Rabbit Cages How to Build
1 - 20 of 38 Posts
Joined
·
640 Posts
Are you going to breed rabbits as a stock animal? If so... care to share any plans with us... like your ratio of males to females, estimated % culling for meat, feed requirements, heating plans for over the winter, etc. Basically, anything that you think would help out others if they wanted to get into it.
On a side thought: I had a friend that kept two solely for their pellets. He had their cage over his earthworm box... and used the pellets to fertilize the soil for the worms (although I think the soil was mostly broken down rabbit pellets and not dirt). He grew huge nightcrawlers (about 10-12 inches long) that he sold to fisherman at a local lake each morning from spring to fall and did pretty well supplementing his income.
On the meat idea.... it might be cool to create a few how-to threads that people can add their experiences to. Ex: I got into falconry for a bit (no... I don't have my own bird right now). But... my friends were into raising quail and pigeons as meat for their birds over the summer when they didn't fly them. These birds were easy to raise and would breed in the pens they were kept in... and could be a great source of meat as well. Plus... they took very little room, were kept alive with a 100w light bulb through the winter, and didn't take much seed to keep healthy... especially if you grow a bit of seed to supplement.
On a side thought: I had a friend that kept two solely for their pellets. He had their cage over his earthworm box... and used the pellets to fertilize the soil for the worms (although I think the soil was mostly broken down rabbit pellets and not dirt). He grew huge nightcrawlers (about 10-12 inches long) that he sold to fisherman at a local lake each morning from spring to fall and did pretty well supplementing his income.
On the meat idea.... it might be cool to create a few how-to threads that people can add their experiences to. Ex: I got into falconry for a bit (no... I don't have my own bird right now). But... my friends were into raising quail and pigeons as meat for their birds over the summer when they didn't fly them. These birds were easy to raise and would breed in the pens they were kept in... and could be a great source of meat as well. Plus... they took very little room, were kept alive with a 100w light bulb through the winter, and didn't take much seed to keep healthy... especially if you grow a bit of seed to supplement.
Joined
·
2,218 Posts
when i was younger, grew up rual texas on a ranch, we had a rabbitry. we had the rabbits over a box to also farm earthworms for sale to the fisherman that went to the lake near by and also for the gardens and chicken feed 
build them high so you dont hunch to get into them but not too high to make it uncomfortable to reach into should you need to clean or if the doe has the babies ont the wires instead of her welping box. always have wood or a carpet peice about 1x1 feet for the dont get sore hawks from sitting on the wire all the time, this also keeps animals from being able to attack and pull them a piece at a time from underneath. heigth make it important to maximize the odds of not getting killed from varmits or preditors. and easy to clean under ifn you dont use the underneath for earth worm farming.
build your frame, get chris crossed wire, make sure its not too close so the poopy goes through. also make sure your doors are big enough to pull the rabbit out for breeding, care etc... they like to spred their feet and legs out to make it difficult to remove them. make sure the door closes at several different points, not just at the hindges.
rabbits are great meat and make for great pelts. and the gestastion is quick and plentiful, so its a great animal to farm.
How do I...build a rabbit hutch? - The Survival Homesteader
hope this helps its the one i found with the most basic and valuable info.
what a great score on the wood. i hope i got the msg right. that you are asking... or maybey its ground work for a great thread as you as the teacher... idonno
build them high so you dont hunch to get into them but not too high to make it uncomfortable to reach into should you need to clean or if the doe has the babies ont the wires instead of her welping box. always have wood or a carpet peice about 1x1 feet for the dont get sore hawks from sitting on the wire all the time, this also keeps animals from being able to attack and pull them a piece at a time from underneath. heigth make it important to maximize the odds of not getting killed from varmits or preditors. and easy to clean under ifn you dont use the underneath for earth worm farming.
build your frame, get chris crossed wire, make sure its not too close so the poopy goes through. also make sure your doors are big enough to pull the rabbit out for breeding, care etc... they like to spred their feet and legs out to make it difficult to remove them. make sure the door closes at several different points, not just at the hindges.
rabbits are great meat and make for great pelts. and the gestastion is quick and plentiful, so its a great animal to farm.
How do I...build a rabbit hutch? - The Survival Homesteader
hope this helps its the one i found with the most basic and valuable info.
what a great score on the wood. i hope i got the msg right. that you are asking... or maybey its ground work for a great thread as you as the teacher... idonno
Joined
·
640 Posts
Thanks for the info Shotlady. I also bookmarked the website for future review... it looked quite interesting.
Only problems with rabbits is the no fat issue. Rabbit starvation will rule a man faster than scurvy. I personally would go for cuy (guinea pigs) as livestock because they put on a good layer of fat no matter what. They are also low cost and hardy. We have about five pens of cuy with one whole ready to eat (like 50 head)
Joined
·
640 Posts
This will sound funny.... but do guinea pigs breed like rabbits? In less humorous terms: What's their reproductive rate? And... do they do well on natural vegetation like rabbits or do I have to keep a stock of feed pellets on hand as well?
In less humorous terms: What's their reproductive rate? And... do they do well on natural vegetation like rabbits or do I have to keep a stock of feed pellets on hand as well?
