Raising Rabbits (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 1/28/2025 6:54:07 PM EDT
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I mentioned rabbits in another thread, and there was some interest, so here's my unfiltered brain dump from the last couple weeks. There are more sections I still don't have beyond dirty notes. BLUF:: If you've kept a dog, cat, fish, hamster, gerbil, bird, or anything similar alive, you can do rabbits. They really are that easy. Shelter, Food, Water. =================== My background =================== I spent 2 years breeding two bucks and two does, for solely personal consumption. Overkill, would have been fine with one and one most likely. Large hanging cage in the summer time, winter time I moved them into my basement workshop (walkout door to the outside) and just dealt with the mess inside. If I were to go back, I would have just put three sides on the roof shelter I had for them, as they are pretty hardy to temperature, especially when protected from rain/snow/wind. Eventually I took 3 ish year break, then got a few pet rabbits and kept them in wire cages supported by wood since my new wife was worried about just hanging. This cemented my preference for free-hanging in terms of ease of sanitation. The break was self induced before I met my wife. In hindsight it was good timing, as I knew about rabbits, but didn't have to move any pet rabbits (our first move) Now that we're down to one pet rabbit, I'm getting back to breeding meat rabbits, initially for personal consumption, eventually may sell live or processed. I had a brief dalliance with quail, and while I love quail meat, the eggs are a lot of work for the size, and I never could get comfortable hatching out in an incubator. I brought up rabbits in another thread, there were some questions, so here's my unhinged brain dump from the last two weeks as I have time. My thoughts are entirely mine, and be aware that a lot of people don't like the idea of eating pets. I have a few more sections =================== Why rabbits? =================== Light weight 50 lb feed sack heaviest thing, animals are quiet, cages are small, predation is easy to guard against. If you've ever cared for any small caged animal, you can do rabbits. 50 lbs heavier than you can handle on your own? TSC and pet stores will have smaller quantities. I'm used to those big 3x4x8 hay bales for our other critters, so yes, 50 lbs sacks are small to me. Not derogatory, but they are an easy 4H animal, and very low cost of entry. I see this as a plus. And if you keep them housed individually, controlling the breeding, you can plan ahead for life, be that vacations, busy times, winter, or anything else that might make your life harder. That said, you should be checking on them regularly. I check at least twice a day while doing other animal chores. If you are looking at them for meat, they are much easier to process than poultry, pelt basically peels off, no dealing with feathers. Cooking works a lot like chicken, though some worry about it being lean enough you have to add fats. Unless I'm cooking chorizo, I'm always adding something like bacon grease anyways, so I'm not one to worry about that. Meat production vs winning awards. I don't do awards, but basic confirmation is by shape. Think round, plumb ball of meat covered in fur. Temperament is important for handling as well. Butcher young and economical for meat, the pelts are delicate and not very useful. I haven't messed around with tanning the pelts, just tossed them into compost. It's been a few years since I butchered any, so I'll be rusty on that going into it. But I remember it being as straight forward as depicted. I appreciated the lack of feathers, and simple tools. =================== Tools and supplies =================== You can buy or build. Hog rings or j clips are necessary for either way, along with wire cutters. If you DIY, an angle grinder is nice for cutting the rolls of cage material. Be aware that like many things, DIY is more economical at scale, but when I was looking at building just a few, getting the materials alone was expensive enough that I'm just going to buy cages for the immediate future. Assemble into shape, squeeze rings/clips around the wire, then cut a hole for your feeder. Hardest bit is making sure everything is aligned. I prefer j clips for cage assembly, but I end up using hog rings all over the place for other things, so both are good to have on hand for whatever life throws at you. Things to look at are if the wire is galvanized before or after being welded into a grid, what dimensions the holes are, etc. I've generally selected for thicker wire (14 vs 16 ga) galvanized after welding. I like my KW Cages, another option is Bass Equipment. I will need a few more bigger cages later this year, and will probably try Bass. Other than maybe a mat, there's not much more for a cage. My wife felt they needed something, so she got some large ceramic tiles, but you can buy flat plastic mats with holes that supposedly provide a good surface for them to lay on. Keep them out of direct sun/rain/wind/snow. You can use a lean-to, full shed if it's well ventilated, or in my case, an extra bay of open-front stalls. If you go more in depth, you can talk stacking the cages in ways to make your life easier, but that'll come after learning basic care, and knowing you'll want to expand. |
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=================== Feeding =================== You can feed pellets, or make it complicated. Just find a source of general rabbit feed pellets and make that part easy on yourself to start with. I never plan on stopping with the pellets, its easy and complete. Monitor feed and health of rabbits. Some can free-feed, some will gain weight. Pregnant and nursing does are going to need free-feed. Supposedly they can abort themselves if they don't get enough food to sustain the litter. I kept their feeders full, and I haven't seen that. Fat rabbits may have trouble breeding. Haven't seen that, but I have had issues getting older rabbits that weren't used for breeding before to breed. J-feeders let you add food from the outside of the cage. I currently have mostly narrow ones, thinking I was saving space. It's a pain, and larger pellets don't gravity feed smoothly. I started buying wider ones. I think I have 2.5 inch ones, and started buying 5 inch ones. Mesh or holes in the bottom let dust