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How to “Colony Raise” Rabbits for Meat
When you’re concerned with elevating rabbits for meat, one choice to contemplate is making a sustainable “rabbit colony.” Colony raised rabbits are free to roam, dig, burrow, breed, and eat at will inside an outlined space, bounded by a fence that may hold the rabbits in an predators out. It’s a considerably completely different expertise (for you, and the rabbits), from elevating rabbits in cages, stacked on high of one another.
On this article, I’m going to share my experiences colony elevating rabbits — why I made a decision to do it, how I arrange my rabbit colony, and what my expertise has been up to now. First:
Why Colony Elevate Rabbits?
When planning any homesteading mission, my objective is the pursuit of “permaculture,” outlined, by Wikipedia, as “an method to land administration and settlement design that adopts preparations noticed in flourishing pure ecosystems.” Mainly, if we’re going to develop crops and lift animals, why not do it as naturally as doable in order that the operation prospers organically and self-manages?
I’ve beforehand raised meat rabbits in cages, and it was not a nice expertise. The cages received filthy and stayed filthy regardless of arduous weekly cleanings. The rabbits didn’t look completely happy. I needed to regularly trim the rabbits claws, un-worn by common burrowing. This time round, I needed to attempt one thing completely different.
A rabbit colony provided the next engaging benefits:
- Pure Atmosphere: A colony permits the rabbits to reside their finest pure life, burrowing, interacting with one another, expressing their very own social dynamics, and having the “actual life” rabbit expertise.
- Diminished Workload: I by no means needed to scrub out rabbit cages once more. Rabbits are naturally tidy animals (in contrast to chickens), and will be anticipated to “run an orderly operation” by themselves with out a variety of human upkeep.
- More healthy Rabbits: Theoretically, the lowered stress and elevated house in a colony surroundings contribute to more healthy rabbits. This, in flip, might end in higher copy charges and better meat yields
In fact, many individuals have reservations and cite potential drawbacks, summarized beneath:
- Uncontrolled Breeding: Opponents of rabbit colonies feared rabbits would over-breed, hurting females, and inflicting genetic issues if sibling rabbits had been free to breed collectively.
- Civil Struggle: Many individuals feared that rabbits would battle and harm one another if free to roam and work together at will.
- Lack of Protection In opposition to predators: Regardless of their drawbacks, cages are fairly good at conserving out most animals that need to harm a rabbit. Would the rabbits grow to be fast prey with out the protection of cages?
I made a decision to construct a rabbit colony that realized the above advantages, with out attracting the potential downsides. Right here’s 6 steps I took to arrange my rabbit colony.
Step 1: Construct a Rabbit-Proof Fence.
I started my working by establishing a 50’X30′ pen with wooden posts and inventory fencing, originating round a 8’x4′ shed. Subsequent, I dug a trench alongside the inside perimeter and buried extra inventory fencing 18 inches beneath floor, filling within the trench with rock-heavy backfill. The buried fence overlapped the above-ground fence for a seamless barrier. Then I overlaid the inside fence with chickenwire to maintain the infants from squeezing out between the squares of the inventory fencing. It appears to be like like one thing from the Maginot line:
As additional predator deterrence, I ran an electrical fence wire alongside the highest, added a scarecrow, some blinking predator eyes, and a few 3D birds. I additionally use a photo voltaic mobile recreation digital camera to observe them once I’m out of city:
Step 2: Select the Proper Breed of Rabbit
I needed to get the kind of rabbit that’s finest fitted to colony elevating — a rabbit that’s social and chill, to keep away from riots and civil disturbance in my colony. After a variety of analysis, I opted for the American Chinchilla. The American Chinchilla is taken into account an excellent meat rabbit, they usually are likely to get alongside properly with one another, fostering a harmonious colony surroundings.
Step 3: Determine on Colony Construction:
You might want to decide whether or not you need to hold does and bucks collectively or separate them. Maintaining them collectively has the benefit of not requiring two separate colonies with their very own unbiased infrastructure. Nonetheless, when you hold men and women collectively, you gained’t have the ability to management breeding.
