Rabbits.... These cute, cuddly, little animals can provide a multitude of benefits to both homesteaders and preppers. Some of the advantages of raising rabbits include fertilizer, food, furs and income opportunities.
Fertilizer:
Because rabbit manure can be applied directly onto your vegetable garden, there is no need to compost it. You can use as little or as much as you like and it will not burn your plants as many commercial fertilizers will. The results that are achieved from using rabbit poo as a fertilizer source are simply amazing. Anyone who follows my blog has seen the results in my post Tomato Update.
Food:
The fact that rabbits are an excellent source of food is rather self explanatory. One good doe can provide up to 600 pounds of meat each year while she is in her prime. 600 pounds! That's enough food to keep your family fed for quite some time.
Furs:
Stating the obvious, anyone raising rabbits has a nearly endless supply of furs which can be made into gloves, hats and other useful items. It is also possible to scrape the hide and produce leather. It will take some effort for a beginner to perfect the process of tanning a hide, but anything worth doing usually requires time to learn.
Income Opportunities:
There are numerous income opportunities that result from raising rabbits. The leather, pelts and even rabbits feet can be sold locally or online. Individual rabbit furs aren't worth a lot, but when you raise rabbits for food production, you will have a lot of them and like saving change in a jar....it all adds up.
Rabbits can be sold as pets or even to other people who want to eat them, but can't for don't want to deal with raising them on their own.
Rabbit manure can be sold to local gardeners. The best way to do this is to use a wire mesh screen and sift any debris out. This debris can be added to your compost pile. After this is done, simply fill your empty feed bags with the clean fertilizer and sell it. Typically you can expect to get one bag full of manure for each bag of food you go through. This will come close to covering the cost of feeding your rabbits. You can't beat letting other people pay for your rabbit food!
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"Back Roads Adventures"
-Any day in the outdoors is a good day!
We tried rabbits 2 seasons ago and the doe was just so dang viscious! And the male was a mess! Haha! And the babies were just so darn cute that I couldn't even think of butchering them even though we'd planned too. Awesome to see someone doing it well and liking it.
Gonna have to stick with chickens for us. But awesome post either way. People should know that raising rabbits is a very viable option.
You are right about butchering them.... I try to sell all of my babies off as pets.... Otherwise I sell the older ones to other people who want to eat them but don't have the time or desire to raise their own. Chickens are great too! We have sixteen of 'em right now...
Thanks for checking out my post!
We've had chickens for many years, but I would like to diversify our protein source. So rabbits are an option we're considering.
I was very impressed (and surprised) by the 600lbs of meat per year figure. What breed(s) of rabibit would you recommend for this?
I have both New Zealand Whites & Champagnne De Argente (may be spelled wrong) but New Zealand's are the bigger of the two. There are also some larger breeds out there.
Thanks for checking out my post!
We had rabbits for a couple of years. The problem was I was the only one that would eat them. The wife and kids just couldn't do it. I grew up on a farm so it wasn't as hard for me to be looking my food in the eye I guess. They were great for the garden though. I never did tan a hide though. Are you doing that?
Hello,
Thanks for reading my post!
The manure is some of the best fertilizer you can get your hands on.... I am planning on tanning hides real soon.... I may do a post on the process and results.....
Sounds good. I will be looking to see how they turn out.
Thanks for only showing the 'cute' photos :)
Lol! You are welcome.....
Thanks for checking out my post!
We've thought about raising rabbits. Hasenpfeffer is delicious! But we have a bad track record with raising animals for meat. We hatched a turkey one year an anticipation of Thanksgiving, but he turned out to be the friendliest bird we'd ever seen, so on the big day we ended up eating lobster instead. We ended up donating the Tom to a local farm, where he lived happily for several years.
I think We should try the turkey thing.... Lobster for Thanksgiving sounds wonderful!
Thanks for checking out my post!
i know all of your posts are wonderful, and i read them @ronaldmcatee
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this post! We are resteeming and recommending this post to our friends. Rabbits are also great for city and suburban dwellers. Not very much space is needed and most cities will allow them. Thank you for sharing this info!
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I learned a lot about the life cycle when I first raised rabbits. Coming up with the nerve to butcher them was the hardest part.
In my opinion, rabbits are a must have on a homestead. While many folks may not have the land, fencing or shelter requirements for other livestock, rabbits are easily maintained with minimal effort or investment. One thing I didn't see you mention, is the ease with dispatching them by cervical dislocation.
The principal! He will give me TP! I would hate for my bungholio to get polio....Where I come from, we have no bunghole.
Great post! I have often thought about rabbits, they are so practical and nice to be around.