drop out, and unless something strange happens, I never have to clean them. I've taken some wire cloth and bent a "hay rack" above the feeder to occasionally stuff in hay, but that's overkill, and really isn't needed. But I have an excess of hay for other animals already. =================== Watering =================== Warm times, a bucket with hoses leading to spring loaded nipples. If it's your first time, KW should sell an all in one kit. All it is is a bucket with a tap that has a shut off for maintenance, and route solid hose (clear can grow stuff) to individual nipples. Think we use 5/16 hose. When a nipple acts up, just replace it. It's all just press to fit, and using t-fittings as needed. Best to use standoffs for the hoses if possible to reduce rabbits munching on them, and the associated repairs. Winter time is less fun. I've seen solutions that involve heat tape, recirculating pumps for freezing temps, but I prefer simple 2 qt rubber bowls. I can either bust the ice out of them, or just tap a small hole and pull the ice out if it's not solid. Generally use a welding splatter hammer thing. |
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=================== Health =================== Prevention with sanitation is the biggest thing. Anything to make your life easier is the way to go. Hence my obsession with hanging wire cages. White "worms" at their bums. Haven't found a solution, but I believe there are dewormers that would work. Seems to be a problem if you don't keep up with cleaning/sanitation. Clean, clean, clean! This is an advantage to hanging the cages, nothing for pee/poo to easily accumulate on. And if there is, you can take it down, and pressure wash it. (The cage, not the rabbit!) Ear mites: Dirty looking ears, kind of like a thick scab. Treat with oil in the ear and massaging, or there's a special drop you can get. Found it at feed stores, think even TSC type places should have it. I've even resolved some eye infections with a bird antibiotic I found at a pet store. The best thing I've found? Keep EVERYTHING clean. ========== Resources ========== therabbitrycenter.com Variety of Youtube channels search "meat rabbit" "rabbitry" etc. Some of these even show the processing. Dispatch is still a no-go, but some will demonstrate with stuffed rabbits. Books: Rabbit Housing by Bob Bennett Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits (also by Bennett) |
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=================== Breeding/Sexing =================== In work =================== Logging events/data =================== In work =================== What do to =================== Since it's been a while for me, here's what I'm planning. Cook for myself/family, try out recipes so you know what to tell those you are trying to sell to. Excess can be fed to any pets you have, until you develop other markets. Don't go overboard and end up with something that controls you, either in terms of live rabbits, or meat that you can't do anything with. You can also sell them live for pets, for their meat, or frozen. There is a federal exception for poultry butchered at home that rabbits also fall under. They can be sold for human food, pet food, etc. I'll have to do more research before I sell the meat to a consumer, but it is possible. I believe it's mostly labeling requirements, and has to be to an end consumer. The reptile/bird of prey world is another potential market, one I've not dealt with. Once I have a steady stream of kits(babies), I'll be more comfortable reaching out to that world. =================== Questions? Thoughts? Spears and arrows? |
| Yeah we raised rabbits to eat when I was a kid. Fixed them just like fried chicken. Neighbor came over one day and told mom to quit wasting .22 bullets on killing them and to just do the neck break method. She tried it. Rabbit went limp until she stuck its hind legs on the nails she had sticking out of the clothes line. Rabbit started squealing and kicking. Back to shooting them with the old break action .22 revolver. They were never really much trouble, separating the babies from the adults that try to eat them. Eventually we just gave up on it after a while. |
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Originally Posted By creaturecatcher: Try putting your waterers on a cookie tin that has a 40 watt light bulb inside should keep the water from freezing. If you have electricity, and not too many cages, there's lots of good ways to use temp controlled switches to prevent freezing. I've found those things not worth the effort for how we are. I don't have electricity where they are now, and figure that's a safe bet if I ever expand to a dedicated outbuilding/shed. Another thing to consider is expansion. If you end up with 20+ breeders that's a lot of juice. I'd think a constant recirculating setup may be better. But for now, I just bust up the ice. It's only been the last week that the bowls have frozen solid. Again, climate dependent. |
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Good post. We recently stopped raising meat rabbits. We kept 5 does and a buck. We averaged 140 rabbits a year from them. This might sound weird but we sold 100+ a year to people who showed dogs for their dog’s food. It was amazing how much they paid. We also supplemented our dog’s diet with them. I kept maybe 20 a year for ourself to eat. We stopped raising them because we have enough to do on the farm with all the other animals. |
A lot like GD. Obsessed with the latest shiny weapon but never budgets enough for the ammo... jwnc 5/9/2024
