Rabbit 101

[myakka]

I live in Florida, and am considering raising rabbits for meat. Is there a breed that is way less drama, and easy to handle as compared to others?
I had a friend give me a tip that when you put them to breed, you put the female into the male's cage so he is on his own turf.

Any tips like this that you guys have would be great. Maybe this thread could be just what I titled it, a tutorial for us who have not kept rabbits before. Thanks!

[Bue]

I'll be watching for info on this thread as well

[Morgan101]

I'm not an expert or even a novice, but here are a couple of sources where you might get started.
https://www.howtoraiserabbits.com/ww...earthnews.com/...
/raising-rabbits-for-meat-zebz1309znsp.aspx

I have Wendy Brown's book Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs, and IMHO it is one of the best; most inclusive guides on self-sufficient living. She has a chapter on livestock, and knows a lot about raising rabbits. She recommends a medium size breed, and German angoras are one of the best. Hope this helps.

[Applejack]

raising rabbits is a great idea. We can't have chickens, but wonder could we have rabbits. Just another reason I want to move from here into the country.

[dalewick]

I raised rabbits as a kid but not an expert in any way. I raised mostly Rex rabbits as they quickly got to a good eating size and the hides were marketable and soft as sheared beaver fur. I tried Angoras, but they never seemed to want to stay healthy for me. Had an old timer tell me that they wouldn't raise well in my area (WV) as it was too wet and humid. I also raised some Palomino's for a little while but couldn't find a market for there hides back then.

I used wooden wire spools to make hutches and made portable chicken wire runs that I could move from one hutch to the next so each day they had some time on the ground to forage. After I would breed a doe I always made sure to start giving her some sweetgrass in a week or two and check to see when she started nesting and pulling her hair for her nest. Tried to not disturb her for a week or so after she would deliver the young.

Used to compost the droppings and then use them in the garden. Good stuff for the garden. Good luck.

Dale

[Applejack]

Hubby used to go rabbit hunting a lot. He had like 12 to 14 rabbit dogs. Though now we can raise chickens which I am working on, I am now thinking about raising rabbits for food as well. Not sure as to how I am going to work that into my plans so any advise would be helpful.

[RICHFL]

Applejack why not chickens? I raise 6 hens at a time in the neighborhood I currently live in. The county tried to say that chickens are farm animals and not allowed due to zoning. Found an old law that says if the animal is a pet you can keep them. So we named them and only use the eggs. The county lost it's own case. Now a lot more people around me have 4-6 chickens in their back yards.

[Applejack]

Rich my plan is to have both chickens and rabbits. There was a point at one time we were not alowed to have chickens where we are but they changed the laws and we can now raise them. We are in process of working on a chicken coop that possums cannot get into.