thinking about raising rabbits

[pringle]

Im starting to think about raising rabbits.Im prolly gonna get those huge type of rabbits to also show at the farmers market I go to.I have raised rabbits before but never breed them or raised them for meat.And is there "manure"good for plants?

 

[MandyH]

New Zealands and Californians are those big rabbits. They are not hard to raise, but can over heat EASY. They ahve to have plenty of shade and water. Their poop is great for any plants, whether inside or out. Keep males and females seperated until you are ready to breed them, and when you do breed them take the female to the males cage. Afterwards remove her, because rabbits can get pregnant more than once at a time.

 

[mekasmom]

The first rabbits I ever started raising were Flemish Giants. They were really BIG rabbits.
I think rabbits are a wonderful "first" project for learning animal husbandry. They are quite easy to raise and breed. Over the years you will learn many things about them, and experience will teach you the best way for you to raise them. I stated out with individual hutches/cages way back with my Flemish, I went to colony raising, and did both at the same time for a while. I started feeding only pellets, then fed greens/plants, sometimes both. You just learn and adapt your own ways to animal husbandry from your own experiences over the years. But rabbits are a wonderful, easy, animal husbandry project. I think they are actually even easier to raise than chickens.
Rabbit poop is great. It is the best fertilizer on earth, and can be used raw.

 

[pattyjean73]

I used to raise, show, and breed mini rex, dutch, and american fuzzy lops years ago and loved it. Your biggest concerns are going to be ventilation and cleanliness to keep the odor down. But with diligent work you'll love rabbits. I now have both californian and new zealands. But I strictly raise for meat now. Be sure to check out the ARBA website.