Meat rabbits raised on grass/weeds ONLY?

[Kennas_Kritters]

I have been reading about alot of people lately that are raising their meat rabbits on nothing but grass/weeds. They claim their rabbits are healthy and happy. Obviously wild rabbits eat mostly just grass/weeds so I assume that means our meat rabbits can as well? What are y'alls opinions on that? Thanks!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I've raised rabbits on pasture, but always also offered some supplemental feed.

Wild rabbits, living on just forage, are small and lean. The extra protein in formulated feed can help rabbits intended for meat put on weight faster and dress out at a higher meat-to-bone ratio.

 

[KingD]

They need something to wear their teeth down.
A lot of modern day pellets have benefits for their teeth.
Sticks are good as well. Mine love to chew on them

 

[LizzzyJo]

Survive and thrive are two different things. Ignoring their nutritional health (which may be directly impacted) and the worries about the stress of a starvation diet (unsure of this as well) - isn't the point of meat rabbits to have enough meat on them to eat?

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Survive and thrive are two different things. Ignoring their nutritional health (which may be directly impacted) and the worries about the stress of a starvation diet (unsure of this as well) - isn't the point of meat rabbits to have enough meat on them to eat?

Survive and thrive are two different things. Ignoring their nutritional health (which may be directly impacted) and the worries about the stress of a starvation diet (unsure of this as well) - isn't the point of meat rabbits to have enough meat on them to eat?

They would also get greens/veggies from the garden. If they started looking even a little unhealthy I would immediately get them back on feed. I'm not going to ignore their nutritional needs and let them starve. I just wanted to try to raise my rabbits in a more natural way. The wild rabbits in our area are actually quite healthy. There are even some pet rabbits running around that I assume escaped someone's pen and they have been around for over a year and are extremely healthy. They have lots of grass, weeds and veggies from our garden that they steal (little stinkers hehe). They seem to be healthier than most rabbits kept in cages....

 

[Tclloyd0812]

I have been reading about alot of people lately that are raising their meat rabbits on nothing but grass/weeds. They claim their rabbits are healthy and happy. Obviously wild rabbits eat mostly just grass/weeds so I assume that means our meat rabbits can as well? What are y'alls opinions on that? Thanks!

When we did have rabbits, we started them out in cages but quickly realized they're way more expensive to raise in cages as the cost of their feed plus alfalfa and the little salt rings they have get EXPENSIVE, and in my opinion and experience, rabbits were the absolute most expensive animals we raised.

Anyways, after the cages, we put the rabbits in tractors. We were only raising for meat and would keep the male with the females. Yes, I know this can cause over breeding and problems, so we ended up separating the male and put him in with one or 2 girls at a time at different times of the year.
We realized the tractors are efficient, as you can move them around in the grass, but even though ours where well built and very heavy, they still would dig out the sides. We then put wire on the bottom but also realized it caused them to not be able to eat as much grass. And all the while we also supplimented feed and alfalfa, ESPECIALLY during the cold months.

After trying the tractors for a while, we ended up fencing in a rabbit "colony" that was about a 10 by 12 area of grass, one shade tree, and some brush. They LOVED this the most and this was our favorite method because it felt the most natural. Having 12 rabbits in the area (I actually just kept all of them together, even the male, I know, once again with the "over breeding", which actually wasn't a problem for us), of course the grass went first, but not as quick as you'd think. It lasted about 2 months, then the brush and some bark around the tree in the middle of the colony. Another thing we did we any time we cut grass, we'd throw clippings in there as well as clippings of branches and even three cedar trees (my husband sometimes cuts them down if we need to clear an area of the property) and they would chew those up so fast!!! (They even say the cedar helps with parasites, not claiming it's TRUE but that's interesting.)
Between the grass, grass clippings from mowing, cutting branches/limbs for them, bark on the tree, brush, and cedar trees that they absolutely LOVED, our costs of feed were at their lowest. The only time we supplimented more hay, alfalfa, and a lot more feed was during the winter. And we had no issues with the does and their babies, they were not over bred and if you have enough covered nesting boxes or even buried buckets for the rabbits, they'll make home in no time and I feel I had a lot better outcomes and the does took care of the babies better outside of the cages and in the colony. Make sure if you do this method to have at least one big area/shelter that they can get out of the wind and rain, and during the winter you can put hay in there to keep them warm.
The POO is the only maintenance really you will have to worry about, just get a rake and shovel and compost it. After a while, the pee smell will be gross too, but we found stacking a thick layer of hay over the ground, and keep stacking, kept the poo and pee from being bad. Make sure to put bricks/rocks/boards throughout the bottom of the pen so they cannot escape or dig out. You can also dig a foot and put fencing under the ground so they can't dig out.
When you finally think they need a new area of grass, you can either build another area and move them to it and then rotate between the 2 colonies or leave it just as one and just supplement with grass clippings, hay, alfalfa cubes, branches/limbs, and cedar trees, adding some feed every day to keep them fat!


