A microfarm in Northern Arizona raising rare rabbits and goats for show and livestock.
Even with a background in rabbit showmanship, when we started raising rabbits as adults, I was often confused by the terminology of rabbit husbandry.
Too many big words, not spoken slowly enough!
I’m not sure who created this graphic, but I have saved it on my phone and often refer to it when I am unfamiliar with a term or exactly what a judge is talking about. I hope it’s helpful to you as well!
Knowing what something is called on your rabbit is a big deal!
The government used to encourage citizens toward self-sufficiency.
We’re big fans of self-sufficiency around here, as well as making a dollar stretch like a piece of taffy! One of the main reasons we decided to raise rabbits involved the realization that not only is rabbit meat extremely healthy, low fat and high protein, we would never regularly purchase organic or all natural meat at the grocery store as it was cost prohibitive for our family.
Raising rabbits has allowed us to feed our family a meat we know is healthy, antibiotic-free, and that has been raised and butchered humanely. Not to mention the carbon footprint of a rabbit is significantly smaller than beef, pork, or poultry for the same amount of consumable food!
Rabbits as livestock even the playing field and give people an opportunity to actively participate in creating a healthy future for their families. Rabbits allow those who live in apartments, have limited income, or don’t have the time to invest in a labor-intensive product to successfully take part in owning their destiny. Developing countries around the world have recognized that rabbits are a way to meet a basic necessity — to eat — as well as work their way out of poverty. In our own country, where far too many people are eating fast food and slowly poisoning their bodies with preservatives, we believe raising rabbits is a viable way to break the cycle of food poverty and obesity!
Rabbits take daily care, but are very low maintenance. While they need regular cleaning, they can also be raised discretely as they make hardly any noise at all. Rabbits have a quick turn around from birth to butcher – I like to joke that they are the impatient person’s perfect animal, as they mature and gestate very quickly in comparison to other livestock animals.
Once upon a time our government encouraged citizens to plant Victory Gardens and raise their own livestock for food. Handouts were an option, but really encouraged only after people did their best to support themselves with the resources they had available to them at the time. I sure do wish we were receiving the same message today.
Sometimes you just need to know how to begin!
I had a great conversation tonight with a friend who is seriously considering raising rabbits. We went around and around about what type of rabbits he should get, what supplies he needed before his initial purchase, what his rabbitry goals would be. The reality is that we can’t answer any of these questions for him – he needs to spend time thinking about what will be the best fit for his purposes. However, we can ask him some questions to get his creative juices going… here are the few he left tonight pondering:
1. How many? The number of rabbits you choose as an initial investment depends on your purposes for your rabbitry. If you are looking to show, you’ll likely want to consider three does and two bucks per breed. You’ll want some options for genetic strength, plus it’s not as much fun to take a single rabbit to a show. Set yourself up for success by giving yourself some options.
If you are specifically breeding for meat, a trio of two does and a buck will be a strong start, even closely related rabbits would be fine to start as long as you have a plan for infusing new blood sometime in the next year or so. Ask yourself how often you’re hoping to have rabbit on the menu? How many mouths are you feeding?
2. What’s your Budget? Your purposes for your rabbitry must inform your anticipated budget.
Are you planning to keep rabbits only for your own consumption? Then an unpedigreed meat mutt might be a good start as they are typically as much as 50% cheaper in initial investment. The downside to an unpedigreed rabbit is you don’t have an idea of the size or colors in the background of the rabbit – of course, if your main goal is for meat… those are considerations that really don’t matter! In this area meat rabbits are sold for around $25 per rabbit (I’ve heard people quote a range from $5 to $35 for a meat mutt around the country).
Are you hoping to sell the babies of your rabbits to offset other rabbitry expenses? Then you’d better be willing to spend a little more for a pedigreed rabbit as your initial purpose – a registered rabbit is even better if you can find one. The pedigreed rabbits I’ve seen advertised are anywhere from $45 to $150+ per rabbit, depending on your lines, the show worthiness, proven or unproven, registered, etc.
Obviously, with that much of a price range, it makes sense to consider your intended outcomes before you make your first stock purchases. I will suggest to purchase the best quality rabbit you can find in your price range. Don’t go simply off of slick websites or advertisements, instead contact several breeders and ask for recommendations.
