Rabbi

tRear
ingGui
dei
nes

Rai
si
ngRabbi
tsf
orPr
ofi
t*

Al
lyouneedt
oKnowaboutFeedi
ng,
cagesandcar
e.

Raisingrabbi
tsformeatandf uri
sagoodwayt omakemoneybutonl yifyoudoi tonalarge
scale,anditshouldbedoneassuppl ementaryincomeonly.Theini
ti
alcostsinsett
ing-
upis
smal l
,rabbi
tsbreedqui
cklyandfrequentl
y,theyhavelar
gelit
ter
sandgr owt oagood
mar ketabl
esizeinaveryshortti
me.Howev er,i
tisafull
timejobwithdail
yrabbitcareandgood
feedingneeded.

Successf
ulRabbi
tRai
singmeansDet
ermi
ningaMar
ket

Li
keanybusi
ness,ify
ouar ewanti
ngt omakeapr of
itwit
hrabbitsyoureall
yneedt
oassessthe
market
.Doyourhomewor kfi
rst
,beforemakinganinvestmenttoseeiftherei
samarketand
wheret
hemarketis.I
sthereamar ketforr
abbitmeat,r
abbitf
urorboth?

Oncey ouhaveest
abli
shedwhethert
herei
samar ketornot,f
indoutwher eyouwi l
lbeabl
eto
slaughtert
heani
mals.Someslaught
erhouseswil
lexpectyoutotranspor
ttheliveani
malsto
them.Andsomet i
mesy oucanfi
ndalocalbut
cherwhowi l
lbeabletoslaughteranddresst
he
rabbit
s.

Rabbi
tRai
singandChoosi
ngt
her
ightRabbi
tBr
eed

Oncey ouhaveestablishedyourrabbitmar ketandhav efoundoutl

etstosel
lto,
youwil
lneedto
fi
ndt heper
fectrabbi
tf oryourcl
imat e.Mostr abbit
swillt
oler
atecool
erweather
,butt
hosewho
l
iveinamor etemper ateareawill
beabl etobebr ed4timesay eari
fyouarekeepi
ngNZWhi t
es.
Chinchil
l
aRexr abbi
ts, keptf
orfur,usuall
ygivebi r
thtwiceayear.

Al
thoughtherearemor
ethan60r
abbi
tbr
eedsandv
ari
eti
es,
mostoft
hesecanbedi
vi
dedi
nto3
di
ffer
entgroups:

1.Smal
lBr
eedst
hatwei
ghl
i
ttl
ethana2poundsf
ull
ygr
own,
suchast
hePol
i
shr
abbi
t.

2.Medi
um Br
eedsthathaveanaverageadul
twei
ghtofabout10pounds.Rabbi
tsi
nthi
s
cat
egor
yaretheNewZealand,Cal
if
orniaandPal
omina.

3.Lar
geBr
eedst
hathav
eanav
erageadul
twei
ghtof14pounds.

Goodpr
ofi
tsr
eal
l
ycomedownt
ost
art
ingwi
thagoodbr
eed.
GoodDual
-Pur
poseRabbi
tBr
eeds

Oneofthemostpopul arrabbitsf
orr
aisingrabbit
sonacommer ci
alscal
eistheNewZealand
whit
erabbit,whichisnotf r
om NewZeal and,despi
teit
sname,butf
rom America.I
thasgood
whit
efurandagoodper centageoff
lesht obone.Ther
efor
etheNewZealandWhi tei
sagood
dual
-purposerabbit.Othergooddual-purposerabbi
tsaret
heAmericanChi
nchill
aandthe
Cali
for
nianRabbi t.

Rabbi
tBr
eedsf
orFur

Fort
hoser
aisi
ngr
abbi
tsf
ort
hei
rfurt
hent
he

Angor
aRabbitandt
heRexRabbitsarebr
eedst
hatarebestsuit
edforthi
spurposeandf
etch
goodpri
ces,
especi
all
ytheChi
nchil
l
aRexandotherRexbreedsli
ketheCast
orRexandthe

Whi
teRexRabbi
ts.