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Originally Posted By GoldenMead: Good post. We recently stopped raising meat rabbits. We kept 5 does and a buck. We averaged 140 rabbits a year from them. This might sound weird but we sold 100+ a year to people who showed dogs for their dog’s food. It was amazing how much they paid. We also supplemented our dog’s diet with them. I kept maybe 20 a year for ourself to eat. We stopped raising them because we have enough to do on the farm with all the other animals. Good info. Marketing is always a problem, and knowing options is a good thing. Nobody keeps them the same way, and there's lots of ways to consume. How'd you sell them? Live? Processed? My plan certainly includes using excess as personal dog food supplement if I can't sell enough. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Good info. Marketing is always a problem, and knowing options is a good thing. Nobody keeps them the same way, and there's lots of ways to consume. How'd you sell them? Live? Processed? My plan certainly includes using excess as personal dog food supplement if I can't sell enough. Since I was selling it to them as dog food I could legally butcher the animal for them without all that fda inspection bs. I just skinned, gutted and placed them in bags. One caution on feeding them to a dogs. If you feed them to your dog on a regular basis bones and all your dog can get bladder stones. If the dog is a male it’s a big deal because the stones will get caught in the urethra and block it. Meaning the dog can’t pee, which leads to death or a very expensive surgery. So a couple meals a week is ok. A quarter of a rabbit every day is bad. Lots of calcium in those bones. We’ve never had a problem but have heard of it several times. |
A lot like GD. Obsessed with the latest shiny weapon but never budgets enough for the ammo... jwnc 5/9/2024
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Originally Posted By GoldenMead: Since I was selling it to them as dog food I could legally butcher the animal for them without all that fda inspection bs. I just skinned, gutted and placed them in bags. One caution on feeding them to a dogs. If you feed them to your dog on a regular basis bones and all your dog can get bladder stones. If the dog is a male it’s a big deal because the stones will get caught in the urethra and block it. Meaning the dog can’t pee, which leads to death or a very expensive surgery. So a couple meals a week is ok. A quarter of a rabbit every day is bad. Lots of calcium in those bones. We’ve never had a problem but have heard of it several times. Originally Posted By GoldenMead: Originally Posted By haveTwo: Good info. Marketing is always a problem, and knowing options is a good thing. Nobody keeps them the same way, and there's lots of ways to consume. How'd you sell them? Live? Processed? My plan certainly includes using excess as personal dog food supplement if I can't sell enough. Since I was selling it to them as dog food I could legally butcher the animal for them without all that fda inspection bs. I just skinned, gutted and placed them in bags. One caution on feeding them to a dogs. If you feed them to your dog on a regular basis bones and all your dog can get bladder stones. If the dog is a male it’s a big deal because the stones will get caught in the urethra and block it. Meaning the dog can’t pee, which leads to death or a very expensive surgery. So a couple meals a week is ok. A quarter of a rabbit every day is bad. Lots of calcium in those bones. We’ve never had a problem but have heard of it several times. Good info on the dog side, so you would feed them bone in? As for selling as human food, the funny thing is they fall under that same 1000 birds a year exception for butchering poultry for some reason. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/meat-fish/rabbit-farm-table#:~:text=Under%20the%20Poultry%20Products%20Inspection,inspection%20of%20rabbit%20is%20voluntary. |
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Interesting thread I could possibly share some information from a pet standpoint. My wife has had a rabbit for years, and this little guy was rescued last week. We’re fostering him until he finds a home. Attached File Attached File |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Good info on the dog side, so you would feed them bone in? As for selling as human food, the funny thing is they fall under that same 1000 birds a year exception for butchering poultry for some reason. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/meat-fish/rabbit-farm-table#:~:text=Under%20the%20Poultry%20Products%20Inspection,inspection%20of%20rabbit%20is%20voluntary. Yep bone in. |
A lot like GD. Obsessed with the latest shiny weapon but never budgets enough for the ammo... jwnc 5/9/2024
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: Interesting thread I could possibly share some information from a pet standpoint. My wife has had a rabbit for years, and this little guy was rescued last week. We’re fostering him until he finds a home. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_6675_jpeg-3448524.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_6727_jpeg-3448526.JPG Never had my own pet rabbit, but I remember giving them lots of chew toys. Also remember looking up what was safe for them to eat. Having the Internet on my phone has made rapid lookup of toxicity really easy. Seems to me they are more picky than chickens. So while I've fed just about anytime and everything from the kitchen to chickens, not a good idea with rabbits. |
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He’s exploring tonight for a little bit. I can write up a little something later if you guys want about how to care for one and what meds they need. This guy goes next week to get snipped and a vaccine for RHDV-2. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: He’s exploring tonight for a little bit. I can write up a little something later if you guys want about how to care for one and what meds they need. This guy goes next week to get snipped and a vaccine for RHDV-2. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_6768_jpeg-3449835.JPG That would be interesting. I never even thought about snipping rabbits. Is it common for vets to offer, or is it not specialty? Does it change behavior? |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: That would be interesting. I never even thought about snipping rabbits. Is it common for vets to offer, or is it not specialty? Does it change behavior? -this is my first rabbit, not really mine as we’re just fostering it as it needed a home and my wife volunteered as she is well educated on the subject of rabbits -getting a rabbit “fixed” is the goal of any rescue group so that the rabbits will no longer breed. Breeding is a whole other issue and I’m not that knowledgeable about it as others, but IIRC a rabbit can have multiple litters a year. I can ask my wife later and write a more detailed post, but she’s not feeling well tonight and I had to work in Atlanta. Anyway, when a rabbit is fixed, it can change their behavior but not always. The reason to do so, is to prevent them from spraying/pissing everywhere and not try to hump things…females will do that also. -As far as Vets go, our rescue group has a local Vet they prefer as well as another in Birmingham that charges much less, but that’s almost 2 hours away so it’s not worth the drive there. I believe the local Vet charges $200 and will tattoo the rabbit, they don’t offering a chip locally. And yes, this would be a specialty type of service and apparently not many Vets here can do it correctly because rabbits are very sensitive and can be easily killed. -I’m for from a SME on Rabbits, but my wife is and she’s owned one for many years. Did you know a rabbit can live up to 10 years if properly cared for, I didn’t until last week! -As far as food goes, obviously you need to feed them quality food like pellets, Timothy hay, fresh lettuce and cilantro. It’s important that they stay hydrated and have plenty of water! Another way to make sure they stay hydrated is to feed them lettuce. |