Facebook is a good way to connect with other rabbit breeders, although be cautious – sometimes the people who post the most and sound the most knowledgable are the same ones you should avoid at all costs. Particularly on Facebook, once you’re in the group for your rabbit breed, spend time reading through the archives of comments and posts. Over time you’ll get a sense of those breeders who have a similar value system to your own… contact them and see what can come from that!
3. What will you Feed? Are you planning on feeding your rabbits pellets or letting them range and eat grasses? A smart buyer will purchase their initial stock from a breeder who is set up similar to what they want to do.
We feed pellets and hay and can give someone a pretty good idea of what weights to expect at which ages in our lines. However, if someone took our rabbit and switched it on to a fodder system I can almost guarantee it would not hit the same weight gains in the same period of time. If someone approaches us wanting meat rabbits for fodder I’m going to encourage them to check in with a few other breeders as our rabbits will likely not perform as well for them. (The caveat to this is that it only takes a few generations of careful culling to transition a rabbit from the desired growth rates on fodder. So the question is how long you’re willing to wait!)
4. Where will they be Housed? Similar to the advice on feed, consider whether the rabbits will have a similar environment to what they have been used to when they come to your home. Our rabbits are outdoors 100% of the time – and they don’t all transition with excellence to an indoor garage rabbitry! On the other hand, we’ve purchased rabbits coming from a garage rabbitry and there’s been a significant adjustment season for them to enjoy life in their new outdoor space with a view!
On the same lines, consider temperatures. A rabbit used to Phoenix temperatures will likely not fare very well in, say, Minnesota if it goes to it’s new home in January! Try to either purchase your stock from a rabbitry in a similar climate to your own or in a “shoulder season” so the rabbit has time to transition to the new season with as little stress as possible.
5. What breed? Do you want a 13+ lbs Flemish Giant rabbit? Is a mini Satin going to be just the right fit on your lap for a snuggle? When you look at your rabbitry, which rabbit is going to take your breath away just by looking at it? Start browsing photos of the different rabbit breeds. Educate yourself on the pros and cons of each breed – they all have both!
Ask yourself again what your goals are for your rabbitry, and what gives you joy. There is a great deal of poop cleaning, water bottle scrubbing, consistent feeding, etc. necessary to care for your rabbit – so whatever you do, get a breed you enjoy watching move! Learn about their personalities and make an educated decision. Genuine pleasure in being around the animal makes the endless hours of husbandry less daunting.
6. What breeder? Do you want a simple transactional purchase of livestock? Do you want to develop a relationship with a breeder? Do you want someone you can contact months after the sale and ask questions about raising your animals? What is the breeder’s philosophy about rabbit raising? Take your time in selecting a breeder.
Some people will be attractive to you right off the bat and you just know they’re the right fit for your first rabbit purchase. Others are the exact opposite and you’ll know you don’t want to work with them right away. Occasionally you’ll work with someone you don’t particularly like because you’re terribly interested in their specific stock!
Challenge yourself to think through some of these questions as you start your search so that you’ll recognize a good fit for a breeder quickly.
Finally,
Relax! Regardless of anything else, relax! It’s a rabbit! We’re over the top crazy about these little critters, but they still are just that… critters! There is not a thing in this hobby/lifestyle that can’t be adjusted or fixed, so try not to freak yourself out with all the options. Just relax, have fun, and be intentional about your rabbitry!
We are pleased to be raising the #1 rare breed in the U.S.! Glad to be doing our part to keep Blanc de Hotot going!
Every three years a “rare breed” list is released. We’ve been raising three of the 15 rare breeds until now… And with the release of this list we now have two! Cinnamon and Silver Fox are making a come back!
What is the Rare Breeds List?
Here is the short version
#1 is most rare, #16 is less rare
2014 Rare Breed Rabbit Rank
(with 2010 rank on right)
1 Blanc de Hotot (1)
2 Giant Angora (2)
3 American (5)
4 Beveren (4)
5 Giant Chinchilla (7)
6 Creme d’Argent (14)
7 Belgian Hare (11)
8 American Sable (10)
9 Satin Angora (6)
10 Cinnamon (3)
11 Lilac (8)
12 Silver (9)
13 American Chinchilla (12)
14 Palomino (16)
15 Standard Chinchilla
16 Rhinelander (15)
Note: Silver Fox was #15, is now #17 and is off the list, but remains as a Watch status. Standard Chinchilla has joined the Rare Breed List as #15
Truthfully, I feel sorry for this rabbit. Bunnies in costumes scare me a little.