Joined
·
640 Posts
OK... the guinea pig idea was interesting... so I looked them up and ran across an article about 7 animals that are great for business. 5 are great food ideas.... and a sixth, the fainting goat, eemed interesting both as a meat source and because it can be mixed with more valuable stock animals... and if a predator shows up... it will faint and sacrifice itself... allowing more valuable stock to get away. The seventh was a glowing fish for aquariums.... and has no practical value... although it hinted at some ability to detect toxins.... so maybe more research is required on that one.
Here's the link to the article.
Here's the link to the article.
Yes in fact they breed faster than rabbits and they grow faster. Andean ppl eat them as a staple food like chickens. They will eat bread, grains, grass, vegetable scraps, just about anything nontoxic you can give them. Ours eat as much as a full grown horse. We feed them lawn trimmings and roadside grasses easily found anywhere PLUS all the bio feedstock from the two mini farms we operate. They ate all our extra okra and corn stalks and everything. Only thing is DO NOT feed them lots of iceberg lettuce or anything resembling and onion. Onion can make them sick. Our populations have exploded and it's about time to start fire roasting them with a hit of lime salt, pepper and cumin. And yes, they taste like sweet roast pork with crunchy crispy skin.This will sound funny.... but do guinea pigs breed like rabbits?
Joined
·
640 Posts
Wow... that sounds so mouthwatering right now. Did you have any issues with convincing your spouse or kids that what we have always considered to be pets are in fact food? Or... do you do the slaughtering privately. I ask because some people are a little weird... my mother won't eat anything she has seen alive. We'd slaughter our cattle and have nice juicy steaks... and she'd go buy one at the store so she could eat with us. I'd go fishing and she'd buy fish at the store so she could eat with us.
My spouse isn't as squeamish... but she sees a clear line between pets and food. For example... she is adamant that she would never eat a horse, cat, or dog. Hmmm... maybe if it was flavored with a dash of starvation.... that might change her mind.
My spouse isn't as squeamish... but she sees a clear line between pets and food. For example... she is adamant that she would never eat a horse, cat, or dog. Hmmm... maybe if it was flavored with a dash of starvation.... that might change her mind.
GOOD article holy shiznit do you see those rabbits? I seen shepherds smaller than that the things head s huge! I been looking at keeping goats awhile now but that mini cow idea I really like.
Joined
·
640 Posts
I agree... I'm in no position to own livestock now... but have been researching options. That mini cow is something my spouse and kids could manage. And... my wife does want goats. I'm not so sure about the super cow though.
Joined
·
1,829 Posts
From my first post, I am going to post photos along the way as well as looking for ideas from others (thank you who have posted already). Leon, I've been considering coy since day one I have met you and when I watched Andrew Zimmerman eat one on Bizarre Foods. For whatever reason though I still couldn't eat one at this point in my life! LOL! Unless my life depended on it though of course.
Joined
·
640 Posts
Well... I just had an interesting conversation with my wife. She sees Horses as "pets", rabbits as "sort of pets... but only if you hold and pet them", and Cuy as "little rats that should never be pets... and that she would eat one if I skin it first." So.... I'm making progress.
Joined
·
640 Posts
Really? And this is a serious question... not sarcasm.
OH yes, you want to dip it in boiling water for a little under a minute and the hair just wipes away. The skin is part of the delicacy. They cook for a long time for their size, allowing the skin to get crisp and the fat under it to integrate with the meat. Generally they are skewered and roasted over indirect heat for about 90 mins for a big one. You CAN just skin and grill them but I am betting the Peruvians know their cuy. I'd do it the way they do it.
Joined
·
640 Posts
Wow... cool video... so... boil first then fry to crisp up the skin and add flavor. I guess you could do the same with boil and grill... or boil and bake. And I notice they pieced it out before cooking.... that must be because they were going to fry it. But... I guess I could keep it whole if I were to roast it. Of course... I've never been a big fan of eating head meat. Although... my neighbor from Trinidad lives almost exclusively on curried pig heads, rice, and black eyed peas. I guess pig heads are cheaper... and he is in his 70's and on a budget.
Joined
·
2,218 Posts
also keep in mind burros/jack asses are great herd animals and guard a herd jealously from wolves, big cats and coyotes bears etc.
goats for some reason also calm a herd. thats why you regularly see them in race horse stables. if you can swing it and have a herd animal or chickens or anything like that a burrow is a fine addition.
goats for some reason also calm a herd. thats why you regularly see them in race horse stables. if you can swing it and have a herd animal or chickens or anything like that a burrow is a fine addition.
Joined
·
640 Posts
I have enough jack asses around... but a burro is interesting. Plus... I live at the base of a mountain range.... and imagine burros would make excellent pack animals in this rough terrain. Good Idea... thanks.
On a non-humorous note... my understanding is that a jackass is a hybrid can be rather stubborn and hard to work with... especially for the inexperienced. I'll look into the pros/cons of donkeys/burros/jackasses and see what the experts say. Thanks again.
but a burro is interesting. Plus... I live at the base of a mountain range.... and imagine burros would make excellent pack animals in this rough terrain. Good Idea... thanks.On a non-humorous note... my understanding is that a jackass is a hybrid can be rather stubborn and hard to work with... especially for the inexperienced. I'll look into the pros/cons of donkeys/burros/jackasses and see what the experts say. Thanks again.
1 - 20 of 38 Posts