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I’ll take a pic of our setup for the little guy we have, he’s currently in our dining room/bar area and we also have a camera on him so we can monitor him when we’re gone. We have also been feeding him every 12 hours and it seems to work so far! I can also take pics of the food and supplies we are using, but my wife is pretty picky about she will give a rabbit and some things can be expensive. In total, we’ve spent maybe $300 on various things, but it’s not totally necessary to spend that much. |
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Current pic, the wire fence came from tractor supply for around $50. He seems pretty happy, we change out his litter box twice away and he gets all the Timothy hay that he wants, he is also fed twice a day using a small amount of pellets and lettuce/cilantro mix. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: Current pic, the wire fence came from tractor supply for around $50. He seems pretty happy, we change out his litter box twice away and he gets all the Timothy hay that he wants, he is also fed twice a day using a small amount of pellets and lettuce/cilantro mix. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_6790_jpeg-3450722.JPG I have very prey driven dogs, so that makes me twitch, but I do recall one big danger to pet rabbits is chewing electrical cords. And they are very tame, so it's not like it takes a lot to corral them. Looks like one very well treated rabbit! |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: I have very prey driven dogs, so that makes me twitch, but I do recall one big danger to pet rabbits is chewing electrical cords. And they are very tame, so it's not like it takes a lot to corral them. Looks like one very well treated rabbit! Electrical cords are made using some type of vegetable oil, and they can smell it. So yea, you have to train them not to chew on things. Attached File |
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How does training them work? Treat them when they do good? I pretty much just handle my rabbits regularly too keep them used to me, but don't do anything beyond getting them out and holding them. If there's a feisty one, long sleeves, gloves, and cover their heads with your hand, or put their head into your arm/torso to cover their eyes until they calm down is another way. Rinse and repeat until they get used to you. And since I'm breeding, behavior like that that isn't fixed easily doesn't get bred. That's obviously not available to someone with a pet. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: How does training them work? Treat them when they do good? I pretty much just handle my rabbits regularly too keep them used to me, but don't do anything beyond getting them out and holding them. If there's a feisty one, long sleeves, gloves, and cover their heads with your hand, or put their head into your arm/torso to cover their eyes until they calm down is another way. Rinse and repeat until they get used to you. And since I'm breeding, behavior like that that isn't fixed easily doesn't get bred. That's obviously not available to someone with a pet. We talk to Harrison (we didn’t name him) like he’s a puppy and give him lots of love. He was super friendly when we got him anyway and not shy…someone clearly loved him at one point in time. Every time I open the pantry door he thinks I’m getting him a treat, I’m not though, but he will stand up on his back legs like a prairie dog and stare at me. Treats are for special occasions and rarely given, the only two treats are dehydrated strawberries and mangos, make sure the ingredients on the back only show the fruit and nothing else. Rabbits are very sensitive and can go into something called staysis…Google it as it’s pretty bad and can kill a rabbit. As far as training, we used a litter box (litter pellets on the bottom and Timothy hay on the top) and he went right to it and always uses it. We are also taking him out of his pen a few minutes a day to show him around the house and teach him what he can and cannot do. If he acts like he’s about to chew on something, they will, my wife will shake a little mason jar with change in it and he stops what he’s doing. Rabbits hate loud noises like that. We also take the vacuum out daily and turn it on, but that doesn’t seem to bother him either. The goal is to get him adjusted to our lives and schedules and to ensure that he’s not the boss. Back to getting one fixed, we go Monday for that and his behavior might change, we’re not sure but some do and some don’t. But rabbits that are not fixed can become really hyper and territorial, meaning they will bite you, etc. You don’t want that. I don’t know much of 4H style rabbits or ones used for food, but I assume they act similar. They make very little noise, shouldn’t smell at all, and will self groom. If they do groom themselves, that’s a good thing because that means they are very comfortable in their surroundings. Hygiene, you need to make sure their cage, litter box, pen or whatever is cleaned daily. You don’t want your rabbit standing around in pee and poop because the fur on the bottom their feet will disappear and it won’t grow back. Or rabbits feet are almost bald because he wasn’t cared for properly and just standing in filth for who knows how long. Rabbits are very smart, smarter than think. Below is a pic of how our rescue found him, he was standing on top of a little flower pot, inside a tiny dirty cage. No water and no food.Attached File |