I just finished reading an article on rabbit, the “new” white meat. (What’s up, Chef? Rabbit is the Trendy New White Meat)
While I’m not thrilled to be associated with “trendy” things, it is validating to see other people recognizing the benefits of rabbit meat because there’s really not another meat that can compete with rabbit for nutrition. It’s low in fat, high in protein, flavorful, and has a higher meat/food conversion rate than just about any animal out there. Add that to the ability to raise rabbits in your backyard quietly and I’m pretty sure rabbits are the perfect urban livestock!
Over the time we’ve been raising rabbits we’ve had a chance to get several others started on their urban homestead. I am so appreciative of these new friends who are drawn to a desire to know what is in the food they consume and who want their children to realize meat doesn’t initially come on a styrofoam plate. While rabbit raising isn’t for everyone, I truly believe it’s an approachable way to begin to take back control over your food sources.
Rabbit rearing gained popularity during World War II when most beef was reserved for the military forces. It lagged as a livestock in the intervening years, but many say it’s at all time highs once more as Americans become more concerned about the additives in bulk produced food.
Coming up on Independence Day, who doesn’t want to celebrate self-sufficiency?! 🙂
Airborn Raptors
Not to get all preachy, but around here we are big believers than everything has a purpose for it’s being. If we have a tool, it should be used for the purpose it was created to fulfill to the best of its ability. If it’s a human, we believe we are called to a high ethical standard and put our hands to good work. For our rabbits, we believe they honor their existence by fulfilling a purpose whether it be fur, fancy, or food.
I love reading these words, memorialized in the Bible long before that fantastic musical group the Beatles:
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13)
It’s not often I get all philosophical on this website, but today we made a significant decision for us — we donated several rabbits to our local Raptor Rescue.
Our main focus in raising rabbits is providing an organic meat source for our family. However, there are times when we just have more rabbits than we can personally use. Not every rabbit is destined for the show table, and it’s not ethical to sell a pedigreed rabbit as a show rabbit simply because it’s purebred, even though the sale of pedigreed rabbits recoup food costs.
We were turned on to our local Airborn Raptors Unlimited rescue by another family involved in our 4H club and we have been so impressed with Alyssa and her program. They have been doing free shows with the raptors for many years and do their best to treat their animals extremely well.
Birds of prey eat. They eat prey. The number one prey animal in the world is the rabbit! (That’s why they have so stinkin’ many babies!)
So when we found ourselves in a spot where we had more rabbits than we could use for the time being, we contacted Alyssa. Since they run their program almost entirely on donations, she was incredibly grateful. We learned an interesting fact as well, our domesticate rabbits are significantly larger than wild rabbits; cottontails and jackrabbits and such. Out little 5 pound fryers can feed three raptors and a fully grown commercial breed rabbit (8+ lbs.) can feed at least five birds. That’s pretty amazing production and food usage!
It’s a hard decision for us to let any animal go, but it does feel like each of our rabbits has a distinct purpose in their life and that’s also something beautiful. I know that our rabbits will go to further a worthy cause and nourish a beautiful animal, although it’s difficult to imagine them going at all.
It’s the FlyFlySwat!
It’s starting to look like summer has arrived and with it… the flies.
An absolute fact of animal husbandry is that flies are attracted to animals, specifically to their poop! We do our best to keep the bunny berries to a minimum under the cages around here, but the reality is that as soon as the weather starts to warm up, we start to see unwelcome visitors in the air all around the rabbitry.
Last summer we used the fly-catcher gallons of water, 2 liter bottle tricks. We were able to get these at our local feed store and —based on the fact the bottles were filled with dead fly bodies — they work.
They also smell. Decomposing fly bodies is not my favorite scent in a season where we’re already battling so many other… succulent… scents.
