When I got into raising meat rabbits six months ago, I really didn’t know what to expect.

I knew the basics, had done some research, and had owned {pet} rabbits before. But as far as raising them as a food source, I truly had no idea how it would go. I’m definitely a sink or swim, jump right in and figure it out type of person. So when the opportunity arose to purchase a proven doe with her litter of 9 kits, I took the chance.

And ohhh…let me tell you.

There are a few things I wish that I had known prior to jumping on board the meat rabbit bandwagon.

Simple things, really. So if you’re thinking of taking home a few rabbits of your own, then take a moment to read on. These tips just might save you time, money, and a few headaches.

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1. Raising Rabbits is ADDICTING.

I felt it important to mention this one right off the bat.

Rabbits are undoubtedly like cookies, chickens, and canning jars- you absolutely cannot have just one.

Or two.

Or ten.

Believe me on this. I was quite sure I’d be just fine with one buck, one doe, and eating their offspring. But oh no. That changed ever so fast. When it came time to dispatching our first grow-outs {young rabbits who have reached the desired butcher weight, typically between 8-12 weeks of age}, I gave in to the pleas of my oldest son who insisted we keep “Cutie”, who happened to be a doe. I thought that a “breeding trio” had a nice ring to it. But it just doesn’t stop there. I have a litter of {5} 7-week grow outs {out of which I plan to keep another doe}, I recently picked up a {presumably pregnant} 1-year old proven New Zealand/Californian doe from a breeder, and a pedigreed Champagne d’Argent buck in a few weeks from another breeder. I also currently have 2 pregnant does, both due within a couple days of each other.

And I know in my heart of hearts that this is just the beginning.

2. Rabbits are Escape Artists

This right here was by far the biggest headache- and toughest lesson to learn. Before winter, I kept my rabbits in a large chicken tractor-like pen. That way I could move it to one area, let them eat eat the brush, raspberry bushes, grass, plantain, you name it- and then move them again. This pen was surrounded by galvanized wire on the sides, chicken wire on the top, and open on the bottom. I surrounded the pen with bricks, rocks, logs, etc- knowing that rabbits could dig and get out. But no matter how well I thought I’d blocked off the sides, they always found a way out.

Three times they escaped. Do you know how extremely difficult it is to catch 9 little bunnies who have the entire woods as their playground? To try and coax them to you with a handful of pellets when they have a smörgåsbord of natural goodies surrounding them? Hours…yes, I mean hours…were spent catching those little buggers.

There may or may not have been a fishing net involved.

I lost one of my grow outs to our dog when we accidentally let her out early in the morning, not knowing the buns had escaped. After that, I finally figured out to flip the pen over and let them eat the grass and other greens through the chicken wire that was now on the bottom of their cage. This worked great…until the very day we went out to butcher and I discovered a missing rabbit. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that a huge hole had discreetly been chewed through the chicken wire that I’d thought had been the answer to keeping the little guys in. That escapee was brought back to me in my dog’s mouth about a week later, and had probably been dead since the day it had escaped.

Therefore, if you plan to set up a colony or a run for your rabbits, be sure to use 1/2″ x 1″ galvanized wire mesh {NOT chicken wire!}, and bury it 12″ into the ground in an apron-like fashion.

Rabbits can and will dig, chew, and escape.

Or if you plan to use a pen like I do, be sure that the bottom and sides are also covered with galvanized wire. We cage our rabbits during the winter at this point, and use only cages constructed of heavy duty wire that cannot be chewed through. You can build your own cages or buy them very reasonably through Bass Equipment. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have good, safe housing!

3. Breeding Rabbits is Easy

I’m used to waiting for chickens and ducks to go broody, setting on eggs, dealing with ducks making nests in the woods and having to fence them in where they are, hoping the new mom doesn’t kill her babies, etc. So the simplicity of breeding rabbits was a welcome surprise.

