Homestead Rabbit Fundamentals

In order that it is advisable start your homestead rabbit journey, nevertheless you’re unsure the place to begin. What do rabbits eat? How so much do they eat? What happens within the occasion that they get sick? How do they dwell? Whereas these things can all be elaborated on extensively, we’ll try to sum it up for you in a condensed mannequin. Whether or not or not you merely purchased your rabbit herd, in any other case you’re about to, there are some key homestead rabbit fundamentals you’ll must know.

Rabbits are an unimaginable sustainable meat provide for homesteaders for quite a lot of causes:

Rabbits do not require numerous home.
They reproduce shortly and in big numbers. One doe can produce 6-10 kits per litter with a median for 4 litters per 12 months.
They’ve an surroundings pleasant feed-to-meat conversion value.
They’re quiet which is nice in suburban areas.
Their droppings will be utilized instantly on the yard without having to be composted first.
They’ll current meat, pretty pelts, fertilizer, and additional earnings from reveals or selling kits. Chances are you’ll even promote their droppings to gardeners.

Now let’s get into the rabbit fundamentals that you’re going to need to know to attain success with them in your homestead.

Rabbit Housing Selections

Sooner than procuring to your first rabbit pair, decide if you happen to want to elevate them on pasture, in cages, in colonies, or particularly individual cages.

Some people choose to carry rabbits on pasture, whereas others choose to carry them in hutches. Some, like us, even choose to do every.

Whatever the housing, you’ll need to make sure that they’re protected and protected against predators. Rabbits additionally must be out of direct daylight, if the least bit potential, throughout the hotter months. Inside the cooler months, direct daylight is okay. Nevertheless guarantee they’ve a shaded area the place they will go inside their hutch.

In case you choose to do wire hutches that aren’t on pasture, we extraordinarily advocate investing in a flooring mat that they will sit on should their ft ever get burdened from the wire. You should purchase them proper right here, otherwise you presumably can merely put a small piece of plywood of their hutch.

Make sure all hutches are draft-free throughout the winter months, as chilly air will probably be detrimental to rabbits. You’ll moreover must pack their hutches filled with straw throughout the winter time.

Rabbit Housing Requirements:

Hutch, Cage, or Moveable Tractor: Whichever you choose, guarantee there’s adequate home for the breed you elevate. A standard rule of thumb is 6-9 sq. ft of home per rabbit.
Resting Mat for wire flooring: Wire mesh will probably be arduous on rabbits’ ft so add a ceramic tile or one different type of cage mat to help cease sore hocks.
Shade Material and/or Wind Stop: Within the summertime months, rabbits must be shielded from direct daylight. Inside the winter, they need to be shielded from chilly drafts.
Waterer: Water bowls & bottles are frequent decisions, nevertheless you may additionally use an automatic watering system.
Feeder: Use a free standing bowl, a feeding cup linked to the cage, or a trough sort feeder.
Nest Packing containers: Add a nesting area when your doe is close to kindling.

Choosing a Meat Rabbit Breed

Choose prime quality breeding stock to revenue out of your rabbitry. First, you will need to decide which breed matches your needs the right.

Would you like rabbits for meat manufacturing or would you like current prime quality rabbits?

Do it is advisable elevate purebred rabbits or do you prefer to cross two utterly totally different breeds?

Do you want hybrid or heritage breeds?

Some frequent rabbit breeds embody:

Rex
New Zealand
Californian
Flemish Giants
Silver Fox
American Chinchilla
Champagne D’argent

After deciding on your very good breed(s), you presumably can begin looking for the animals that will sort the underside of your rabbit breeding program. Be sure that each doe and buck reveals the perfect qualities of their respective breeds. This helps to make it possible for the kits they produce will most likely be high quality as successfully.

Fundamentals of Breeding Rabbits

Be sure that you calculate the timing of breeding appropriately. You don’t want does to be kindling when you’re out of metropolis or simply not ready for them. Rabbits give starting just one month after breeding so have each factor researched, prepped, and ready sooner than ever putting the doe and buck collectively so that you just don’t end up dashing spherical at kindling time.

Rabbit Breeding Ideas:

Rabbits attain sexual maturity between 3-6 months of age. This varies from breed to breed.
Put the doe into the buck’s cage. In case you place the buck into the doe’s cage, she may battle him as female rabbits are normally territorial.
Don’t put the breeding pair collectively and stroll away. Maintain and observe to make sure the male “falls off”.
A rabbit’s gestation interval is 28-31 days.
Place the nest area throughout the doe’s cage each week sooner than her due date. She ought to start establishing her nest naturally.
Kits are normally weaned between 6-8 weeks of age.

What Should I Feed Rabbits?