Onet
hingtor
ememberthoughist
hatwher
ethetur
naroundti
mef ormeatr
abbi
tsi
sabout2
mont
hs, f
urr
abbi
tsar
ekeptfor3-
5monthsbef
orebei
ngslaught
ered.

Rabbi
tRai
singandLookf
orGoodRabbi
tBr
eedi
ngSt
ock

YourNewZeal
andwhi
ter
abbi
tshoul
dhav
eal
owsetbody
,deepshoul
der
s,andshor
tneck,
legs
andears.

Yourrabbi
tswill
conti
nuet omakemoneyf oryouaslongasy oumai nt
aingoodbr eedi
ngstock.
Theref
ore,notal
lyourrabbi
tswill
besenttothesl
aughterhouse.Yourbreederswi l
lsoonneed
repl
acingandyourli
tt
ersshouldbeexaminedforbr
eedingpotenti
al.Thesethenshoul dbekept
backandusedasbr eedingstockwhenyouneedtoreplaceorincr
easey ourstock.

Rabbi
tRai
sing,
TheDoeandherKi
tt
ens

AgoodNewZeal andwhi t
edoecanbebr edattheageof6mont hsandifcondi
ti
onsareideal
shecanbebred4t i
mesay ear
.Br
eedingdoesareusual
lykeptfor2year
sbefor
et heyar
e
sl
aught
ered.Onaveragetheycangiv
ebi r
thto80youngay ear
.Thebuckmaybebr edupto7
ti
mesaweekef f
ectivel
y.Hecanbeusedf ormati
ngattheageof7mont hs.

They oungarebor nwithi

n28–31day sofmat ingandanor malrabbitli
tt
erisaround6-8kitt
ens
butcanr angefrom twotot wel
ve.Ther abbit
sshoul dbekeptuntil
theywei ghabout1.8-
2kg
eachbef oresenttobebut cher
ed.Thisnor mallyt
akesabout2mont hs.Howev er,
oneshould
al
sobeawar et hatbythetimetherabbitisbutcheredanddresseditwillhavelostabout33%of
i
tsoriginalweight.Thebiggert
hebr eed,themor elossther
ewillbe,somet i
mesasmuchas45%.
Thereforea3kgr abbi
tbeforebei
ngbut cheredwi l
lweighabout2kgaf terbeingbutcher
ed.

Theot
heradv
antageofrai
singrabbi
tsi
sthatt
heycanbebr
edthr
oughoutt
heyearbr
inginga
st
eadyi
ncome.Apersonont hei
rownwithnoext
rahel
pcaneasi
l
ymanaget ol
ookafter500
does.However
,mostpeopl
ewhoraiser
abbi
tsf
orprof
itasabacky
ardvent
ureoper
atemuch
small
erf
arms.However
,evenwor
kingwit
h100doeswill
bri
nginaheal
thyandst
eadymonthl
y
i
ncome.

Justbecausey ouarerai
singrabbi
tsforprofi
tdoesn'
tmeant hatdon'
thavet
ogivethem t
he
samet reatmentyouwouldifitwer
eapet .Infact
,becausetheseanimal
sarethely
nchpinto
yourprofitt
heyshouldbegivenextr
acareandat tent
ion.Themostimport
antisofcour
se
housi
ngandf ood.

Rabbi
tRai
singandHousi
ngy
ourRabbi
ts

Housingwill
probabl
ybey ourmostexpensi v
eout l
ay .Thereisalwaysthepossibi
li
tyofbuy ing
secondhandcages,ormaki ngyourown.Ther earesomer abbitbr
eederswhohangt hecagesi n
unusedsheds,andotherswhopl acethecagesout side,undersomeoldt ree.However ,
ifyou
areseri
ousaboutrai
singrabbit
sf ormeatandpr of
it,thenyoushouldthinkaboutraisingthem in
acontrol
ledenvi
ronment,asthi
swi ll
giveyouabet terfeed-t
o-meatconv ersi
on.