Rabbits are induced ovulators meaning they ovulate upon breeding. You simply put the doe in the buck’s cage {never the other way around as does are rather territorial} and as long as she lifts for him and he has a fall off or two, you’re more than likely going to have kits in 31 days or so. {Of course a ready doe of breeding age and of good health are important factors to consider before breeding}.

4. Supplies Get Spendy- Use What You Have

Probably the biggest cost associated with raising rabbits is their housing, whether it be cages or fencing for colonies. You can buy galvanized fencing and make your own cages if you plan to raise several rabbits {there are tons of tutorials online}. Craigslist or your local online sell & swap are great places to keep an eye out for freebies or cheap fencing/cages. I have been extremely fortunate to have received all but one of my cages for free from my awesome sister-in-law who always keeps an eye out for animal supplies for me. If you plan to use cages, I would suggest a 24″ x 30″ {at minimum} for a medium breed doe or buck {ex./New Zealand, Californian, Standard Rex, Silver Fox; without kits} and a 30″ x 36″ cage for a medium doe with kits.

If you use wire bottomed cages, you should supply a resting area for your rabbits to avoid sore hocks. You can purchase foot relax pads like these from Amazon or your local feed store/livestock supplier, or you can do what I did- search for handmade/on hand options:

• 12″x12″ ceramic tiles {we got a couple boxes of these with our house when we bought it- this is what I choose to use; I put one on the cage floor in front of the feeder/water crock which is on the opposite side of where they like to go to the bathroom. Very easy to clean!
• Untreated plywood square. Optionally, drill holes in it to allow urine to drain through.
• Pegboard; used in the same way as the plywood.
• 5-gallon bucket lid or ice cream bucket lid. Easy to clean and cheap to replace, although rabbits do like to chew so keep an eye out for that.

Feeders and waterers are another expense. You can buy galvanized feeders, plastic water bottles, and hay racks if you wish. Or you can get creative and make your own or use what you have around the house:

• For an easy hay rack, use a plastic basket like this and put it upright on its side. Cut a hole in the top, loosely stuff in some hay, and secure it to the side of your cage using zip ties. The rabbits can pull the hay through the holes in the cage.

• Rather than water bottles {this is especially useful in the winter when using water bottles is next to impossible}, opt for a heavy duty plastic crock like these {found at our local recycling center thrift shop}. I’ve also purchased them at the hardware store in town for $2 each. They are heavy enough that rabbits cannot chew them, but just barely flexible enough to make knocking ice out of them real easy. Small plastic feed tubs work great in the same way. These can be used for feeding pellets too. If you have a rabbit who enjoys flipping these bowls over as some of mine do, drill a small hole near the top edge of the bowl and secure to the side of your cage with a piece of wire.

Droppings pans are designed to fit underneath your wire bottomed cage to catch waste {especially when you stack your cages}. Again, you can buy these from cage suppliers like Bass Equipment. Or you could use:

• a large cookie sheet w/at least 1″ sides, preferably 2″
• the cover from a large plastic tub
• tray from the bottom of a wire dog kennel
• a piece of metal roofing

5. Kindling is Scary {at first}

Breeding may be easy, but preparing for/handling the kindling {birthing} process for the first time {or two} is scary. Not that it requires a lot of work on your part, but not only does the anticipation of new babies nearly kill you, the fear of them being born on the wire and dying is even worse. Perhaps this was especially stressful for me because our first kits were born in November where we saw single digits and below zero temps so frequently. But no matter the weather, there are a few basic things I’ve learned that help make the kindling nerves a little more manageable:

• Provide your doe with a nest box filled with straw 28 days from the day you bred her. You can buy a premade nest box, build your own {just Google ‘DIY rabbit nest box’}, or use what you have on hand: a plastic tub, a large cat litter container turned on its side, or even a cardboard box. You want it to be deep enough so that the kits don’t fall out or get pulled out when mama leaves the box after feeding, and just big enough to fit the doe and her kits. If the box is too big, kits can get lost- if they get separated, mother rabbits don’t typically move them to join the others, just as they won’t return a kit who has escaped the box.

