Anybody raising rabbits for meat? Any advice?

[plantsnobin]

You need a fence taller than your local predators. If you are fencing them out of the garden, remember that they can burrow, so you need to bury a section of the fence or some type of barrier. A 3 ft fence may be enough to keep them out of the garden.

[garnetmoth]

we are entering our 3rd winter, and have kept 2 teen does to increase production next year!
We add black oil sunflower seed this time of year- a lil more fat for them to keep warm with. they seem to like them in moderation. they also LOVE "potato chips" ie maple and sycamore leaves along with their hay. We feed pellets along with hay, safe weeds, and maple, sycamore, and mulberry leaves (usually fresh, they dry to very little!) because our doe didnt get pregnant when we were just feeding natural foods.
We can get 50lb Purina rabbit food for $14 or so, and find square bales of hay for $3-5 (we try to stick to timothy or mixed if we are feeding an alfalfa pellet.)

Since we finally got some rain, I am going to clear a small corner of the back yard and try to get some timothy/orchard/alfalfa started and make some hay next year!

Rabbittalk forum, and homesteading today also have pretty frequented rabbit forums, if you want to search threads for quick answers!

oh and we processed 2 litters this year. they are harder to do cervical dislocation on than they look. we bought a pellet gun, it makes dispatching a LOT easier.

We have several pelts in the freezer, as we work our way through all the good local meat we have, I may try to find them and tan them!

[seedywen]

I've had a small meat rabbitry for about 15 years, usually keeping 3-4 does and two bucks as breeding stock. Used to be concerned about in-breeding but have been reassured by both personal experience and other knowledgeable breeders, that if the best is bred to the best, the rabbits usually turn out fine.

Have 4 2' x 10' outdoor rabbit tractors for April-December grazing around the fruit orchard. Today I mounted them on concrete blocks beside a raspberry row as there's been a lot of rain lately and the grass is starting to get sodden.

Inside my barn/workshop/greenhouse/chicken coop complex...there's an inside room about 8 x 12 feet where two large cages hang on one side and three smaller cages hang on the other. A winter wormery is under the bank of large cages. Got to go right now but will return to describe the rabbit tractors as they are for me, an excellent situation.

(a welding friend designed and build the tractors. After his daughter grew out of her 4H years, keeping rabbits, he 'gifted' the tractors to us.)

[plantsnobin]

Rabbits are 'line' bred. Mother to son, father to daughter are ok, but not brother to sister. Just got back from a rabbit show today. Next week there is a Sat & a Sunday show. What fun.

[seedywen]

Line breeding is what I do, especially as for many years, it was difficult to find anyone local with quality rabbits to buy or barter. Thankfully a few keen rabbit people moved to this area in recent years and the situation has greatly improved.

Back to the rabbit tractors.
The frames of each 2' x 10' rectangle are rebar welded at the joints.
Three sides and the bottom are completely covered with stucco wire. The three sides which are 30 inches high, are reinforced about 1/3 of the height with rabbit wire that prevents babies from getting through the stucco wire. Also to prevent raccoon fingers from stretching inside to grab a baby. One of the long sides is also covered with Coroplast for shade and prevent rain from driving inside.
Each roof is divided into either two or three, rebarred sections,covered with Coroplast. This allows access to the entire cage from the top for cleaning, feeding, catching them etc. Plus there is a 4-6 inch roof overhang on all four sides.

Currently all the wire and Coroplast are held tight with cable ties. At one end of each cage there is a 2 x 2 foot plywood nesting box with its own plywood lid. The corners are reinforced with 2 inch by 2 inch wood pieces and the floor has its own removeable wire screen. Use hay for bedding and put in a cut-down cardboard box a few days before the doe is due to kindle.

Outside the small door way, cut into the inner side, is a small raised wooden platform to insert feeders or dishes. Each cage has a wooden bench and a large tile for resting the rabbits hocks off the wire. The rabbit waterer hangs on the stucco wire usually near the feeder.

The rebar extends past the non-hutch end to give a broad handle to move the cages, which are mounted on lawn-mower wheels at the hunch end.

Generally I move the cages 3x a day to fresh grass during the growing season. Saves mowing the orchard and fertilizes the trees at the same time.

The only problems I've had with the design has been when the occasionally wild wind has flipped the cages over. However each section of the rebar roof frame is bungie chord attached to the main body of the cage so usually the lids do not open. A concrete block is placed on the top to prevent the flipping.

When the cages were delivered, most of them needed the stucco wire on the bottom replaced as contact with the ground, over times plus the rabbit urine corrodes the wire. And the Coroplast doesn't last forever either. Every few months, I remove the rabbit(s) and clean any hair or poop that is sticking. Although generally, the poo falls through the bottom wire and is left behind when the cage is moved.

Previously I used two long wood and wire A-framed moveable hutches but the wood both rotted over time and the rabbits nearly gnawed their way out by the end of the cage's life. I was always repairing some part or another. Plus they weren't nearly as weather proof or portable.

I enjoy raising rabbits in these cages. The rabbits seem to enjoy them also; lots of fresh greens daily and plenty of room. On sunny days, they stretch out in the sunshine. When it's windy or wet, they seek refuge in the end box. The dappled shade of the orchard is great in the summer, protecting the rabbits from overheating. Sometime I'll take a picture and post it.