Rabbi
tsneedplent
yofli
ghtandfreshai
r.Thei
rhut
chescanbesimplest
ructur
esofwoodand
wir
e.Oneprobl
em withwoodhowev er
,ist
hatmanyrabbi
tswhohaveacloseencount
erwi
th
woodaresuscepti
blet
oearmites.

Rabbit
sshoul
dhavear oofthatprotectsthem fr
om thesunasar abbi
t'sf
urshouldnotbe
exposedt
othesunifyouar erai
singrabbitsforfur
.Also,t
her
eshouldbeacanv ascur
tai
nthat
canbedroppedovert
hecasest opr eventchi
lli
ngwindsandrainfrom ent
eri
ng.Inthehot
summermont hsaspri
nklersyst
em canbepl acedont her
ooftocoolthehutchesdown.

Ther abbithutchesshouldbe10f eetsquar

einspaceforeachrabbit.I
ndiv
idualhut
chescanbe
madeusi ngthefollowi
ngdimensions:4ftx2.5ftx2ft.I
fyouliv
ei nar
eawher eyouhavecold
wintersthent hetop,si
desandbacksshouldbebui l
tofwoodenboar dtogiveaddedprotect
ion.
I
f ,
howev er,youliveinawar m cl
i
matey ouwil
lneedtogiveyourrabbi
tsbett
ercir
culat
ionandto
takeadv antageofanybr eeze.

Thecagesher ecanbemadeoutofwi renett

ingonal lsi
des.Usi nga1i nchwirenetti
ngis
suffi
cient
.Thefl
oorofthecagesshouldbe1/ 2inchmet alhardwarecloththatall
owst herabbi
t
stabi
li
tywhenwal ki
ngandall
owsforthedroppingsandur inetof al
lthr
ought otheground.The
smallerdi
ameterholesi
salsoimport
antforrabbitsafet
y ,
asbi ggerhol
escanr esultinbaby
rabbi
tsbreaki
ngtheirl
egsi
ftheyendupslippingthrought hebiggergapsinthenet t
ing.

Havi
ngafl
oorlikethi
sonthecagesal
l
owsf
ort
her
abbi
tst
obef
reef
rom mostdi
seasesast
hey
ar
eincl
ean,sanit
arycondi
ti
ons.

Anythingmadet ohousey
ourrabbi
tsshoul
dbest r
ongenoughtoprot
ectt
hem against
predatorsandtheel
ements.Thi
sisespeci
all
yimport
antwhenadoehaskitt
ens.Anynerv
ous
doef acedwit
hdangermayendupst andi
ngallov
erkit
tensandki
l
li
ngthem.
Raisingr abbi
tshasanexcellentby-pr
oductforyourgardenandveggiepatch!Rabbitmanur
eis
verygoodf ort
hecompostheapandf orgr
owingv eget
ablesandsoitisadvisabl
etobuyor
makedeepmet altr
aysandpl acethesedir
ectl
yunderthecages.Thisthenmakesf oreasy
cleaningandeasyt ranspor
tationofthemanuret othecompostheapwhent heyareful
l
.
Cleanlinessisvit
alforgoodrabbitrai
sing.

Whenthey oungrabbi
tshavereachedt heageof8-10weeksofagetheywi
llneedtobe
separ
atedandplacedinindi
vi
dual cages.Thi
sistoprev
enttherabbi
tsf
rom fi
ght
ing,
astheywi
l
l
i
fyoudon'tsepar
atethem.

Rabbi
tRai
singandBr
eedi
ngBoxes

Whenr ai
singrabbi
tsyourbreedingdoesshoul
dhav et
hei
rownnest ingboxes.Theserabbit
nest
ingboxesshoul dbe11/ 2feetl
ong,1footwideand1foothigh.Thereshouldbea7i nch
doorcutintheboxwhi chi
scut5i nchesfr
om thebott
om.Thisthenpreventstheyoungrabbit
s
fr
om fall
i
ngoutoft heboxes.

