rabbits for meat and fur

**blkhawk21** · 04-15-2012, 07:06 PM

My father in law raised rabbits for years as food and profit. Growing up we ate rabbit a lot when the were in season they taste great.

**Levi** · 04-22-2012, 01:36 PM

Rabbits are considered as the ultimate survivalist meat. They are very easy to care for and breed like .. well like rabbits. One of the biggest draw backs to rabbits, however, is their lack of body fat. You need the fat of animals to maintain a healthy life. The fat contains the minerals and most of the vitamins we would get from protein. What I am doing is wrapping my rabbit in bacon. It seals the rabbit meat making juicy and it adds the fat my body needs. With some greens, and root veggies I have a healthy delicious meal.

**Omegaman** · 07-13-2012, 09:12 AM

We raised meat rabbits when I was young and I think this year once we get our ckicken flock settled we will bring meat rabbits into the mix and then sheep or goats.

**Morgan101** · 07-13-2012, 09:36 AM

Wendy Brown's book, "Surviving the Apocolypse in the Suburbs" has an entire chapter devoted to raising rabbits. Very informative. I would consider it, but I have a sneaking suspicion my significant other would become far to attached. We would probably end up with a thousand rabbits, all with names, to go with the four rescued dogs.

**Chefsimms** · 07-13-2012, 10:51 AM

Last time I raised rabbits...my wife made pets out of all of them, I still see a white rabbit from time to time running around the area.

**wac220** · 07-14-2012, 11:57 PM

We raised, and I use the term lightly, meat rabbits when I was in high school. We never had a lot of them, but just enough for my dad to keep us reminded of where our food comes from. When we moved from that property back into town the rabbits were not quite fryer size yet. The garden was coming in pretty good and the new owners were not going to be moving into the house for several days. We turned 20 young rabbits and the 3 adults loose in the garden with the ducks so they would not starve. I kept in touch with some of my friends for a while and they said the whole neighborhood was overrun with rabbits. Looking back on it is kind of funny.

**Bue** · 07-15-2012, 08:36 AM

What you feed pen raised rabbits if things were such that a quick trip to the feed store were not possible?

**wac220** · 07-15-2012, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Bue

What you feed pen raised rabbits if things were such that a quick trip to the feed store were not possible?

We fed ours from the garden. I don't what we would use in the winter now. I am sure you could come up with a winter crop or put something away from fall. With pen fed, you are trading green food for red food.

**dalewick** · 07-15-2012, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by wac220

We fed ours from the garden. I don't what we would use in the winter now. I am sure you could come up with a winter crop or put something away from fall. With pen fed, you are trading green food for red food.

Rabbits love alfalfa hay for winter forage, high in protien, easy to grow and easy to store. Might want to try some cool season crops under shelter for green feed. Rabbit feces makes great source material for methane and the waste is then good for the garden. Nice little circle.

Dale