Edited to mention: I wonder if those wild "pet" rabbits you see are mine?!! Lol, JK, but I did release my meat rabbits and they had a lot of litters, living on just grass and forage. We may have a few left that wondered into the woods, but for the most part we actually shot and killed the rest (that we knew about) a few months ago for food. FAT AND HEALTHY rabbits that had been living on grass and forage. Lol

 

[LizzzyJo]

Ok, just keep an eye on them. Remember that they also need dry fiber as well, so access to alfalfa (if babies) or timothy (if adults) would still be great for them and cheap.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

When we did have rabbits, we started them out in cages but quickly realized they're way more expensive to raise in cages as the cost of their feed plus alfalfa and the little salt rings they have get EXPENSIVE, and in my opinion and experience, rabbits were the absolute most expensive animals we raised.

Anyways, after the cages, we put the rabbits in tractors. We were only raising for meat and would keep the male with the females. Yes, I know this can cause over breeding and problems, so we ended up separating the male and put him in with one or 2 girls at a time at different times of the year.
We realized the tractors are efficient, as you can move them around in the grass, but even though ours where well built and very heavy, they still would dig out the sides. We then put wire on the bottom but also realized it caused them to not be able to eat as much grass. And all the while we also supplimented feed and alfalfa, ESPECIALLY during the cold months.

After trying the tractors for a while, we ended up fencing in a rabbit "colony" that was about a 10 by 12 area of grass, one shade tree, and some brush. They LOVED this the most and this was our favorite method because it felt the most natural. Having 12 rabbits in the area (I actually just kept all of them together, even the male, I know, once again with the "over breeding", which actually wasn't a problem for us), of course the grass went first, but not as quick as you'd think. It lasted about 2 months, then the brush and some bark around the tree in the middle of the colony. Another thing we did we any time we cut grass, we'd throw clippings in there as well as clippings of branches and even three cedar trees (my husband sometimes cuts them down if we need to clear an area of the property) and they would chew those up so fast!!! (They even say the cedar helps with parasites, not claiming it's TRUE but that's interesting.)
Between the grass, grass clippings from mowing, cutting branches/limbs for them, bark on the tree, brush, and cedar trees that they absolutely LOVED, our costs of feed were at their lowest. The only time we supplimented more hay, alfalfa, and a lot more feed was during the winter. And we had no issues with the does and their babies, they were not over bred and if you have enough covered nesting boxes or even buried buckets for the rabbits, they'll make home in no time and I feel I had a lot better outcomes and the does took care of the babies better outside of the cages and in the colony. Make sure if you do this method to have at least one big area/shelter that they can get out of the wind and rain, and during the winter you can put hay in there to keep them warm.
The POO is the only maintenance really you will have to worry about, just get a rake and shovel and compost it. After a while, the pee smell will be gross too, but we found stacking a thick layer of hay over the ground, and keep stacking, kept the poo and pee from being bad. Make sure to put bricks/rocks/boards throughout the bottom of the pen so they cannot escape or dig out. You can also dig a foot and put fencing under the ground so they can't dig out.
When you finally think they need a new area of grass, you can either build another area and move them to it and then rotate between the 2 colonies or leave it just as one and just supplement with grass clippings, hay, alfalfa cubes, branches/limbs, and cedar trees, adding some feed every day to keep them fat!


Edited to mention: I wonder if those wild "pet" rabbits you see are mine?!! Lol, JK, but I did release my meat rabbits and they had a lot of litters, living on just grass and forage. We may have a few left that wondered into the woods, but for the most part we actually shot and killed the rest (that we knew about) a few months ago for food. FAT AND HEALTHY rabbits that had been living on grass and forage. Lol

After reading this I think I might make a big fenced in area for them and divide it in 2 so that way I can rotate them from side to side when they eat all the grass! Thanks for your reply!!

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Ok, just keep an eye on them. Remember that they also need dry fiber as well, so access to alfalfa (if babies) or timothy (if adults) would still be great for them and cheap.

Will do! I'll definitely have hay for them.

 

[Tclloyd0812]

After reading this I think I might make a big fenced in area for them and divide it in 2 so that way I can rotate them from side to side when they eat all the grass! Thanks for your reply!!

You're welcome! I definitely enjoyed that method the best, and you can rotate them every few months!