection, keeping japanese quail is much less hassle, and just as tasty.

Annelie

mikeoh

If u have no gun........set a few snares.........or get a ferret!!!!.....my neighbours son catches up to 10/day with a ferret and a net

daithi55

where are you situated.. plenty of lads on the hunting forum here will give you some rabbits..
you can get a cheap .22 rifle for 250/300 euro including everything.. 50 bullets for a fiver.. license is 80 for 3 years
the country is walking with wild rabbits again and lots of farmers want them shot..
it would cost you less than getting setup for breeding rabbits.. less time consuming and its a form of exercise