Ok maybe not QUITE like a cow.. let me explain …
I am a firm believer that it doesn’t matter where you are in life, you CAN do SOMETHING to take some responsibility for where your food comes from, how it is raised, and how it gets to your plate. I remember living in Hawaii and seeing the locals with chickens, quail, and numerous planter pots growing food on their apartment lanais (that’s a balcony for all the Haoles out there). I thought if they can do all that in such a tiny space, these suburbanites don’t have any excuses! I see Pinterest post after Pinterest post about small scale homesteading with titles like “farming on 1/4 acre” etc.
If you live in a neighborhood or have a small lot of land, you may have considered chickens. That’s many peoples’ first step. They are excellent composters. They take care of your kitchen scraps and weeds and bugs from the garden. And of course they can provide meat and delicious and healthy eggs every day as well as lots of entertainment. Many people live in neighborhoods with an HOA that doesn’t allow chickens and… well.. keep fighting the good fight and do what you can to change those rules in your HOA! You can petition your neighbors ect. BUT in the mean time, rabbits and quail often slip under the HOA radar. They are small enough and their space requirements aren’t very much. They are also quiet enough that, even with a strict HOA, you could be raising your own livestock to feed your family. Yes, even in some of the smallest back yards!
I’ve had chickens for several years now and have even raised meat birds right here in my small back yard but the idea of rabbits kept creeping up in my mind as another source of meat for our family. I was nervous about them because I’d never raised rabbits before. They are so cute. Would I be able to dispatch one and eat it? Would my family be on board? And a thousand other questions. I of course did what we all do when we want to know something. I went to YouTube and to social media groups and read blogs and slowly got less nervous about the idea.
So starts the rabbit adventure! I was blown away by the math I was reading regarding how much meat you could put up with just a few rabbits!
The numbers will vary depending on breed and other factors but .. just some rough possible numbers. One rabbit can provide about 3-4lbs of meat (some a little more some a little less). They grow out in as little as 12 weeks. That’s not too bad. It’s basically dressing out to be about the same weight as a whole chicken.
Ok so how many rabbits do I need to make this a worth while project and provide a decent enough amount of meat to make this worth it!?
Alright so let’s run some numbers. A rabbits gestation period is 28-32 days or so depending on breed and depending on the rabbit. She will give birth to, let’s say 8 kits. (sometimes more sometimes less). If you have 2 does and 1 buck and breed them at the same time, let’s say you get 16 kits born at a time. Twelve weeks later, you will have 16 rabbits with about 48-64lbs of meat!
Rabbits can technically breed again the same day she gives birth however, I have given birth a few times myself and… I just can not get on board with that type of breeding program. Some folks breed them again when the kits are 2 weeks, some wait until 4 weeks. I suppose there are those who wait longer as well but that is personal preference. Let’s say you wait 2 weeks. The kits will wean at 5-6 weeks and that gives mom just a little bit of time to herself to get ready for the next litter. Then you start over again.
Depending on where you live and the way your rabbity is set up, you may be taking a break from breeding in the coldest months of the year and/or the hottest months of the year but for fun, just consider what you could come up with without taking a break!
In 12 months, with your 2 does and 1 buck, you could produce a BUNCH of meat! Here comes the punchline, “It’s like a cow, but smaller!” In your own small backyard, in one year, you could technically produce the same amount of meat as a whole COW! Now of course you will need just a few more rabbits than a breeding trio to make that happen and likely won’t be breeding your does every month of the year, but by adding a couple more breeders to your herd, breeding less months of the year, you could still achieve those numbers in a suburban backyard. That’s absolutely amazing to me!
With calculations like this I just HAD to build my rabbitry and begin a new adventure. I’m still learning a lot every day. Buckle up folks, it may be a “hoppy” ride.
