When we decided to switch to Back to Eden Gardening, we also decided to take our homestead a step further. For years we had cared for our garden and enjoyed the eggs from our chickens, but we needed a meat source and fertilizer. There were many options; however, we did not grow up on farms or around large animals. The thought of jumping into a family cow or even goats was a little more than we were willing to jump into.
Meat chickens were a top contender on the list. After hand plucking a few roosters in the past (extremely messy and time consuming!), decided to hold off until we could invest in some quality butchering equipment.
Meat Rabbits
In researching for sustainable meat options for our family, meat rabbits kept coming up in conversation. They reproduce on their own, they have cold manure that could be used directly on our gardens, and they have a relatively quick turn around. Cages for meat rabbits are relatively inexpensive to build and the butchering process is pretty straightforward, requiring very little extra equipment.
We have been raising meat rabbits for about 2 1/2 years and have been quite pleasant with their meat! You will often hear rabbit meat referred to as ‘the other white meat’. But you really can use rabbit the same way you would use chicken. The meat generally appears a little darker than chicken (similar to the dark meat in chicken) but the flavor and texture is very comparable.
Meat Nutrition
In comparison with other meats (chicken, veal, turkey, beef, lamb, and pork) rabbit has the highest amount of protein, lowest percentages of moisture, fat, and calories per lb. **Now, I’m pretty pro-healthy animal fats – specifically from grassfed/forested animals, so rabbit meat hasn’t fully taken the spot as our main meat source and I still add in different varieties of meat.**
They are pretty efficient as far as their weight production goes. This is generally referred to as feed conversion ratio (FCR) which is the animal’s efficiency in turning feed into weight. The lower the number, the lesser the feed cost is estimated to raise them. *Note, these ranges definitely can vary by breeds, food and water quality, the access to fresh pasture/foraging, etc.
Rabbit – 3
Pigs – 3
Cattle – 12.5
Sheep – 5
Feeding the Rabbits
A high protein pellet is recommended for meat rabbits along with free access to high quality hay. They can have pretty sensitive GI systems, so we only give them Timothy hay (only in the winter, since most of our rabbits are kept in pasture pens and have access to grass, leaves, weeds, etc.) I keep black oil sunflower seeds on hand as a special treat for them as well. A 50lb bag of BOSS will last us about 6+ months when our rabbity is full. This past year we even ventured into growing our own sunflowers for them which they’ve enjoyed greatly!
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A great resource for supplementing rabbit feed (to boost nutrition and save on bagged food costs) is Beyond the Pellet and for beginners: Backyard Meat Rabbits.
Rabbits definitely enjoy chewing for entertainment and out of necessity (to keep their central incisors filed down) so we try to make sure they always have some branches of apple or pear to gnaw on.
Don’t you get attached to them?
We get asked this question regularly. I take pride in raising our rabbits well and keeping them healthy and happy to the best of my ability. They are cared for, they’re adorable, I enjoy taking the boys out to interact with them but I always keep in mind their purpose is to feed our family. It’s a way we can keep ourselves and our children connected to our food supply.
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