You can still raise rabbits for meat without using a third-party processor to humanely kill and process them. You'll just need help from an urban farm or community garden.
There are many reasons to begin keeping backyard bunnies. Rabbits in the garden are an excellent way to get free manure fertilizer. While some may raise rabbits as pets, others may choose to raise them for meat. ... With this in mind, raising backyard rabbits outdoors can be done easily and efficiently.
Raising rabbits is one of the simplest things you can do on your homestead. Not only do they require little attention, but they also provide a great amount of meat. Raising rabbits is simple and economical. Two does and one buck should produce 180 pounds of meat per year.
Raising rabbits for meat and fur is a good way to make money but only if you do it on a large scale, and it should be done as supplementary income only. The initial costs in setting-up is small, rabbits breed quickly and frequently, they have large litters and grow to a good marketable size in a very short time.
Rabbit meat is expensive because fryers are not able to be effectively fed in large groups, require a more expensive feed ration than most other livestock and processing costs are higher per pound of meat sold.
Unlike beef, pork or venison, rabbit meat does not have a special name, it is simply called, "rabbit meat." Despite it being a rarity on many North American menus, it is a very popular dish across different parts of the world. Rabbit meat is unique from other meats in that it is entirely white meat.
Rabbits can be kept outdoors all year round but ideally their resting area should be brought into a shed or unused garage with natural light and ventilation for the winter months or else protected with tarpaulin from bad weather. Also, an exercise run should always be available.
Damage to Plants
The most common damage rabbits inflict on lawns and yard is the havoc they wreak among both ornamental and edible plants. Rabbits have a widely varied diet and eat almost any young, tender plant, including berries, vegetables, grasses, bulbs and perennial and annual flowers.
According to Slow Food USA, “rabbit can produce six pounds of meat on the same amount of feed and water it takes a cow to produce just one pound.” The meat tastes a bit like chicken (though with a slightly stronger, meatier, earthier flavor), and it can be prepared similarly to chicken.
Although companion rabbits are capable of living 10 to 15 years, the vast majority of “meat” rabbits are killed at three months of age. Referred to as “fryers,” these baby rabbits weigh only 1.5 – 3.5 pounds. A small percentage are slaughtered at 8 months old or 4 pounds; they are known in the industry as “roasters.”
The reason people raise California and New Zealand rabbits for meat is that they are very good at growing to five pounds in 10-11 weeks. If you are growing rabbits and they only grow to three or four pounds in 10-12 weeks, then you should cull the breeding stock and replace it with better stock.
Answer: Two medium-size breeds, the New Zealand White (NZW) and the Californian, are the most important for meat production. They have white fur that is difficult to see if a few pieces are stuck to the carcass, and they have higher meat-to-bone ratios.
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