We live in a small town at the edge of a huge metropolis--our "hometead" is a very big backyard. I've wanted to start keeping a few rabbits--for the valuable manure to enrich the garden, and perhaps for meat. I am physically disabled and thus, not able to do any heavy work, but am hoping that rabbits would be manageable. Have no idea if a certain breed is best for beginners? The newspaper "thrifties" ads often list various rabbits and cages "for sale cheap," but I don't know if they would be a good choice. Do you recommend a particular book for beginners? How elaborate should their housing be and how much space do they need? Is food expensive or can they eat table scraps at all? How do you cope with killing them if you've never done anything like that? If we get a few chickens, can they interact at all or should they be kept strictly separate? Thanks so much for any suggestions and sharing of your experiences!

-- Marilee Thome (hotjmmt@ados.com), November 11, 1999

Answers

There is a very good book, Raising Rabbits the Modern Way that will tell you the answer to all of your above questions. You can order it from Countryside or sometimes find it in large hardware/feed stores. There is another book that tells you step by step how to skin and butcher several different animals, rabbits included. The title is Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game by John J. Mettler, Jr. DVM. Rabbits don't eat kitchen scraps. For that you would need to have chickens or pigs. Rabbits take up a small amount of space and their droppings are the best fertilizer we've ever used. Good luck. Peggy

-- Peggy Carr (wclpc@cookeville.com), November 12, 1999.

Buying used cages is fine,just be sure the wire bottoms are 1 by 1/2 wire and the sides do not have spaces that a baby bunny can get through.Buying a good book like Raising Rabbits the Modern Way should be the first thing you do. Look at several breeds if you can, I raise French Lopes because I like there look and the variety of colors. New Zealands are very productive and would be a good breed to start with. If you buy young ones now they would be ready to breed by spring and you would be "used" to them. Good Luck

-- Doris Richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), November 12, 1999.

when i started raising rabbits i lived in the heart of Saint Paul, Minnesota on a regular lot with almost no yard becuase the house took it all up. as stated above feed needs to be purchased and I kept it in metal garbage cans to protect it from squirrels. i visited rabbit raisers and happened to visit a lady who had run a rabbit processing business durng the depression and was butchering the day i dropped by - i learned a great deal that day about butchering bunnies.

-- kirby johnson (kirby@selco.lib.mn.us), November 12, 1999.

Wire cages are great if you have a shed or cover to keep them under but on there own I would suggest you find a different type tf housing. a good little wooden shed with at least a roof/covered area would be my first choice. There are lots of plans available. The rabbits will need protection at times during the year. especially in the hot heat and sun of the summertime. I ahave used metal cages and covered them with tarps but I can tell you that it is not the ideal situation. Killing is something that you have to decide whether or not you can do. I found out that I couldn't do it. My husband tried and I knew he hated it so I fina;;y found someone who would do it for me...It is easy enough to do (the mechanics of it) but the emotional part I couldn't handle. Rabbit keeping is a lot of fun and really good eating but good housing and storage areas will make it a lot easier.

-- Ruth Guida (n5rjm@arrl.net), November 14, 1999.

Two does and one buck will give your family rabbit twice a week. Do not scrimp on housing. Make cages long, but not deep. Wire cages hung in a partly open shed are easiest to keep clean. Chickens will peck bunny toes off, and produce dust that can cause respiratory problems. Chickens are good at picking up spilled feed, preventing waste and discouraging rats. Be sure the housing provides protection from dogs Don't choose a particular breed yet. Look at as many rabbits as you can, and get good individuals. Good mutts out-produce poor purebreds. Since you are suburban you may have a market for pets. Otherwise avoid dwarfs and long fur. I suppliment my rabbits with garden trimmings, but they will starve on free choice lettuce.

-- Kendy Sawyer (sweetfire@grove.net), November 17, 1999.

If you do want to supplement their feed, most should be root crops. Beets, especially mangles, are a very good food for rabbits, as well as most farm animals! Carrots have more than good taste going for them, too. Turnups, parsnips, and the like are all benificial and real foods for them, and chunks of apple, pear and celery make good treats. We went 18 months without purchased feed for our rabbitry, a small comercial herd, and found that we had far fewer health problems (and there weren't all that many before!), the biggest difference being that the does couldn't raise quite as big a litter and the kits were slower growing. Of course, the basic feed was good hay with lots of clover and vetch in it, and the root crops were to supplement it. As stated above, they can starve on just lettuce, and cabbage of any kind should be given in very small amounts, if at all.

-- Fran Ogren (trumpkinland@plix.com), November 21, 1999.

Keep in mind that what you want for your bunnys is a balanced diet.A good pellet is probably the easiest and best nutrition for your buns but in a lot of places in the world they either don't have or can't afford the pellets and they still raise lots of meat rabbits. A lot of rabbit raisers, I am told, in England still raise there buns by gathering the hay and grasses for them. They do love treats and I have always given mine things like cantoloupe and watermelon rinds good apples green scraps from the kitchen...I think the real answer is to do it in moderation. They love hay and I supplement their diet with hay as well. A good thing to remember for a beginner is that they need lots of fresh water. I have a friend who raises prize winning show buns and she gives her babes treats of oatmeal, bread and all kinds of things. I just happened to remember too that they like things to chew on so when I trimmed my trees apple and pear I always gave them a little limb piece to chew on. Non toxic of course. And this just for fun..they like things to play with and I always try to keep something in the cage to occupy them if they are in the mood. In the hot Texas summer I kept 2 liter bottle frozen to give them some cool when the hear got way over 100 degrees and they loved to push these bottles around...Coke cans are lots of fun for them too..I never had any bun get hurt playing with one but my show bunny pal wouldn't use the can for fear of someone getting cut on the opening. I just bent the can so the opening wasn't easy to get to.

-- Ruth Guida (n5rjm@arrl.net), November 22, 1999.

If you want them for meat you might want a newzealand or californian. they are both kind of big. never give them table scraps unless they are oatmeal(not cooked or flavored) or carrots not cooked. hope this helps!

-- mb (minilopmb@aol.com), February 10, 2001.

I know that this was posted some time ago and I hope you have found some rabbits by now. One source that I would recommend is the American Rabbit Breeders Association. Their web site is arba.net. They are the people who set the standards for rabbit breeds. If you join the association you receive a book of standards and their book on raiseing rabbits. I hope this helps.

Tom

-- Tom S. (trdsshepard@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.