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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Raising Rabbits!?

I'm trying to decide if I should raise rabbits. With my dog and cat allergies I've been limited on the animal area. So recently my kids have let me know that they would love to have some rabbits. Of course they'd be outside. My dad used to raise them and we loved having them  around.  I ate my rabbits as a kid...though I don't remember much about that part. I've probably blocked it out of my mind.  This is a whole new area for me. Thankfully I have a rabbit source.

My buddy Darin Jensen down at AZRabbits.com has a great website on the subject. He also sells them along with all the supplies. So...here's my question to all of my homesteading friends. Do you raise rabbits? What are the pros and cons? Darin has information on everything I can possibly think of when it comes to rabbits. The only tool he doesn't have...is a mind maker-upper-tool.  So, thank you Darin for the outstanding rabbit resource!

Tell me your thoughts folks. Do you raise rabbits? Any experiences?

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess
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4 comments:

  1. aswesowFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:45 AM

    Yes. We keep miniature Lops. They have their burrows under the garden shed. They don't have any sort of intelligence, but their instinct is amazing! We have a little pen beside the shed. I think rabbits are a great livestock for town, I feel very badly for bunnies who live their lives in cages because they are so amazing when they are free. I think bunnies are a very poor choice for a pet, but they are a great lawn ornament/barnyard curiosity. They are fairly predator resistant, they can multiply fast! I'm not inclined to eat them. I've eaten cottontails before, I'd imagine domestic bunny is better, but we have access to plenty of great beef, pork and chicken

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  2. StacyFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:47 AM

    I would raise chickens instead. They are easy and useful.

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  3. KristiFebruary 2, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    I agree with the first poster, that rabbits are much happier when they have an out-of-cage area to burrow. We had a bunny that loved, loved, loved to dig and burrow.

    I also agree with Stacy, that chickens make great pets. You don't need a rooster to have eggs, and you'd be surprised how tame and full-of-personality hens can be. And of course, there's always the convenience of abundant fresh eggs!

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  4. mlebagleyFebruary 3, 2012 at 7:51 AM

    I heard that rabbit droppings make great feed for worms (when you raise worms in the worm bins). Do you have much of a market for fishing worms in AZ? Might be a fun side business for the boys to be involved in...and I'm fairly certain that they could pass off a merit badge or 2 as well!

    Wouldn't burrowing bunnies cause problems for the yard...much like gophers do? I'd keep them in a cage, but I'd have to eat them. Which means I'd have to kill and skin them too... chickens are looking better and better. You can NOT successfully housetrain a rabbit.

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