So, while we will likely be hanging fly strips around and utilizing the stinky bottles as fly catchers, we decided to also plant mint around the bases of all of our hutches. I’m sincerely hoping this natural fly deterrent will cut down on the winged pests around here as well as release a pleasing scent as we walk by and brush it.
We chose to plant at the bases of the hutches because that also gives the mint access to the yummy nutrients the rabbit poop provides for soil. (Did you read about the benefits of using bunny berries in your garden? They’re phenomenal!) We’ll be able to water the plants as we water the rabbits, stir up the scent as we brush by, and hopefully! see less flies in the air.
Mint isn’t the only natural fly repellent and we’ll be planting these others (especially the basil!) around our backyard to see if we can get more traction on a fly-free environment!
Natural Fly Repellents:
I also found this link helpful, as it breaks down the different types of pests and how you can combat them naturally: http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm
This article gives practical examples of how to use these herbs around your house as repellents: http://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/herbs-deter-flies-naturally.htm
Photo Credit: http://www.knoxgardner.com/2010/the-spring-garden/
This is the first summer, ever, that we’ve made any sort of an attempt to garden.
Baby steps, friends, baby steps. We’re the ones who get excited when a houseplant lasts more than three months.
However, we’re in the middle of a huge remodeling project and we need activities to get the kids out of the house and container gardening seemed to be a brilliant idea. So far it’s been three days worth of planning, excitement, and dirty filth as well. Win for everyone! (Except the floors.)
We have another consideration as we attempt to garden this year: the rabbit.
We recently retired a fantastic Silver Fox mama, Eclipse. She’s been such a great rabbit for us that we don’t have the heart to move her along permanently — yet since we’re a small rabbitry we really need the cage space for animals that are earning their keep! We gave it a good deal of consideration, checked the fence line for security, and turned Eclipse loose in the backyard. We’re fortunate that we have a fairly large backyard totally enclosed by a secure 6′ privacy fence so this is a reasonable option for us to consider. So far Eclipse has put the miniature poodle in its place and the Great Dane seems a bit gun shy as well when faced with the 12 pound rabbit with an attitude! To recap, everyone’s getting along great and we now have our first official, pet-only rabbit.
However, we don’t want Eclipse eating the fruits of our labors before we ever become real gardeners and taste the sweet taste of victory ourselves! So… what to plant?!
Google, come, be our friend….
A quick search on the internet tells me that these plants offer no allure to a hungry rabbit. We’ll be planting some… I’ll let you know how the gardening goes at the end of the summer. Or, if she eats everything we’ve got down to the ground I’ll probably complain about it sooner!
I also came across this lovely article on Controlling and Deterring Rabbits in the Garden. This website compiled a list of plants that rabbits DO like to eat.
With no further ado, a compiled list of (possibly) rabbit repellent refreshments and tips, as reported by people who have way more gardening experience than yours truly:
Tips:
Vegetables
Annuals and Perennials
Trees and Shrubs
Astrex kit bred by Annamarie Scott-Coomber of the UK in 2013.
I’ve detailed some of the struggles and questions that have come up in trying to figure out how to get a curly bunny. There are several people internationally who are working to get Astrex recognized as a breed – this means that we’re all learning together how to isolate the gene and hopefully get it to breed true.
The greatest resource for all of this has been the Facebook group, Astrex, Curly Coated Rabbit. One of the members there recently developed a grading system that will help everyone dealing with Astrex in the future have an idea of exactly what they’re looking at genetically… or as least a better idea than we have right now!
We have personally made a decision to put breeding for Astrex on a back burner for now. We have sold all of our Astrex stock expect for one trio… I just couldn’t pull the trigger on having them gone completely! Over time it’s quite likely we will breed for them again, particularly if we have an opportunity to get unrelated stock to what we have right now.
When that time comes, we’ll have a good idea of how to rank our curl! The grading system is outlined on the brand new Astrex website, also put together by the same member who came up with the grading system, Sarah Roche!, but I’ll share it here as well:
The Astrex Grading system is not a measure of how curly a rabbit is, but how likely it is to keep that curl throughout it’s lifespan and how likely it is to pass it down to it’s offspring. A rabbit’s number isn’t fixed and will change throughout it’s lifetime; in fact, it’s impossible for a junior to have a score higher than “Grade 4”.