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The best food on the left and it’s the best brand. The probiotics on the right are from tractor supply, Amazon has it too, and this helps the rabbits digest food and not have gas buildup. Yes it’s for horses, but the little biscuits is small but you can break it in half and give it to the rabbit once per day. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: We talk to Harrison (we didn’t name him) like he’s a puppy and give him lots of love. He was super friendly when we got him anyway and not shy…someone clearly loved him at one point in time. Every time I open the pantry door he thinks I’m getting him a treat, I’m not though, but he will stand up on his back legs like a prairie dog and stare at me. Treats are for special occasions and rarely given, the only two treats are dehydrated strawberries and mangos, make sure the ingredients on the back only show the fruit and nothing else. Rabbits are very sensitive and can go into something called staysis…Google it as it’s pretty bad and can kill a rabbit. As far as training, we used a litter box (litter pellets on the bottom and Timothy hay on the top) and he went right to it and always uses it. We are also taking him out of his pen a few minutes a day to show him around the house and teach him what he can and cannot do. If he acts like he’s about to chew on something, they will, my wife will shake a little mason jar with change in it and he stops what he’s doing. Rabbits hate loud noises like that. We also take the vacuum out daily and turn it on, but that doesn’t seem to bother him either. The goal is to get him adjusted to our lives and schedules and to ensure that he’s not the boss. Back to getting one fixed, we go Monday for that and his behavior might change, we’re not sure but some do and some don’t. But rabbits that are not fixed can become really hyper and territorial, meaning they will bite you, etc. You don’t want that. I don’t know much of 4H style rabbits or ones used for food, but I assume they act similar. They make very little noise, shouldn’t smell at all, and will self groom. If they do groom themselves, that’s a good thing because that means they are very comfortable in their surroundings. Hygiene, you need to make sure their cage, litter box, pen or whatever is cleaned daily. You don’t want your rabbit standing around in pee and poop because the fur on the bottom their feet will disappear and it won’t grow back. Or rabbits feet are almost bald because he wasn’t cared for properly and just standing in filth for who knows how long. Rabbits are very smart, smarter than think. Below is a pic of how our rescue found him, he was standing on top of a little flower pot, inside a tiny dirty cage. No water and no food.https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_5282_jpeg-3451001.JPG Good lord, that's a messy disaster for any animal! Sorry, but even when dealing with livestock that will end up feeding people, sanitation is one of the biggest thing. Pet or livestock, keep them clean, healthy, and fed. Sanitation is the number one thing for critters, heck, even our horses get their stalls scooped out daily. But that's why when you are looking at production, things like hanging cages that let poo and pee pass through without building up. Just makes it easier to keep everyone clean. I know my rabbits have always been soft and relatively easy to handle. The more you deal with them, the more used to it they get. This isn't about horses, but our horses get haltered at least twice a day, and are used to that. A number of neighbors have horses that used to be ridable, but after a long time of not riding, and not doing anything but putting out food/water, they can't easily approach and halter them. And given a clean environment, I've always had animals be able to groom themselves. Even had rats growing up, and while a lot of people worry about them, they were always grooming themselves. The two does I picked up a few days ago are small enough I have them penned up together, and they will groom each other. All the recent rabbits will stick their noses out the door whenever I open it, no matter if I'm just changing the water, or reaching in to pick them up. They are certainly soft and fluffy. Even those looking for meat animals want to see a clean animal, and I'd have passed on the rabbits I got recently if they were filthy. I'm not one to kiss animals, but my wife's held and nuzzled them. I made sure to get pics to send to her family. I knew she did that with dogs and cats, but the more types of animals I keep bringing home she does that to. Except quail. She wasn't into the feathered type.  For the food, that brand is available at Tractor Supply and Petsmart, at least around me. However when compared to buying 50 lb sacks for I think $26 at the feed store near me (I can clarify tomorrow, think I need more. I know I need to take a trailer there for hay pretty soon.) that's a pretty steep price. I'll have to actually measure how much food the critters are going through to better estimate how much per rabbit, per kit, per lb of processed meat. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Good lord, that's a messy disaster for any animal! Sorry, but even when dealing with livestock that will end up feeding people, sanitation is one of the biggest thing. Pet or livestock, keep them clean, healthy, and fed. Sanitation is the number one thing for critters, heck, even our horses get their stalls scooped out daily. But that's why when you are looking at production, things like hanging cages that let poo and pee pass through without building up. Just makes it easier to keep everyone clean. I know my rabbits have always been soft and relatively easy to handle. The more you deal with them, the more used to it they get. This isn't about horses, but our horses get haltered at least twice a day, and are used to that. A number of neighbors have horses that used to be ridable, but after a long time of not riding, and not doing anything but putting out food/water, they can't easily approach and halter them. And given a clean environment, I've always had animals be able to groom themselves. Even had rats growing up, and while a lot of people worry about them, they were always grooming themselves. The two does I picked up a few days ago are small enough I have them penned up together, and they will groom each other. All the recent rabbits will stick their noses out the door whenever I open it, no matter if I'm