Youwil
lknowwhenyourdoei
sneedinghernestboxwhenshestart
spull
i
ngthef
urf
rom her
dewl
ap.Shewi
ll
alsotaket
hehaythatyouarefeedi
nghert
ocreateanest.

Whentheki
tt
ensar
eborntheyarehai
rl
essandbornwiththei
reyescl
osed.Furbeginstogrow
i
nbyday5or6andafter10to12daysthei
reyeswil
lopen.Attheageofthr
eeweekst hei
r
motherwi
l
lbegi
ntoweanthem offmi
lkandtheywi
llt
henbegintoeathayandpellets.

Rabbi
tRai
singandWhatandWhatnott
oFeedy
ourRabbi
ts

Gr
eens:

Rabbit
seatal otofgr
assandleav
es,butanyfoodgivent
othem shoul
dneverbepl
acedonthe
bottom oft
hecagesincasetheypeedonorpoopedon.Amangershoul dbebui
ltf
oreachcage
thatwouldall
owt hef
oodtobekeptundersanit
arycondi
ti
ons.

Ifyouarenotabl
et obui
ldmanagers,t
henthefoodshouldbeplacedinbundl
esandthenhung
from t
hesidesofthecage,
all
owingtherabbi
tstohelpt
hemselveswhenhungry.Anywir
eor
stri
ngusedtodothisshoul
dbeshor tpi
ecestoprev
enttherabbit
sfrom comi
ngtoanyharm.

Theyshouldbefedtwi
ceadayandgreensandwateraret
hebasi
stoyourrabbi
t'
sdi
etbuti
fyou
i
ntroduceanyt
hingnewtoy
ourrabbi
tsdoitsl
owl
y,asthei
rdi
gest
ivesy
stemscanbecome
upset.

Notallgr
eensaregoodf orrabbits.Neverfeedthem lett
uce.Let
tucecont ai
nslact
ucari
um,
whichcangiveyourrabbitdiarr
heasobadl ythati
tcanbecomef atal.Othercommonf oodst
o
avoidi
ncludecabbage,parsnips,swedes,potatotops,andtomat
ol eaves.

Hayshoul
dbegi venaspartofthei
rdi
et.I
tshoul
dbewel l
dri
edandfreeofmold.Alf
alf
a,cl
over
andevenpeanuthayisacceptabl
e.Oat
s,wheat
,bar
leyandcorncanalsobef
edt ogi
veamor e
bal
anceddi
et,
wit
hoccasi
onal
l
ysmal
lamount
sofsul
fur
,char
coal
andcodl
i
veroi
l
.

Watchrabbi
t sthough!Theyar
ever
ycr aft
yanimalsandwil
lfav
orbar
leyandwheatovercorn.
Rabbi
tsalsolikecarr
otsandshoul
dbef edtheoddonenowandagai n.Fi
nal
ly,
ablockofsalt
shoul
dbepl acedineachhutchsothattherabbi
tcannibbl
eonitwhenneeded.

Wat
er:

Wateri
sv er
yimportantandtheyshouldneverbewit
hout.I
tmustberepl
aceddai
lyandusi
ngan
aut
omaticwatercontai
nerisusual
lythebestopti
onwhichcanbefi
xedtothecages.

Rabbi
tIl
l
nesses

Ifyourrabbi
thut
chesarekeptcl
eanandt heyar
efedproper
lyt
heywi
llsuf
ferfr
om fewil
lnesses,
especiall
ywhencomparedtootherli
vest
ock.However
,ther
eare2i
ll
nessesthatcanoccurwith
rai
singrabbi
tsandthati
sthesnuffl
esand

cocci
diosi
swhi
chi
sawor
minf
ect
iont
hatchi
ckensal
sosuf
ferf
rom.

Anyr abbi
tthathasei
therofthese2diseasesshouldbedestr
oyedimmediatel
yandt
hei
r
hutchesthoroughl
ysanit
izedandster
ili
zedtopreventt
herestofyourr
abbit
sfrom
contaminati
on.

Rabbi
tRai
singandHowPr
ofi
tabl
eisI
t?