Grade 1: Rabbit is over six months old and curly, and has produced offspring that are over six months old and curly.
Grade 2: Rabbit is over six months old, curly, and has produced curly babies. Babies lost their curl and it didn’t return after six months of age.
Grade 3: Rabbit is over 6 months old, and curly.
Grade 4: Rabbit is/was a curly junior. BOTH parents are over six months old and curly.
Grade 5: Rabbit is/was a curly junior. Both parents were curly as juniors, but both of them are not curly adults.
Grade 6: Rabbit is/was a curly junior. Neither parent was ever curly.
Grade 7: Rabbit was never curly, but came from at least one parent that is over six months old and curly.
Grade 8: Rabbit was never curly, but came from at least one parent that was curly as a junior.
Let’s say a breeder suddenly get a curly junior out of non-curly parents. It would be a Grade 6.
At six months old, the rabbits curls molt away and make no sign of re-appearing, so it remains a Grade 6.
However, at two years old, the rabbit molts again and the curls return (this often happens between 18-36 months of age). Because the curls have re-emerged, the rabbit is upgraded to Grade 3.
If the babies keep their curl (or have it shed out and re-emerge), the rabbit is promoted to a Grade 1.
Photo credit: http://www.thebunnyhut101.com
As I write there is a wildfire raging less than 20 miles away from home with a current 0% containment. It has exhibited extreme fire behavior and consumed more than 4500 acres of land in just over 24 hours. Our friends who live closer to the fire area are on pre-evacuation and, while I really suspect we will not see any danger at our home, we are carefully considering what measures we will take if we need to evacuate the area ourselves.
Too many times I prefer to sit in la-la land, assuming the best of everyone and believing that nothing out of the ordinary will ever happen. However, as so many of us know, this is simply not the reality. Life is unexpected because, well, life is unexpected!
Not long ago a magician made news when the USDA forced him to submit an emergency plan for the rabbit he used to pull out of his hat while performing. The rule was from the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS):
“APHIS published a final rule requiring all dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, carriers, research facilities and other entities regulated by the Agency under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to take additional steps to be better prepared for potential disaster situations. They are required to develop a plan for how they are going to respond to and recover from emergencies most likely to happen to their facility, as well as train their employees on those plans.”
Admittedly, this seems like overkill in the case of a magician and his single rabbit, but the reality is it’s good business and solid animal husbandry. Many of us depend on these animals to provide for our family’s protein. They are defenseless without daily care taking – and if we want to be ethical (who doesn’t?!) we really must give some thought to how we could best care for these animals should the worst occur.
A rabbitry management book is a useful tool in case of emergency, someone taking over the care of your rabbitry while you vacation, or to produce as proof that you really are doing your best to provide the very best care possible for the animals under your management. The USDA actually outlines what your rabbitry risk management manual should include. (These guidelines generated a 34-page report for Marty the Magician and his bunny that is really worth the read.) Your emergency plan should:
The guidelines further explain that “the terms ’emergency’ and ‘disaster’ are not limited to major natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and should include consideration of localized events such as a fire, severe weather, or any other unexpected situation that interrupts normal animal care activities.”
Truthfully, while the bureaucracy is intimidating (and overkill), it’s also really useful to take a look at these guidelines to see where the holes may be in your own rabbitry emergency response manual. I’ve had many of these ideas floating around in my head off and on, but I’ve never committed them to paper and communicated with my family about the plan for the rabbits in case of emergency.
While the guidelines consider many different types of emergencies such as structural fire, electrical outages, disruption in feed or water supply, road closures, intentional attack on facility/personnel, unexpected change in ownership (or death of owner), HVAC malfunctions, animal escape, animal disease outbreak, as well as other natural disaster scenarios. Specifically, for evacuation, the APHIS guidelines point out the need for a plan for:
A few other thoughts that have crossed my mind as we consider the logistics of possibly moving our animals:
I hope this post isn’t the world’s biggest downer! I’m a big believer that if you see 10 problems coming down the road at you, 9 will fall into the ditch before they ever meet you. BUT — there’s always that one… and Murphy’s Law!
Mad Hatter Rabbits & MicroFarm 