LivingBitsAndThings LivingBitsAndThings

Categories

  • Aging Parents
  • Alternative Health
  • Asthma & Lung Disease
  • Beauty
  • Beauty Treatments
  • Cabinet
  • College Issues
  • Couples Counselling
  • Craft
  • Decorating
  • Diets
  • DIY
  • Dogs
  • Elder Care
  • Entertaining
  • Environmentalism
  • Family & Social Concerns
  • Finance
  • Fitness
  • Furnitures
  • Gardening
  • General Medicine
  • Grade School
  • Green Living
  • Growth & Development
  • Health
  • Health Education
  • Home & Garden
  • Home Exterior
  • Home Improvement
  • Home Management
  • Home Renovation
  • Horses & Ponies
  • Infants & Toddlers
  • Interior
  • Irrigating
  • Kitchen
  • Landscaping
  • Mental Health
  • Mind & Soul
  • Motivation
  • Moving Out
  • Natural Medicine
  • Nutrition
  • Parenting
  • Pets
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate
  • Special Needs Parenting
  • Sports Medicine
  • Weight Loss
  • Weight Loss Methods
  • Windows
  • Women’s Health
  • Woodworking
  • Young Adult

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • About
  • Contact Us
26K
98K
0
LivingBitsAndThings LivingBitsAndThings
  • Health
    • Alternative Health
    • Beauty
      • Beauty Treatments
    • Diets
    • Fitness
    • General Medicine
      • Arthritis
      • Asthma & Lung Disease
      • Health Education
    • Natural Medicine
    • Nutrition
    • Sports Medicine
    • Weight Loss
      • Weight Loss Methods
    • Women’s Health
  • Home & Garden
    • DIY
      • Craft
    • Gardening
      • Landscaping
        • Irrigating
    • Home Improvement
      • Decorating
      • Furnitures
      • Home Exterior
      • Home Management
      • Home Renovation
      • Interior
      • Kitchen
    • Woodworking
      • Cabinet
  • Parenting
    • Elder Care
      • Aging Parents
      • Seniors
    • Grade School
      • Growth & Development
    • Special Needs Parenting
      • Early Intervention
      • Family & Social Concerns
    • Young Adult
      • College Issues
      • Moving Out
  • Mind & Soul
    • Couples Counselling
    • Psychology
  • Pets
    • Dogs
    • Horses & Ponies
Raising Rabbits for Meat (Start up and Costs)
  • Pets

Raising Rabbits for Meat (Start up and Costs)

  • Perla Irish
  • November 20, 2022
Total
9
Shares
6
0
3
0
0
Table of Contents Hide
  1. Overview
  2. Health Benefits
  3. Meat Yield and Feed
  4. Start-up Costs
  5. Startup Cost Estimate
  6. Inexpensive Watering System
  7. End Note

The benefits of raising rabbits for meat, and the options for care and start-up costs.

Overview

In the 1940s and 50s having a few rabbits in the average family’s backyard was commonplace. Often called Victory Gardens, a household would rely heavily on their own gardens and rabbits for their vegetables and meat, rather than going to a general store.

It was not until convenience became a trend and Americans began depending more on grocery stores that the tradition of raising your own meat became a part of the past. However, the benefits of raising rabbits for meat remain.

Health Benefits

As white meat rabbits have a taste reminiscent of chicken, though they have a lower amount of fat and cholesterol than clucking poultry. In fact, theirs is lower than that of beef, lamb, and pork as well, yet their fatty acid ratio of 4:1 omega-6 to valuable omega-3 acids is almost ideal.

The sodium levels of rabbit meat are significantly lower than other meats, while their calcium and ease of protein digestion are much higher. Additionally, with a high meat-to-bone ratio, raising rabbits would yield a high amount of meat per animal for the effort put in.

With the knowledge of the advantages of adding rabbits to one’s diet, the next point to consider is whether or not the number of pounds of meat gained is cost-effective to the price of keeping, raising, and processing them.

Meat Yield and Feed

Rabbit

Rabbits did not earn their cliché without good reason. They “breed like rabbits,” and do it so well that the average start-up group of one male (called the buck) and two females (called does) can produce up to 600 pounds of fresh meat per year.

Females are often bred two to three weeks after giving birth with no adverse effects, allowing for the most amount of time to go to breeding and producing. This can be compared to a single-year-old beef steer, who after being harvested and dressed will provide an average of 400 pounds of meat in one year.

Not only that, but rabbits require four pounds of food to make one pound of meat, according to Michigan State University’s Department of Animal Science.

The main cost that goes toward raising rabbits comes from the initial startup, and then the price of the feed chosen for the rabbits. While it is just as acceptable to give rabbits food fresh from a garden they tend to take longer to grow.

