Rabbits

[Bama]

I am working towards starting rabbits. Anyone plant crops for feed? What types of feed crops work best,as far as yields and nutrition? I have a small flock of chickens now and enough land ti plant feed crops, just trying to be smart about what to plant. Keeping rabbits in mind also.

[610Alpha]

I am working towards starting rabbits. Anyone plant crops for feed? What types of feed crops work best,as far as yields and nutrition? I have a small flock of chickens now and enough land ti plant feed crops, just trying to be smart about what to plant. Keeping rabbits in mind also.

I just finished reading Storey's Guide To Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett....written by a guy that has been raising rabbits for decades. There are some recipes for making your own feed mix and the various roughages that rabbits will eat. Lots of all around great info. Check your library to see if they have it or can get it or buy it for reference.

Also google can provide lots of pdf studies from various universities.

[MustangGal]

I'm working toward raising some of our own food. There is a meat rabbits group on yahoo that has a lot of great information. I am looking into using swiss chard to replace some of our rabbit food.

Last spring I had a young white kit - three or four weeks old escape. I marked it off as a lost cause. About three weeks later, I went out to check on the critters and there it was between the perimeter fence and the chicken/rabbit yard. I grabbed a fishing net and after a chase, that if it had been video taped would have been the big money winner on America's Funniest Videos, managed to capture her. She was in great condition! As far as I know, all she had to eat was local weeds and grasses. I quarantined her for about three more weeks, but she has done great. I really believe you could feed one in the summer on local forage.

[Bama]

Great info, I will look into the book. I had considered a small alfalfa patch as well as greens.

[Boyd]

lowdown has some great youtube video's.. My father and I also do quite a few rabbits. If the mods will allow, i'll link up the facebook groups we run as well as a short book we wrote about this subject.

For me, i plant clover, alfalfa and give those organic composting units all the garden and kitchen leftovers. I can't decide why i love to keep rabbits more for... the meat or the manure for my garden.

[610Alpha]

I will be adding some rabbits here in the next couple of months. I have some space in my garage that will allow me put up 6 cages. The rabbits are cheaper than the cages....I will take pictures of my set up as it develops.

[1Admin]

lowdown has some great youtube video's.. My father and I also do quite a few rabbits. If the mods will allow, i'll link up the facebook groups we run as well as a short book we wrote about this subject.

For me, i plant clover, alfalfa and give those organic composting units all the garden and kitchen leftovers. I can't decide why i love to keep rabbits more for... the meat or the manure for my garden.

No problem.

Hay of all sorts- rake up and save the grass cuttings after you mow provided you don't use pesticides on the lawn, fruit tree prunings and many types of small non resinous branches, all your apple and vegetable leavings, etc.

If you want to ensure good health, give at least a little bit of pellets regularly.

Feed isn't cheap any more, not sure it ever was??? So you want to do as much as you can on your own. One thing we have done in the past when money was tight was trade smaller feed stores live rabbits before Easter for feed. Usually about 2 6 week or so old rabbits to a 50lb. bag of feed. One doe's litter could trade for feed for your breeders for a good long while.

[610Alpha]

No problem.

Hay of all sorts- rake up and save the grass cuttings after you mow provided you don't use pesticides on the lawn, fruit tree prunings and many types of small non resinous branches, all your apple and vegetable leavings, etc.

If you want to ensure good health, give at least a little bit of pellets regularly.

Feed isn't cheap any more, not sure it ever was??? So you want to do as much as you can on your own. One thing we have done in the past when money was tight was trade smaller feed stores live rabbits before Easter for feed. Usually about 2 6 week or so old rabbits to a 50lb. bag of feed. One doe's litter could trade for feed for your breeders for a good long while.

Excellent idea. I saw one idea that Bob Bennett had in one of his books about a kid that would sell rabbits right before easter and give a small bag of feed and tell the customer that he would take the rabbit back after the feed ran out or at anytime (something to this affect I believe). A nice way to generate some cash.

[Boyd]

http://www.facebook.com/theurbanrabbitproject?fref=ts my dad's facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/therabbittrail?ref=hl My page

http://www.facebook.com/groups/Backyard.Meat.Rabbits/ the meat rabbit page

http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Rabbi.../dp/B00AG3X24M My dads book, but you'll find pictures of my rabbitry. I am doing more of a grass based green chop project. More hutches, less pellets. I get to eat my mistakes. I am going to do a colony setup sometime in the next year though. That's my long term goal for 2013 :)

[610Alpha]

I am now on the hunt for some breeding stock...i don't think I am going to cross breed right now. I got one more cage to put on legs and then I will be ready. I will get some pics soon.

[MustangGal]

If you lived in my part of the world, I could fix you up! :eek:
We have bred for large litters. We had one that had 15, she is down to 10 and another mama has one more, so if she can raise them still a good group.

[610Alpha]

If you lived in my part of the world, I could fix you up! :eek:
We have bred for large litters. We had one that had 15, she is down to 10 and another mama has one more, so if she can raise them still a good group.

Thanks MG! I appreciate that...the farthest I get down into MO is St. Charles and Lincoln County.

Are you breeding those Giants or have you just had large litters?

[MustangGal]

We have New Zealands, Californians, and we cross the two. The way I see it, it costs about the same to feed one that kits three or four as it does one that kits eight to ten. Before we went to the swap meet this past weekend, we had 55 kits out of six litters - so not a bad average.

[610Alpha]

I put in a call to the local Farm store asking when they would be getting rabbits and the breed, they don't sell the breed I am looking into but they took my name and number and would pass it along to the person that sells them the rabbits they sell because they raise other breeds.

[Bama]

Thanks for all the replies and info, I have read storeys guide and looked around my area at other setups. I have gained alot of valuable information. Right now I have set aside my rabbit project to persue some intincive gardening set ups that I intend to post or blog about soon.