Wheny oustar
twithrabbi
tsy
ouwi l
lsoonreal
izethati
tdoesn'tt
akelongtoincreaseyourst
ock.
Ifyoustar
tedwit
hjust2doeand1bucky oucouldsoonhav e50r abbi
tsormor eaft
erthe1st
year.I
fyouhad50-150does, t
hiswoulddefi
nit
elymeanast eadysourceofincomeandwoul d
alsotakeupasubstanial
amountofti
medur i
ngthedayfortheircare.

Peopl
earebegi
nni
ngtoseet hatr
abbi
tmeati
sgoodfory
ou.Itmaybef i
rmert
hanchi
cken,
but
thet
astei
sverysi
mil
ar.Rabbitmeati
shi
ghinpr
otei
nandlowinfatandcal
ori
es.

Notonl
ycanoneuset
heseani
mal
sfort
heirmeat
,butanotherby-
producti
sthei
rfur
.Thepel
ts
canbeusedt
omakeanumberofi
temssuchassli
ppers,
furtri
mmedgar ments,
hatsetc.

Rabbitmanurei
salsohighlyv
alued,andcanbebaggedandsoldtogardener
s.I
tisr
ichi
n
ni
trogenandphosphor
us.Thebeautyofusingr
abbitmanureonplant
sisthati
tcanbeused
st
raightawaywi
thouthavingtoworr
yaboutwhetheri
twil
lburnt
heplantsaft
erappl
i
cati
on.

Atonest age,far
mersinEuropeweregetti
ng2Eur osaki
lofortheirrabbi
tmeat,whichthey
consider
edt obeagoodpr i
ce.Wheny ouhaveadual -
pur
poser abbitl
iket
heNewZeal andwhite
rabbi
tthent hesaleoft
hosepeltscanrangefrom any
wherefrom 15-50cent
sdependi ngon
whoy ourmar keti
s.However,t
heChinchil
laRexcommandst hemostmoney .Nextcomest he
CastorRexandt hentheWhiteRex.

Onehast
oremembert
oot
hatwhent
heki
tt
ensar
ebor
nyouwi
l
lal
sosuf
ferl
osses.Manyr
abbi
t
breedersexpectlossesof25%.Rexani mal saremor edif
fi
cul
ttobreedandthei
raver
ageli
tt
eri
s
about6ki t
tens.Theircondi
ti
onsar edif
ferenttoo.Theyhavetobekeptinsepar
atecagest
o
protectt
hef ur
.Theyar esenttoslaughterinindi
vidual
boxesandtheirsl
aught
eri
ngisdone
manual l
yandsl owlysoasnott odamaget hefur.

I
nt heUSA,meati
ssol
datvari
ouspr
ices,
dependi
ngonwhereyouli
ve.Onav
erage,
howev
er,
at
2013pri
ces,r
abbi
tmeatcanbesol
dretai
lfor$6-
8apound,
dressed.

Rabbi
tRai
sing;
Concl
usi
on

Rai
si
ngrabbi
tsi
sapl
easur
abl
eexper
ience.Successt
orai
singr
abbi
tsf
orpr
ofi
tar
edet
ermi
ned
by3thi
ngs:

Agoodbr
eedi
ngpr
ogr
am

Pr
operequi
pment

Goodcar
e

Howev er
,wit
hallf
oodproduct
sther
earerul
esandregulat
ionst
haty
ouwil
lneedtoabi
debyset
byy ourl
ocal
council
body.Makesur
ethatyouknowthesebefor
eyoudeci
detogoint
orai
sing
rabbit
sformeat
.

Therecouldalsobezoni
ngr estri
cti
onsinvolv
ingkeepi
ngrabbit
sand/orsel
l
ingrabbitpelt
s,i
f
youarenotinanagricul
tur
al zoneforkeepingrabbi
ts,
oranindust
ri
alzoneify
ouar etreat
ing
thepel
ts.Alwayscheck.

Wehopet
hatr
aisi
ngr
abbi
tsf
ory
oumeansmaki
ngapr
ofi
tint
hef
utur
e!