just changing the water, or reaching in to pick them up. They are certainly soft and fluffy. Even those looking for meat animals want to see a clean animal, and I'd have passed on the rabbits I got recently if they were filthy. I'm not one to kiss animals, but my wife's held and nuzzled them. I made sure to get pics to send to her family. I knew she did that with dogs and cats, but the more types of animals I keep bringing home she does that to. Except quail. She wasn't into the feathered type. For the food, that brand is available at Tractor Supply and Petsmart, at least around me. However when compared to buying 50 lb sacks for I think $26 at the feed store near me (I can clarify tomorrow, think I need more. I know I need to take a trailer there for hay pretty soon.) that's a pretty steep price. I'll have to actually measure how much food the critters are going through to better estimate how much per rabbit, per kit, per lb of processed meat. It might be available at Petco, I can’t remember where we bought it as we were kind of frantic the night we got the rabbit and didn’t have anything for him. Speaking of, he had a successful operation today, was negative for the respiratory virus and overall doing well, just groggy. Attached File |
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Glad to hear it, I've never had a respiratory issue that I can recall, will have to check into it, and potential things to have on hand just in case. Sounds like you got him a vaccine? I've gotten into the habit of keeping a variety of health and nursing things around, because it's always at night after everything is closed, and you've had a few drinks. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Glad to hear it, I've never had a respiratory issue that I can recall, will have to check into it, and potential things to have on hand just in case. Sounds like you got him a vaccine? I've gotten into the habit of keeping a variety of health and nursing things around, because it's always at night after everything is closed, and you've had a few drinks. In order to adopt, the group here requires that the rabbit tests negative for respiratory illness and vaccinated against it, along with a requirement that they are spade or neutered…which they pay for (about $300 total). So far he’s doing ok! |
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I will say I haven't noticed a trend of additional aggression from females, but supposedly females are more territorial than bucks, hence why you take the doe to the buck's cage for mating, if you don't do it in an unrelated pen/cage. Overall I find the more you handle them, the easier they get. Like you said, get them used to you, and your life, rather than change what you do to accommodate the animal. Heck, when we get a new puppy, part of why we're able to shove pills down throats is we start messing with their gums/teeth/paws/etc early and often. They learn we're going to do it, they won't fight back, and everything will be okay in the end. Though I can't say I've done that level of stuff with rabbits. I just go for making sure they are okay being picked up and handled in general. I've been bitten before, not fun. Not shoving pills down any of their throats. One thing I've done with rabbits as well as quail is mixing in molasses in small quantities if some of the animals act lethargic. Not sure about the biology, but it's got a whole lot of "stuff" that's good for critters (including us, I make a lot of switchel which includes it) in terms of minerals, and probably other stuff. Mix it light, clean out your water stuff well after you're done. I assume it would encourage growth of undesirable material if left long term. And like I keep saying, keeping the environment clean goes a LONG way to keeping critters healthy. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: I will say I haven't noticed a trend of additional aggression from females, but supposedly females are more territorial than bucks, hence why you take the doe to the buck's cage for mating, if you don't do it in an unrelated pen/cage. Overall I find the more you handle them, the easier they get. Like you said, get them used to you, and your life, rather than change what you do to accommodate the animal. Heck, when we get a new puppy, part of why we're able to shove pills down throats is we start messing with their gums/teeth/paws/etc early and often. They learn we're going to do it, they won't fight back, and everything will be okay in the end. Though I can't say I've done that level of stuff with rabbits. I just go for making sure they are okay being picked up and handled in general. I've been bitten before, not fun. Not shoving pills down any of their throats. One thing I've done with rabbits as well as quail is mixing in molasses in small quantities if some of the animals act lethargic. Not sure about the biology, but it's got a whole lot of "stuff" that's good for critters (including us, I make a lot of switchel which includes it) in terms of minerals, and probably other stuff. Mix it light, clean out your water stuff well after you're done. I assume it would encourage growth of undesirable material if left long term. And like I keep saying, keeping the environment clean goes a LONG way to keeping critters healthy. 100% agree with all the above! I’ve never heard about using molasses but I’ll ask my wife about it. For your rabbits, you might want to pick up some Cherry Gas-X and give a tiny piece to each rabbit a few times a week, it helps with their digestion because rabbits cannot pass gas, and a backup can be lethal for them. |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: 100% agree with all the above! I’ve never heard about using molasses but I’ll ask my wife about it. For your rabbits, you might want to pick up some Cherry Gas-X and give a tiny piece to each rabbit a few times a week, it helps with their digestion because rabbits cannot pass gas, and a backup can be lethal for them. Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: Originally Posted By haveTwo: I will say I haven't noticed a trend of additional aggression from females, but supposedly females are more territorial than bucks, hence why you take the doe to the buck's cage for mating, if you don't do it in an unrelated pen/cage. Overall I find the more you handle them, the easier they get. Like you said, get them used to you, and your life, rather than change what you do to accommodate the animal. Heck, when we get a new puppy, part of why we're able to shove pills down throats is we start messing with their gums/teeth/paws/etc early and often. They learn we're going to do it, they won't fight back, and everything will be okay in the end. Though I can't say I've done that level of stuff with rabbits. I just go for making sure they are okay being picked up and handled in general. I've been bitten before, not fun. Not shoving pills down any of their throats. One thing I've done with rabbits as well as quail is mixing in molasses in small quantities if some of the animals act lethargic. Not sure about the biology, but it's got a whole lot of "stuff" that's good for critters (including us, I make a lot of switchel which includes it) in terms of minerals, and probably other stuff. Mix it light, clean out your water stuff well after you're done. I assume it would encourage growth of undesirable material if left long term. And like I keep saying, keeping the environment clean goes a LONG way to keeping critters healthy. 100% agree with all the above! I’ve never heard about using molasses but I’ll ask my wife about it. For your rabbits, you might want to pick up some Cherry Gas-X and give a tiny piece to each rabbit a few times a week, it helps with their digestion because rabbits cannot pass gas, and a backup can be lethal for them. Do they chew it like a treat? Was looking at it, some use a liquid, but if they would eat it normally, that has got to be easier to administer. Couple other notes, though I haven't had to, vetericyn is a good all around wound care for animals, I've used it on dogs, cats, sheep, and horses. Would be one of the first things I'd grab if a rabbit managed to cut itself. Looked up milk compatibility. Apparently they don't tolerate lactose, so cow's milk is out. I would have offered lamb/kid milk replacement anyways first, as we keep that on hand already. But a good reminder to do a quick google before using "nonstandard" methods and food. |
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Not a huge deal for the rabbit exrement, I have to say their output is one of the least offensive ones we've had. But diatomaceous earth is a good all around bug control method that's non hazardous to larger animals. I wouldn't dust them , or make them breath the dust as you toss it around, but it's not going to hurt them even if you add a little bit to their food. But we use it under the cages. Last house we went through sacks of the stuff to keep things like scorpions out of the house. |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Do they chew it like a treat? Was looking at it, some use a liquid, but if they would eat it normally, that has got to be easier to administer. Couple other notes, though I haven't had to, vetericyn is a good all around wound care for animals, I've used it on dogs, cats, sheep, and horses. Would be one of the first things I'd grab if a rabbit managed to cut itself. Looked up milk compatibility. Apparently they don't tolerate lactose, so cow's milk is out. I would have offered lamb/kid milk replacement anyways first, as we keep that on hand already. But a good reminder to do a quick google before using "nonstandard" methods and food. Yes, they will eat it like a treat or you can place it on a piece of lettuce and they will eat it -you’re right only give water to the rabbits -and like you said a clean rabbit produces almost no smell as you know ours is inside so we’d notice right away |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: FYI, they love Cilantro. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/124501/IMG_6861_jpeg-3454471.JPG They will get herbs over my dead body! Everything either gets eaten by me fresh, or dried for later enjoyment.  Got a 50 lb sack of feed for $20.74 yesterday, think it's 16% protein, and now that I'm breeding, need to double check protein requirements. Think some use 18%? Back to cleanliness, when I was refreshing water tonight, I had to interrupt and move one of the does who was grooming the other. The one who was grooming just gave me a dirty look, and refused to move. 
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: They will get herbs over my dead body! Everything either gets eaten by me fresh, or dried for later enjoyment. Got a 50 lb sack of feed for $20.74 yesterday, think it's 16% protein, and now that I'm breeding, need to double check protein requirements. Think some use 18%? Back to cleanliness, when I was refreshing water tonight, I had to interrupt and move one of the does who was grooming the other. The one who was grooming just gave me a dirty look, and refused to move. If they’re grooming themselves, that means they’re comfortable and trust you. I may have missed, but what kind of rabbits are you raising and how many? Our foster is a Rex Hybrid we think. |
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Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: If they’re grooming themselves, that means they’re comfortable and trust you. I may have missed, but what kind of rabbits are you raising and how many? Our foster is a Rex Hybrid we think. Originally Posted By ChicagoFoodie: Originally Posted By haveTwo: They will get herbs over my dead body! Everything either gets eaten by me fresh, or dried for later enjoyment. Got a 50 lb sack of feed for $20.74 yesterday, think it's 16% protein, and now that I'm breeding, need to double check protein requirements. Think some use 18%? Back to cleanliness, when I was refreshing water tonight, I had to interrupt and move one of the does who was grooming the other. The one who was grooming just gave me a dirty look, and refused to move. If they’re grooming themselves, that means they’re comfortable and trust you. I may have missed, but what kind of rabbits are you raising and how many? Our foster is a Rex Hybrid we think. New Zealand. Two are red eye white, ones colored, forget the technical term. The buckAttached File The colored doe. Don't have an image of the white one. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: New Zealand. Two are red eye white, ones colored, forget the technical term. The buckhttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/455926/1000011721_jpg-3456241.JPG The colored doe. Don't have an image of the white one. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/455926/1000011720_jpg-3456242.JPG Very cool! |
