Rabbit meat
Rabbit meat
Does anyone have experience of breeding rabbits for meat? Is it worth it or should i just try the wild ones that eat my veg garden?!
- Mainer in Exile
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 778
- Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:06 pm
- Location: Middle Franconia, Germany
I'm raising rabbits for meat, but only because here in Germany, I'd have to go through too much bureaucracy to shoot the wild ones, and there are not many wild rabbits here in the area anyway.
If you can, it is easier and a lot less work to simply shoot wild ones, rather than breeding, feeding, and cleaning cages of the domestic variety.
If you can, it is easier and a lot less work to simply shoot wild ones, rather than breeding, feeding, and cleaning cages of the domestic variety.
- Mainer in Exile
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 778
- Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:06 pm
- Location: Middle Franconia, Germany
Our rabbits are mixed breed rabbits, bred for meat. I've just started with them. We have two in kit does, the first due in about a week, the other about 5 days after that.
I hadn't really thought about starving them at all. Most of teh rabbits I've gutted so far have been wild rabbits I shot back in the homeland. Rabbits aren't particularly messy to gut, in my experience. Fish are much worse.
I hadn't really thought about starving them at all. Most of teh rabbits I've gutted so far have been wild rabbits I shot back in the homeland. Rabbits aren't particularly messy to gut, in my experience. Fish are much worse.
-
- Living the good life
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:25 pm
- Location: New Zealand
- Contact:
We have been raising rabbits for meat for about 5 years now, Standard Rexes, which have a god meat to bone ratio, and there's the added bonus of their lovely pelts (the REAL Velveteen Rabbits!). Very easy and clean to gut, even with a full stomach. Takes about half the time of a chicken from kill to pot.
Cheers
Andrea
NZ
Cheers
Andrea
NZ
-
- Living the good life
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:25 pm
- Location: New Zealand
- Contact:
- mauzi
- Barbara Good
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:37 am
- Location: New England area - Australia
- Contact:
meat rabbits
hi, we breed meat rabbits (in Australia), Californian and Flemish crosses at the moment. Not sure about your wild rabbits but here the wild ones are very gamey tasting whereas the domestic meat rabbits are more like chicken.
They really are an incredible source of constant meat for the small holder - easy to keep, feed - oh and of course breed prolifically :D The pelts are really useful as well. As already said, faster to the table than chickens and really easy to do. Good luck!
They really are an incredible source of constant meat for the small holder - easy to keep, feed - oh and of course breed prolifically :D The pelts are really useful as well. As already said, faster to the table than chickens and really easy to do. Good luck!
i'd imagine in the UK - if you have the option to catch rabbit (i.e permission from land owner etc) then it would seem like false economy to breed them, when there are so many wild ones out there that could be caught and eaten. - i could be wrong though.
|You can't feel lonely with nature as your companion| millican dalton
-
- Living the good life
- Posts: 235
- Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:40 pm
- Location: Sunny South Wales
My parents used to breed rabbits in our back garden when I was a little girl, I useds to love them, the other day a friend of ours brought us a rabbit home and we had it for dinner last week my 4yr old thought it was amazing to eat rabbit and took it to school in sandwiches the next day just to freak her friends out
-
- Living the good life
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:25 pm
- Location: New Zealand
- Contact:
We feed ours on rabbits pellets from Westons (in Rangiora), and grass, herbs, and trees, hay available at all times for roughage. About 1/3 of their diet is the pellets year round, with a bit more when the kits really start to grow. We have heaps of things to wild-gather for them, so we do, and they love it.
Cheers
Andrea
NZ
Cheers
Andrea
NZ
- Sky
- Living the good life
- Posts: 482
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:49 am
- Location: Eyrewell Canterbury NZ
I'm a rubbish shot and so it seems is the hubby as he's never managed to hit one yet.possum wrote:Sky, get yourself a .22 air rifle, you don't need a license and as long as you get a high powered one you will kill bunies with one shot, you are bound to have loads. You could also go shooting possums as well, nice meat from them.
I was thinking if we bred our own they'd be free of parasites etc too and I'd feel better about serving them up to the family.
- Sky
- Living the good life
- Posts: 482
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:49 am
- Location: Eyrewell Canterbury NZ
Thanks for the info Andrea :-)farmerdrea wrote:We feed ours on rabbits pellets from Westons (in Rangiora), and grass, herbs, and trees, hay available at all times for roughage. About 1/3 of their diet is the pellets year round, with a bit more when the kits really start to grow. We have heaps of things to wild-gather for them, so we do, and they love it.
Cheers
Andrea
NZ