Outdoor Great source for low cost organic fertilizer.... think RABBITS!

[thetreeman]

Ive been raising rabbits for years, sell some for pets and also butcher some for meat. Its good to have a supply of no hormone, no antibiotic meat for the table. As an added bonus, they produce great fertilizer for my garden. It doesnt smell and can be used fresh, no need to compost it.

They are quiet, low odor, hardy, fun to play with and cheap to feed! Can be kept in just about any climate outdoors and can be litter box trained if you dont have a yard....

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you want to know more about keeping/breeding rabbits, this is a great forum dedicated to it.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/rabbits/

 

[SkatterBrayne]

I really like this idea. I will really consider doing this on my property.

How frequently do they require maintence (Cleaning, water, food) and what # of rabbits would you consider to be manageable?

 

[thetreeman]

Here is some more information I found. All manures contain trace elements also, which is a great bonus.

 

[thetreeman]

Im assuming you are planning to keep them outdoors in a temperate climate. Rabbits are very hardy but cannot be kept in direct sunlight. If you build a hutch, just putting a piece of sheet metal over the top will shade them during the heat of the day. They are more sensitive to excessive heat than they are to cold. I keep mine outdoors through the winter and we get to -20F fairly regularly with windchill much below that. I have never lost a rabbit to cold, but they do need some form of shelter when it is extremely cold outside. Just a wooden box with a hole that is large enough for them to hop in and out of is fine. If kept in freezing weather they do need fresh/liquid water at least once a day. I provide mine water in stainless bowls and just top them off with an inch or so of warm water on top of the ice from 1 plastic milk jug. Once the bowl is full of ice, I pour some warm water on the back side of the bowl and kock it on the outside of the cage so the frozen water falls out and start over with an inch or so on the bottom. Rabbits should be kept in individual cages as adults. They are easy to make out of wire and are easy to clean, elevate the cages above the ground a few feet and all the waste just falls out, just need to take the rabbits out a few times a year and hose the entire cage out with water. If you live in an area where small square hay bales are affordable, they are the best feed, but you will need to supplement with pellets, which are fortified with additional vitamins and minerals the rabbits need to be healthy. Where I live I can get 60lb square hay bales for about $3 each. 10 of them were plenty to last my rabbits the entire winter, I kept 9 adults. You can get gravity feeders that you can mount to the outside of the cages that you only have to fill about once a week if you provide pellets all the time(nursing or pregnant mothers). If you dont, just dump in a cup about every 3 days, along with giving them unlimited hay. Hay is important because rabbits teeth are similar to those of beaver, they grow constantly and they need to chew on roughage to keep them worn down. If they dont have dry grass/twigs/weeds to chew on, they will grow too long and cause a lot of problems. In the summer I have an automated, gravity fed watering system that uses 1/4 inch irrigation drip tubing that comes from an elevated 5gal bucket (kept in storage area above the cages) to provide water. I fill the bucket twice a week usually, depending on how much they are drinking. As far as how much work they are, it can be very minimal, depending upon if you set things up correctly to begin with. I spend more time with them than I need to because they are my 'pets' and some of them are let out of the cages to play with my dog when we are outside during the summer. Minimally, for the amount of rabbits I have, I probably spent about 10 minutes a day during the winter giving them food and water. If you are breeding and have young ones with their mothers that will increase some.

 

[thetreeman]

Good rabbit guide/info here.
http://permacultureactivist.net/articles/rabbits.htm

 

[thetreeman]

You can actually starve from eating several high protein/low fat meats, including venison and some birds also. Not because of lack of nutrients, but for lack of calories. I dont know anyone that would eat pure meat for a month or two at a time though...

To answer an earlier question, during non freezing weather, and with external gravity fed feeders on my cages, my rabbits are fine for about 4 days at a time without needing attention, when their food is loaded up. I tend to visit them every day tho, just because I enjoy it.