This month we are posting with our associate Ryan. He has decided to start his own venture of homesteading. Every few months we will post articles of his experiences. This will be a learning experience for many of us. This month we will be starting with food. If anyone has any comments or questions please contact us!
Hi! My name is Ryan and I am the owner of That Homestead. I’m guest starring here today to tell you a little bit about how easy it is to raise rabbits! Whether you are homesteading, showing for 4H, or just think they’re cute, I would love to help you get started!
I got into the bunny game for meat. Rabbits are one of the healthiest meats and, According to this article, it has more protein than both beef and chicken! Not only that, but it’s very sustainable for a family.
If you aren’t handy and want to keep rabbits as pets, there are many options for purchasing cages, feeders, water bottles, and the like. If you ARE handy, look no further. Far North has all of the wire for building rabbit hanging cages and rabbit tractors, and at great prices.
All you need to raise rabbits is one male and one female, two feeders, two water bottles, two hanging cages, two nesting boxes, and you’re off to the races. So far, I have built all of that myself except feeders and water bottles.
Even breeding them is easy! Put the female in the males cage, give it 10 minutes to see three successful breedings, and done. Your female has most likely been bred.
After mama gives birth, she will take care of the kits until they start eating out of her feeder, and after several weeks they can be in their own rabbit tractor and eventually in your freezer. Or you can sell them as pets!
The food is fairly cheap. I pasture my rabbits when I can, which saves feed. I buy a 50 lb bag for $15 and I have been feeding three bunnies for just a tick over a month and still have some left. They are cheap to feed, easy to clean up after, taste great, and have one of the best manures in the world for gardening. There is no need to compost it. Let it dry for about a week and it’s ready to be put directly in your garden. I actually throw a pellet in with every seedling that we start for our garden.
To conclude, if you were on the fence about raising rabbits, come on over! It’s fun, it’s easy, and it is SO good for you and your family! And don’t forget to shop around at Far North for your homesteading projects! If you have any questions, please check out my blog at www.thathomestead.com and contact me there or email me at info@thathomestead.com!