Getting some free rabbits - what do I do with them?

[sleuth]

My daughter has a friend at school whose family is giving us 2 meat rabbits, male and female - I can't remember what breed - because they're downsizing and want to add some new rabbits to their gene pool. I'm not really interested in raising rabbits for meat (don't like the taste, or the butchering aspect). I consented mainly because this would be our first "farm animal", we have young kids who need some chores, and the price was right.

My questions are other than regular feeding and a sheltered hutch, what kind of care do they require?
Secondly, how can I use these rabbits to make them earn their keep? Is the manure good for compost? Have my wife offer photos with bunnies every Easter? Is it worth it? Should I let them breed and sell bunnies? Is rabbit meat in demand such that I could sell baby rabbits for pets/meat? On CL I typically see live rabbits going for $10/ea or so.

TIA!

 

[tortoise]

Rabbit poo is awesome fertilizer. It can be applied directly to plants without composting it first.

Edited to add: Rabbits need protection from heat. Lots of ways to accomplish it, plan for it when you set up a hutch.

Don't breed unless you 1) don't mind butchering or 2) have a market to sell the kits. I had show/meat/fiber rabbits. I got the most sales because of the temperament of my rabbits, with show being the second reason for sales of rabbits. I did sell some fiber, but I was never able to sell for meat.

An alternative rabbit product to sell is "pinkies", live or frozen. They are baby rabbits, newborn to 5 days old. Pinkies are used for snake food. They sell for about $5 each, depending on size. The doe can be bred the day she kindles, and litter sizes should be 8 - 10. If you breed her year-round (not really great for her, btw) and sold all her pinkies you could extra her to bring in about $500/year. Keep in mind that larger pinkies are harder to sell - not that many people have large snakes. However, you'll need to check your state and local laws about this, it is technically illegal in my state (sales of rabbits under 8 weeks old are restricted here).

I think they'll earn their keep just in the value in teaching your children. I don't breed rabbits anymore, but kept one for my 5 year old son to take care of.

 

[pinkfox]

in terms of care, SHADE, rabbits can handle the cold fine as long as they are kept ry BUT they do NOT do well with heat (most males will loose fertility in temps over 75degrees!)
otherwise, youll have to clip nails regularly, they grow like crazy but care beyond that for general meat rabbits is MINIMAL. fresh water every day, a good base rabbit feed and hay (they need the fiber form the hay) and supliment with "garden waste" (clean grass clippings, the outer leaves of leaf lettuces, spinach, clover, turnip an beet greens, carrot tops ect.)
rabbits are exceptioanly easy keepers.

keep the male and female seperate to controlbreeding and dont breed unless as already mentioned you A: have a market (are you seing alot of baby bunnies for sale? if so the market might be saturate) or B: able to (or know someone who can) process them for YOUR freezer.
Selling rabbit meat is VERY touchy ground, in many states you cant unles the rabbits are prcessed in inspected facilities. some get around this by selling live rabbits and "processing for free" but generally youd be very limited in selling already processed abbit meat unles you have them butched and processed by a specialized facility.

baby "meat" bunnies unless pure bred californians or newzealands form show lines (most sold as meat rabbits are a mix of these 2 breeds) are a dime a dozen...so i wouldnt rely on "pet sales" outside of easter...even purebred show buns can be hard to sell...
theres also laws in place to keep private breeders from selling more than a limited number of buns to petstores too, its often a "well ill sell them to the petstore" line untill they find out in many states you cant...

in terms of what they are good for though:

rabbit manure is GOLD in the garden. rabbit poop is "cold" and doesnt need to be aged/composted before being used ont he garden so you can use it fresh out of the bunny!

rabbit meat for your own use is delicious! rabbit is very easy to butcher and one of the healthiest meat sources you can find!!!

save the pelts and stick em in the freezer, when you have enough tan them and ue or sell them, the craft stores sell craft pelts at $7-$10 a peice for normal rabbit fur!


I raise standard rex (like the minis only 10lbs lol) i sell some as pets and keep back some for meat, when i process i skin and am currently saving the pelts and will be tanning the hides eventually.
I LOVE my rabbits!
Plus there cute/fun to watch!

 

[sillychicken]

Another option is to find someone who feeds their dogs a raw diet.
We raise meat rabbits for our own consumption, but we can our rabbit meat. Let me tell ya, it's quite yummy this way!!

You also will need to keep an eye on their teeth. Make sure they are not too long or uneven. I give mine sticks from apple trees to knaw and keep their teeth short. good stemy grass forage also works.
You can give some table veggies too, just not a whole lot and keep an eye on the stools.

Rabbit droppings are wonderful! I put them in my house plants pots, cause there is little to no odor (rabbit pooh isn't offensive IMO).

You will also need to keep their cages cleaned. And they do shed, so the hair always ends up matting up in the grate of the cage where they like to sit and pee.
Not doing this could result in urine burn on their feet and hind end. So when you trim the nails, you should do a full body inspection, ears, eyes, teeth, feet, bottom and fur... for any problems before putting them back in their cages.

When you keep the buck separate from the doe, keep in a separate cage all together or use a 1" min space between two dividing walls. If you depend on a single wire wall to keep them separated, depend on getting babies....... they're "talented" that way!

A side note.. most breed meat rabbits are not handled a lot, so they may not make the best pets for your kids.