Rabbit feed, to me, is basically essentially the most attention-grabbing part of elevating rabbits. There are a variety of utterly totally different combos of feed decisions so you will want to place in some work up entrance to find out what you want.

Feeding Hay

Nearly all of a rabbit’s weight reduction plan ought to incorporate some sort of hay—ours love orchard grass. You possibly can even give your rabbits alfalfa hay, nevertheless be careful to not over do it. An extreme quantity of alfalfa means an extreme quantity of calcium. In case you’re feeding them alfalfa hay, then they do not desire a extreme calcium/protein pellet.

Raw Meals for Rabbits

The following provide of feed is raw meals. In case you choose to do a really raw meals weight reduction plan, together with hay, each rabbit needs about one quart of raw meals on daily basis. This can be inside the kind of carrots (reasonably), greens (paying homage to kale or romaine lettuce), and so forth. Fruit will be given as a cope with, nevertheless not overly accomplished as they’ve numerous sugar in them.

Rabbit Pellets

A rabbit pellet is the final word alternative for rabbit feed. Choose a pellet that is extreme in protein if you happen to’re elevating meat rabbits. Pure is biggest.

Rabbits on Pasture

Chances are you’ll elevate your rabbits on pasture, nevertheless be warned, they will develop so much slower on pasture and never utilizing a pellet or hay complement.

Rabbit Treats

What about treats? Your rabbits don’t “need” treats, nevertheless we do complement and add treats to feed, paying homage to Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, and totally different quite a few sorts of seeds. On account of seeds are extreme in fat/oil, we give them in rations, as to not make the rabbits fat. Chances are you’ll even make your private rabbit treats.

Pure Feed Additions

We moreover have the benefit of together with herbs to our rabbit’s widespread weight reduction plan. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, echinacea, cilantro, parsley, and practically another herb you could possibly discover on the retailer. Please do your evaluation to see which herbs rabbits can have. Nonetheless, these I mentioned above are just a few of our favorites. Whereas they seem to be a tasty cope with, they’re moreover an unimaginable immunity booster.

Clear Water is Necessary!

Moreover, don’t overlook WATER. Rabbits desire a relentless present of water. Inside the wintertime, this can be arduous. We swap over to crocks barely than bottles, so that they will on the very least lick the ice.

Rabbit Fundamentals: First Assist Gear

Inevitably, your rabbit will uncover itself in a predicament ultimately in its life.

Whether or not or not it’s a hurt paw, or one factor further dire like a respiratory drawback, there are points to take care of out there so that you just aren’t working spherical frantically on the lookout for one factor to help your ailing livestock.

We choose to cope with holistically proper right here on our homestead, so I’ll be itemizing what holistic therapies I protect out there.

Vibactra Plus Immunity/Digestive Improve — We give this every few months for 3-5 days at a time. This helps improve immunity, aides in digestive factors, and helps cleanse the physique of parasites.
Otalgia Drops for Ear An an infection — Rabbits are liable to ear infections, and may sometimes get ear mites. Otalgia drops are an unimaginable alternative. In case you don’t must buy Otalgia drops; water, honey and necessary oils moreover help.
Vibactra All Pure Antibiotic — In case you’re elevating meat rabbits, the very very last thing it is advisable do is cope with it with antibiotics. That’s type of why we acquired into elevating meat rabbits, in any case. To keep away from enterprise therapies. It’s a good, all pure alternative for antibiotics.
Necessary Oils — Maintain peppermint, oregano, and tea tree in my medicine bundle at all times. Good for cuts and scraps (with a service oil).
Diatomaceous Earth (meals grade) — Add this to their feed every few days to help rid their digestive tract of any parasites.
Echinacea Leaves or Powder — Good immunity booster, however moreover one different pure antibiotic remedy.
Totally different points like gauze pads, stitches, scissors, and wraps are moreover necessary.

Rabbit Play Time and Bonding

Every homestead is totally totally different. All of us produce other methods of elevating animals, and as long as they’re healthful and glad, that’s what points.

Proper right here on our homestead, we don’t have numerous time to spend with the grownup rabbits steadily. Nonetheless, at any time after we’ve a mannequin new litter, we spend numerous time with them the first 6-8 weeks of life. That’s necessary to a well-behaved rabbit.

Giving your rabbits one factor to play with throughout the meantime is elective, nevertheless I take into account you’ll uncover it further pleasurable for them, and your private acutely conscious. A small ball is a favorite proper right here. One factor as simple as a buck retailer ball. Nothing bigger than them.

Ultimately, rabbits are fairly easy to take care of. I encourage you to check out these further in-depth weblog posts and films, for further data on shopping for rabbits, breeds, housing, feed, and holistic remedy.

Homestead Rabbit Fundamentals – Homesteaders of America