On average, a rabbit grown on hay and vegetables only takes almost thirty weeks to reach breeding or butchering size, while a rabbit raised on hay and pellets takes a mere seven to ten weeks to do the same.

This is not to suggest, of course, that any sort of growth hormones in the feed are the cause of this, but rather the larger amount of nutrients concentrated in a smaller portion of food.

The cost of pellets varies from brand to brand and store to store but is generally close to $20 for a fifty-pound bag. Given that most rabbits need a cup of food per day, dependent on the number of rabbits this is almost always cost-effective and is a good idea to buy in bulk.

The same goes for hay; it is a necessary part of a rabbit’s diet, and can usually be bought for $2 per bale.

Start-up Costs

Rabbit hutches

More on startup costs: Rabbits need a place to live, and, as a prey animals, a place to feel safe. A scared mother doe will sometimes eat her young when scared. To avoid this, it is best to choose a calm place for the rabbit hutches or pens to be placed.

The choice between hutches and pens is based upon personal preference, but it is often better to have one rabbit per hutch (other than when the doe has her litter) in order to prevent fights and possible castration by the other rabbits.

Rabbit hutches can cost anywhere from $20 and up, or can be more or less depending on where they are bought and if they are new, the quality of the hutch, etc. Another option is to build the hutches, something that can prove to be cost-effective when purchasing multiple rabbits.

Water is also something to think about.

After understanding the number of hours it takes to raise rabbits, a wise idea would be to decide whether or not one wants to spend extra time filling individual water bottles every day, or if it would be better personally to build a watering system that would be connected to a large bucket, often a five-gallon bucket, allowing the owner to not have to spend that time refilling and checking water levels every day.

The video shown below demonstrates the setup of a watering rig that is both very effective and inexpensive.

The small things cannot be overlooked, either. Where would the rabbits live? In what region is your home? Does it get hot in the summer and cold in the winter? How simple should cleaning the hutches be ideally? These are all important questions when deciding whether or not to raise meat rabbits—or rabbits of any purpose, for that matter.

The typical cooling fan can cost $25, and heaters double that. However, reliant on the local weather, these items may be either optional or absolutely necessary. Rabbits are not good at withstanding heat, and being put in conditions that are often over 90 degrees can even result in sterility in the males.

Startup Cost Estimate

ItemQuantityCostTotal
Rabbits3
~$35 each
$105
Hutches
7 (3 additional for litters)
~$40 each
$280
Feeders
3
$5
$15
Water Dispensers
3
$5
$15
Nest Boxes
2
~$20 each
$40
Cooling Fan (optional)
1
$25
$25
Heater (optional)
1
$50
$50
Feed
1
~$12
$12
Hay
1
~$2
$2
Misc
1
~$75
$75
~$619

Inexpensive Watering System

End Note

Any venture will come with a startup cost that is higher than the actual cost to maintain it. The same goes for acquiring the means to raise rabbits. With hard work, patience, and a good mind for saving money, anyone can find the time to better their lives through the extremely rewarding task of raising rabbits.

Total
9
Shares
Share 6
Tweet 0
Pin it 3
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • costs
  • pest
  • rabbit
Perla Irish

You May Also Like
How to Make a Rope Halter With Fiador Knot, Step by Step Instructions
View Post
  • Horses & Ponies
  • Pets

Using a Fiador Knot to Make a Rope Halter

  • Perla Irish
  • December 18, 2022
Do Ferrets Make Good Pets
View Post
  • Pets

Are Ferrets Good Pets?

  • Perla Irish
  • October 19, 2022
Building a Ferret Cage from Scratch
View Post
  • Pets

Constructing a Ferret Cage

  • Perla Irish
  • October 18, 2022
Sustainable Pet Ownership - Why Pet Waste Composting is Worth It
View Post
  • Dogs
  • Pets

Pet Waste Removal: A Dirty but Eco-friendly Job

  • Perla Irish
  • August 12, 2022
Featured image - How to Train Your Dog by Turning Your Back
View Post
  • Dogs
  • Pets

How to Train Your Dog by Turning Your Back

  • Perla Irish
  • April 6, 2022
Featured image - Why Owning a Cat Is More Challenging Than Any Other Pet
View Post
  • Pets

Why Owning a Cat Is More Challenging Than Any Other Pet?

  • Perla Irish
  • September 8, 2020
View Post
  • Pets

How to Care for Your Freshwater Fish

  • Perla Irish
  • February 12, 2020
View Post
  • Dogs
  • Pets

Changing Your Dog’s Food Without Causing Gastrointestinal Upset

  • Perla Irish
  • November 11, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

LivingBitsAndThings LivingBitsAndThings
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • About
  • Contact Us
Helping Quickly Solve Problems

Input your search keywords and press Enter.