I made a decision to threat conserving all people collectively. To mitigate dangers, I began with a breeding trio of 1 buck and two does. This splits the eye of the buck and provides every doe a break whereas the buck pays consideration to the opposite. To stop inbreeding of offspring, I harvest my rabbits fairly early — round 10 weeks — earlier than they’re susceptible to having a genetically broken liter.
I carefully monitored my colony initially to ensure this is able to work. Luckily, I used to be fortunate sufficient that my buck is fairly chill and doesn’t harass the does 24/7. Neither does he go after the youthful rabbits. This is perhaps regular, or I may need simply gotten fortunate. If this adjustments, I’m able to put him in his personal pen, however I haven’t wanted to take action but.
Step 4: Present a Excessive-Capability Water Supply
The entire level of permaculture is agriculture with out the fixed want for human intervention. I didn’t need to be bringing my rabbits water daily — I needed them to have their very own renewable water provide. Since I don’t have a stream, I opted for a rain water assortment system. I arrange a 50 gallon rain barrel that collects water from the rabbit’s shed, and feeds a row of rabbit watering nipples.
This works nice late spring-early fall. As soon as it drops beneath freezing, I’ve to make use of 32 ounce heated water bottles from Tractor Provide:
These DO require filling daily, however at the very least it’s simply in the course of the coldest months.
Step 5: Provide a Lengthy-Time period Feeding Resolution
Equally, my objective was to keep away from filling the rabbit feeder daily. To perform this, I received a Moultrie 30-Gallon Tripod Deer feeder. Then, I modified it by eradicating the underside legs, and burying the highest legs till the three feeding ports are simply over the bottom. The three feeding ports are simply the suitable measurement for the rabbits to get their heads in and assist themselves:
The 30 gallon drum can simply maintain a 50 lb bag of rabbit feed, and this may final the rabbits for weeks.
I used to be somewhat anxious about them overeating or losing feed, however this hasn’t occurred — my rabbits appear to self regulate, and solely eat when wanted. They in all probability eat greater than rabbits with rigorously rationed portioned — however I’ve to work much less, so I’ll name it a win.
Step 6: Have a Plan for Butchering/Meat Processing
Don’t be caught with no plan if you abruptly go from 3 rabbits to twenty rabbits. Until your colony is big, you gained’t have the ability to help that many grownup rabbits, and that you must be able to course of them at about 10 weeks, or once they attain 3-5 kilos. It may be unhappy and exhausting to kill a fluffy bunny, so familiarize your self with humane slaughtering methods, and make certain you may have it in you earlier than you begin. When you discover you’re unable to kill Peter Rabbit, you’ll be in a state of affairs the place that you must offload rabbits quick earlier than they overrun issues, and whereas there’s a wholesome demand for rabbits, it ebbs and flows. Craigslist is probably not there that will help you if you want it.
What to Anticipate/My Expertise
My rabbit colony is a couple of 12 months previous. After I first launched my breeding trio collectively, the does received pregnant instantly, and in a month, I had 16 bunnies. I misplaced one, bought one, and ended up harvesting 14. I received about 20 kilos of meat from that first litter, which is sort of as a lot as you may get from a goat or lamb that takes considerably longer to mature. It’s similar to the yield from meat chickens — however in my expertise — was considerably much less work. Chickens don’t have nice housekeeping habits, and rooster coups must be mucked out often. My rabbits, then again, hardly ever poop of their shed, and are superb housekeepers. After a 12 months, I haven’t needed to clear something. To me, that makes them considerably extra worthwhile than chickens.
After the primary liter, the does received off monitor, and now their liters come on alternating months, which supplies me somewhat respiration house so I’m not always butchering. Roughly each different month, it’s time to reap, and rabbits have been our predominant supply of chicken — we solely often eat rooster any extra.
My 50 gallon water supply and 30 gallon feeder have labored nice, giving me the pliability to go away the rabbit colony for days at a time — within the fall, we went on a household trip for 10 days (monitoring the rabbits with a distant digital camera), they usually had been totally self sustaining whereas we had been gone, feeding and watering themselves.
Once we’re round, the rabbits love to scale back the price of their feed by consuming kitchen scraps:
. . . and even cuttings from bushes, weeds, and backyard leftovers!
To this point, it’s been considered one of my most profitable agricultural operations. When you’re searching for a homesteading win, think about a rabbit colony!
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