# Rabbits



## kilagal (Nov 8, 2011)

I used to raise a lot of rabbits for our own use. Then when my mil started to have problems I quit doing it. As when she would get upset she would open cages and turn rabbits loose. And someone that raises a garden does not want is to have rabbits running loose. So I have not done it for a few years now. But I did keep my cages and feeders, etc.
Well about 16 months ago my dh retired. And last Sept we took off for 8 months lived in a camper trailer. 
We are home now but the price of meat is horrible. So this weekend I bought rabbits again. I got half grown checker giants for $3 each. Which to me is very cheap. We got 10 of them and there will be more for that price next month. So I am pretty happy about it.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

What does it cost per pound to raise your own rabbits?

Depending on where you live it can be more practical to live trap wild rabbits. My wife's nephew used to do that. They always had rabbits in their area because they had a big garden.


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

I used to be able to raise one litter on 2 bags of feed.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I've never thought about cost justifying it on the food. I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least figure it out.

a 50# bag is... $25???? I have to buy 2 or 3 tomorrow along with cat and dog kibble so I guess I'll know soon. At one cup of pellets per bunny per cage it can add up but then again I've been lazy on culling rabbits. my own fault, I've been busy taking some night classes so it's just a lot easier to feed them then spend the time harvesting them.

I have a dozen rabbits now, and I guess they go through chow pretty good, still difficult to gauge though because I give them plenty of timothy hay which they prefer to the pellets, I think it tastes sweet to them. Also, we have El Nino here in Commiefornia so the evening rains when we get them despite the tarps and sunscreens still manage to soak the pellets in the feeders and then I have to throw all that away.

A litter taking 2 bags of chow seems really high to me, but the biggest litter I've had yet was 6 with 100% survival and I did definitely notice a big hit on the pellets when they were growing.

for the amount of rabbit I eat it's just a new set of pets I feed, however only the breeders have names, and the babies are considered MRE's


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

so I was tracking the food comsumption...

11 adult rabbits consumed 1x 50 lb bag of rabbit chow in exactly 2 weeks

I have large rabbits, I have both Californians and Copper Satins. If someone were raising smaller bunnies I'm sure their mileage would vary...

based on this new knowledge of 2 weeks per bag of food I intended to buy even more vittles vaults from petco online. those are some really good ant-proof, water proof, air tight containers. Ideally I'd like to have 6 months supply of critter chow minimum.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Remember if you are going to cull any bunnies let me know. I'll trade you some helping hands and eggs for a bit of bunny meat.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

I paid about $17 for 50# two weeks ago.


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## JAR702 (Apr 1, 2015)

I pay $17.00 a bag also
But you can grow fodder, a 50# bag of seeds make over 200# of fodder, takes about 10 minutes per day.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

We raised rabbits when I was a child, we used garden straps & pellets.
We used the waste as compost in the garden & on worm beds, yes old school 
earth worms were in the compost & soil out side. 
I know today many people have worms in boxes & they do very well.
But our chicken ran wild & roosted in tree, now it's free range.
But I degress.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

JAR702 said:


> I pay $17.00 a bag also
> But you can grow fodder, a 50# bag of seeds make over 200# of fodder, takes about 10 minutes per day.


very true, my only purpose here was to track how much pellets the herd consumes. and even that was mixed with hay, and I strong suspect they would do just fine with local hay and twigs and garden leftovers (obviously eliminating the things that are rabbit toxic)

hay is maybe $50 a bale for timothy? I forget and I'll be getting another bale this weekend, its' 120lbs and it last those 11 adult bunnies several months as supplemental food. I used to give it to them every day but that started taking to long and they are so wasteful, they kick much out of the cage, I decided to go to every other day on handful of hay and they are good with that, and seem to eat more than they used to as well. waste is down! although I did go back to daily this week during the rains because rain makes the pellets explode into mud, however the hay is fine.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Grimm said:


> Remember if you are going to cull any bunnies let me know. I'll trade you some helping hands and eggs for a bit of bunny meat.


I've got 2 males and 1 female that are not acceptable for breeding and I've been procrastinating harvesting them for a while. my litters don't do well in the summer so there wasn't an urgency to clear out cage space.

If you don't care about purebred resell (these would never qualify) let me know, there's nothing wrong with them as far as meat rabbits go. they are litter mates though so I don't think you'd find buyers for their kits even if they exhibited the proper coat, but for meat purposes, it's not like they are gonna spontaneously have 3 eyeballs and no back legs


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## Saffer (Aug 3, 2012)

Interesting. From a farmer's perspective, you should calculate the cost to raise the animal until it is ready to harvest. You're looking at maximum weight gain for the amount of food. Once the weight gain starts to level off, its time for the pot or the freezer. Feeding adults is a waste of money, unless they're breeding stock. (or pets)


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Dakine said:


> I've got 2 males and 1 female that are not acceptable for breeding and I've been procrastinating harvesting them for a while. my litters don't do well in the summer so there wasn't an urgency to clear out cage space.
> 
> If you don't care about purebred resell (these would never qualify) let me know, there's nothing wrong with them as far as meat rabbits go. they are litter mates though so I don't think you'd find buyers for their kits even if they exhibited the proper coat, but for meat purposes, it's not like they are gonna spontaneously have 3 eyeballs and no back legs


K made me promise not to get any more livestock beyond the egg layers until after we move. 

But if you need a hand let me know. I'd love to come over and give you a hand and maybe learn something new.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

that's a long drive for bunny maintenance but if I get the house cleaned up so its not completely embarassing sure why not


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