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Little more detail. Last time I had rabbits, I got two bucks, and two does. With that, assuming the bucks are unrelated, and unrelated to the does, you can do fun stuff with multi generations. Naturally I didn't do that at the time, and didn't do that much breeding, as I ate all the meat myself. Lesson learned, and in part because I got laid off recently, I'm doing this cheap-ish, and starting slower with two does (sisters) and a buck. After I get going, I'll add another buck, and possibly an unrelated doe, depending on genetics. Still have to think that through. Right now I just need to get going. This time I already had the cages, a desire for something easier than sheep to butcher at home. I know it's easy for some, but I've never processed anything bigger than a rabbit, and a butcher less than a mile from me charges ~$100 to return frozen meat wrapped in paper, all placed into your vehicle as you BS with the guys. The only challenge is I usually have to book about a month after the lambs are born. Also, since my wife wasn't on board at first with rabbits as anything other than pets, I tried quail (easier to butcher than other fowl), but never could get the breeding to work. So as the pet rabbits we'd gotten started passing, my wife started being okay with the thought of me eating rabbit, even if she won't try it for now. I've got the rest of our natural lives to work on her for that, but for now, the rabbits are an animal I've bred and eaten successfully in the past. Toss in I can use them for dog food or human food while establishing buyers, I'm hopeful in a year or two I'll be looking to get more cages, and have more frequent litters. Here's a discussion of the two bucks, two doe method I talked about.  Failed To Load Title |
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Anyone know about Islam and rabbits? I got a call from an Islamic guy who's bought sheep from me before, and I need to call him back tomorrow about when I'll have lamb ready, but I'll also ask him about rabbit. Google responses are all over the map. Apparently there's also a question if they are able to be kept as pets, not just if they are halal. (Able to be eaten) He's a guy in not worried in the least about offending. When I met him I was coming back from church when I roped a ram he wanted, and he still tried to convert me. 
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On youtube, "Teal Stone Homestead" has a lot of good videos, from butchering to cooking. https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/ Rise and Shine Rabbitry has come up in a few searches I've done recently, food and health related. After telling a few guys I won't have lambs for a while (I'm set on keeping at least one for me) I'm digging having a litter a month or so. My wife's comment: "you need to have more lambs!" Yes, yes I do! |
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Had to separate the two does I had together, at a bit over 11 weeks of age. Past the age I have butchered at in the past. Previously I kept the breeding does separate. One was excessively grooming the other. Didn't see a lot of grooming first hand, but there was hair loss on the top of the head, and tufts pulled resulting in uneven hair in other places. At least I assume excessive grooming was the problem. I've never had rabbits this old in the same cage. Again, these are New Zealands, in case anyone's curious. |
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Some rabbits can’t get along with others, no idea why but probably territorial. Ours is doing fine, and is getting more freedom. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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Nice pictures! Yeah, as with all animals, the more space, the better they share. Last time I had an indoor pet rabbit, I was taking temp care for someone else. Was a challenge to keep it from chewing things like wires, and to make sure the cats didn't share the same space. It's a different game when you cage them like I do. I do want to upgrade to bigger wire cages if this venture works out. To get that far I'll need to get some ideas on how to get more "pretty" pictures, as in outdoor versions of what you posted eventually. Supposedly they have a tendency to stay put more if you stick them on top of something. I've got lots of firewood, stumps, and other things floating around. Sells better than the pictures I've posted here. At least for the pet market. Shame my sheep aren't exactly predicable. I have a few pictures of our barn cat lounging on top of the fluffier sheep.
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Nice pictures! Yeah, as with all animals, the more space, the better they share. Last time I had an indoor pet rabbit, I was taking temp care for someone else. Was a challenge to keep it from chewing things like wires, and to make sure the cats didn't share the same space. It's a different game when you cage them like I do. I do want to upgrade to bigger wire cages if this venture works out. To get that far I'll need to get some ideas on how to get more "pretty" pictures, as in outdoor versions of what you posted eventually. Supposedly they have a tendency to stay put more if you stick them on top of something. I've got lots of firewood, stumps, and other things floating around. Sells better than the pictures I've posted here. At least for the pet market. Shame my sheep aren't exactly predicable. I have a few pictures of our barn cat lounging on top of the fluffier sheep. I’m not sure, but I’ve heard they can jump 6 feet, and I know they will climb a staircase…but have trouble getting back down haha! This guy is crazy sometimes. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ICU: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/16226/51200B69-8FA6-4D18-9456-875F5AA04918_jpe-3468175.JPG Yessss! |
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Originally Posted By ICU: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/16226/51200B69-8FA6-4D18-9456-875F5AA04918_jpe-3468175.JPG Now I'm wondering if you can get them posed in a yin/yang way. 
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Originally Posted By haveTwo: Now I'm wondering if you can get them posed in a yin/yang way. Attached File As a rabbit, you would think her favorite holiday was Easter… Attached File Attached File Nah, my girl liked Halloween…
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