Meat Rabbits

[Soybean]

I live in Richmond, Va and I have not posted in a while. I still haven't gotten that farm I want, but in the meantime, I am working on becoming a little more self sufficient in our little 3 bedroom townhome in the suburbs. I have began breeding my own rats, mice, and gerbils as food sources for the snakes and ferrets. Eventually, as my colonies grow, I will also switch the cats and dog over to eating whole prey and I will be able to produce their food. So for now I'm breeding mice and rats, and I just started up with gerbils.

If my husband and I can begin renting a house that allows me to have animals, I hope to begin breeding meat rabbits as well. So I suppose the first step is finding a place, but once we find that, I need to figure out what breed to get and how to house/feed/breed them. And I want to raise them humanely. So I guess some general info is needed. Anyone want to share their knowledge?

 

[lklisk]

Hi good for you. ( I must tell you that I can not spell) It took me a long time to get my little homestead. I had wanted it all of my life. I think that I should tel you it did not all work out the first time. But I did not give up.
I have always wanted to grow my own food, infact I have an overwhelming desire to grow my own food. My goal is to grow meat and vegies with out cost to myself.
Rabbits are a perfect food to grow. I think they eat less than chickens, but the books say that they eat more.
I have been an animal lover all of my life, so eating my animals took some getting used to. My desier to grow my own food is all that kept me going.
Rabbits eat things that we do not, like dandilions, clover. ect. ect. So all spring, summer and fall I gather greens for them. Some they eat fresh and some I dry and keep for winter.
Dandilions are high in proteen and help mama rabbits make milk
If you live in a place that does not have wild dandilions you can grow them yourself.
I did not mean to go on and on but rabbits are so easy to raise and produce lots of meat.
My favorit meat breed is the new zealand. I am poor so I started with scrub bunnies. But I bought a good new zealand buck and built my breeders like that.
I enjoy every minet I spend with my rabbits, except maybe truging through the mountains of snow this past winter!
I have to go my hubby and I are going out to eat. Something we hardly ever do. keep on dreaming, never give up, you will get there some day. As you can see I love to talk about homesteading any one can reach me by e-mail click the e-mail link under my name on the left

Edited to remove e-mail from open forum