• If you see your doe grabbing mouthfuls of straw and building her nest, that’s a good sign. Keep in mind that they can do this a week before kindling or just moments before. If you see her pulling fur, that typically means that kindling is imminent {although they can pull fur a couple days early as well}. When “Mama” pulled fur, her kits were born less than an hour later. When our first-time mama “Cutie” pulled fur, I was checking on her every half an hour. Because it was dark and I was using a flashlight, I didn’t investigate very well but figured that her unmoved nesting material meant she hadn’t yet kindled. However, when I checked the next morning, I found her kits frozen and covered by just a small amount of fur. Had I looked closer the night before, I probably would have seen that she just hadn’t covered them up well and they could have been saved. Lesson learned. So if your doe is pulling fur and you are checking up on her, make sure she hasn’t had her kits yet by getting a closer look.
• Check on the kits daily. They are born naked, deaf, and blind. As if that didn’t make them vulnerable enough, mama only feeds them a couple times a day for five minutes at a time- and then she covers them back up and lets them be.

Does don’t sit on their kits and keep them warm like a mother hen does with her chicks.

• Oh no. So once a day, pull out the nest box and check for {and remove} any dead kits. Make sure that the doe isn’t using the nest box as a litter box. Urine could freeze and thus cause the kits to freeze. You want to keep the nest fairly clean so replace straw as necessary. The fur that the doe pulls acts as secondary fur for the kits until they grow their own- so if that gets soiled and needs replacing, it’s nice to have fur on hand that has been saved from another doe {I saved Cutie’s pulled fur after she lost her kits} or even use an alternative such as dryer lint {yes, I’m serious!}.

• Don’t be afraid to handle or check on the kits. This will prove very beneficial when it comes time to weaning them as your contact can ease the stress of them being separated from their mother. If you plan to sell your kits, being handled on a daily basis allows the new owners to more easily tame them as pets. The doe won’t mind at all. I was a bit apprehensive about “bothering” Mama’s first litter- and because of that, I lost a baby that had been shoved into a corner and possibly missed a feeding or two. Had I been checking every day, that loss could have easily been prevented.

6. Network and Ask Lots of Questions

There’s no better advice than from that of someone with experience. I have been so grateful for the Backyard Meat Rabbits group on Facebook. Any time I’ve had a question about anything, I get multiple fast responses. I’ve acquired a wealth of knowledge from so many everyday homesteaders like myself, and never have I felt belittled for asking even the simplest of questions.

If you’re looking for a great rabbit book, I highly suggest Boyd Craven Jr’s “Beyond the Pellet”. For those of you looking to raise meat rabbits on a natural, pellet-free diet, his book is a treasure trove of information!

And here are some great rabbit sites that I have found very helpful:

• American Rabbit Breeders Association
• Raising-Rabbits.com
• Free downloadable/printable “Doe Record Sheet” which is perfect for keeping track of your does and their breeding record. From AZ Rabbits.
• This YouTube video on breeding rabbits was one of the first that I watched before breeding my own. You will see the basics of how to breed and how to later palpate your doe to see if she is pregnant. Bonus points for making me laugh a few times.

Above all, enjoy the process. Enjoy learning. Take advice. Try something new.

Raising meat rabbits has allowed me to regularly enjoy new babies {who doesn’t love that?!}, expand my knowledge of animal nutrition on a different level, offer my family an additional source of nutritious meat in their diet, teach my children about responsibility in regards to a non-poultry type animal, and further network with like-minded, homesteading individuals. They are relatively easy to raise and great for a beginning farmer looking to take a step up from chickens.

I hope that this handful of tips will encourage you to take that leap into raising meat rabbits of your own.

For those of you who already raise rabbits, what tips would you offer the beginner?

Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂

Related from Yellow Birch Hobby Farm:

• Canning Rabbit Meat
• My “For the Animals” Board on Pinterest
• My “Homesteading” Board on Pinterest

Shared at:

The Art of Home-Making Mondays #33

Clever Chicks Blog Hop #119

Old Fashioned Friday #100

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