New here, too….

[FarmerSchaff]

I am anxious to learn everything! My husband and I have been homesteading for several years now with chickens, garden and canning. We are now wanting to venture into breeding meat rabbits for ourselves. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Hi, everyone

 

[Mini Horses]

Welcome. There are several rabbit raisers on here. They'll answer questions for you, give advice, etc. Rabbits can produce a lot of meat in a short time, with limited space

 

[FarmerSchaff]

Awesome! That one of the reasons we want to expand into raising them. We have a decent amount of acreage, but don’t want to clear any of it for larger livestock.

 

[SageHill]

Welcome from So Cal

 

[Finnie]

Welcome from Central Indiana!

 

[Baymule]

Hanging wire cages are the way to go. They need to be hung in a barn or shed, preferably in a shady area, because of summer heat. Some people use stacking wire cages and clean the trays. Some even put them in small buildings with an air conditioner for summer.

I do not have rabbits now, but did many years ago. I had a barn, closed in on 2 sides with metal, strong woven wire on 2 sides for ventilation. In winter, one wire side was covered in plastic. The cages hung from rafters and were wired together for stability. I had an attached chicken coop that I could open or close them out. The chickens scratched under the cages for dropped feed, fly larva and whatever else they found. They kept the manure turned and practically no smell.

The chickens had to be taught not to get on top of the cages, a long lightweight pole did the trick. Chickens can have mites, rabbits can get ear mites. A monthly eye dropper of mineral oil in the rabbits ears was usually sufficient to keep ear mites away.

I had a small table for placing a rabbit on for examination, grooming or any type of medical treatment.

In winter, I used automotive aluminum shield drop lights with a 60 watt bulb over the open top nest boxes to keep new borns warm. Wires went UP over the rafters out of reach of the rabbits. Dont know what kind of warming light you’d use now. A heat lamp would be too hot!

Read the rabbit forums. Select a topic and start reading. Ask questions and we’ll do our best to answer.