From: kyoder@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Kenneth Yoder)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Rabbits
Date: 31 Jul 92 20:08:20 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

At the request of others, I have decided to share some things we learned
about raising rabbits.  If others have info to add, I'm sure everyone would
appreciate it.  I apologize for the length, but once I get going it is hard
to stop!

Breeds:

We raise the giant breeds.  Ours are a cross and I don't have a specific
breed to recommend.  One thing we have found though, is the white color
breeds seem to stand the heat of summer better than the grey or black ones. 
In the future, we are going to stick to California Giants because of that.

Food:

During the "green" season, we feed them weeds and grass from our garden.  I
supplement it with fresh alfalfa every now and then from the field of a
local farmer I know.  I also keep rolled barley available to them at all
times.  It seems to add to their growth and is especially important in the
winter.

In the winter, I buy alfalfa bales (as leafy as possible).  With the rolled
barley, they seem to do fine.

Cages:

We use cages made of welded wire.  The wire on the bottom is large enough
to let the pellets drop through but not large enough to allow their feet to
slip through.  They are about 3' x 3' and are about 2' tall in the front
(see side view below - note, this is NOT in scale due to these graphics
limitations - the roof only slopes about 6").  I used green fiberglass
roofing that you buy in 24"x8' sheets.  This is quick and easy and allows
more light through without direct sun.  I have the entire roof hinged so I
have easy access to the entire cage.  I have seen cages with varying
amounts of wood on the sides.  I find wood harder to keep clean and it also
allows for less air circulation.  We put a breeding hutch in the cage about
one week before birth and take it out when the young are about 3 weeks old.

               | \
               |    \
               |       \
               |          \
               |             \
               |              |\
               |              |
               |              |
               |              |
               ----------------
               |              |
               |              |
               |              |
               |              |  

The cages are self standing and are far enough off the ground that we can
get the pellets out from under them and still lean inside to do whatever we
have to.  

Our cages are under a grape arbor for shade in the summer and sun in the
winter.  Some method of shade in the summer is necessary.  Rabbits have a
much harder time with heat than they do with cold.  The only thing worse
than heat is cold wet wind.  In the winter we put black plastic around the
north and west sides (where most of our wind comes from) of the arbor to
protect them - the sun comes in from the top and south.

Butchering:

Butchering has to be the LEAST fun of raising rabbits, but is necessary if
you want to eat them.  The technique is the same one I saw used on a farm
for chickens.  I got an old sawhorse (any large flat wood surface will do)
and put two LARGE nails in at a slight angle with enough room at the bottom
to hold the head of the rabbit without choking it.  A large stump might
work as well, but I like the "working height" of the sawhorse.


   \          /
    \        /
     \      /
      \    /
       \  /
------------------

To butcher, I place the neck of the rabbit into the V and pull on the hind
legs to stretch the rabbit out and keep its' head in the V.  I then use a
SHARP axe to cut off it's head. 

It sounds a little gross, but I have yet to have a rabbit scream (which
they do when they are afraid or hurt).  I have probably butchered over 200
this way.  Usually, once you get them stretched out, they just lay there. 
I don't stretch them enough to hurt them, just hold them in place.  I also
talk in a low soothing voice as I am doing this to reduce stress.  With a
sharp axe, it only takes one chop - they don't know what hit them.

The "books" talked about a technique of snapping their neck as a quick way
of killing them.  I tried that on ONE and it was the worst experience I
have ever had.  I raise giant breeds for butchering and the neck would not
snap.  I decided to never try that technique again.

I have a large bucket right beside the sawhorse.  I put a couple inches of
dirt in it and then bleed the rabbit into the dirt.  This keeps the flies
away and I use the accumulated dirt later for the garden.

After they have all been killed and bled, I move to an area on the side of
the house where I have a sink.  I hang them by their back legs and the rest
of the process is easy to finish.

As I said, this method is quick and painless for the rabbit.  Even if the
axe doesn't completely cut of the head, the first blow breaks the neck and
the rabbit doesn't know what is happening.

While butchering is not much fun, we enjoy raising and eating rabbits. 
Butchering is a necessary "evil" to get from one to the other.

General breeding and raising tips:

We have had GREAT success with breeding the does on the full moon.  The
books poo poo the idea but a successful local breeder told us of this trick
and it has worked for us - only one false pregnancy in four years!  It also
makes it easier to remember when the doe was bred so you know when to
expect the young.

We leave the doe with the buck until he has had his way with her three
times.  This doesn't over stress the doe and as I said, we have had litters
every time except one.  The litter sizes are 8 - 11.  The books say you
should reduce the litter to no more than 8, but I haven't had the heart to
do that and the extra either died on their own or made it and we had extra
meat.  The does didn't seem to suffer from the large litters (well, maybe
they seemed EXTRA happy when we separated them from their young!).

The young rabbits are separated from the doe at 4 weeks.  I usually put no
more than 3-4 in a cage until they are butchered.  The adults are "pets",
but everyone in our family knows what will happen to the young and they are
NOT allowed to become pets.  The does can be rebred at the next full moon. 
With our three does and one buck, we have a litter to butcher every month. 
That's an average of 7-8 rabbits (3-4 lbs. each prior to dressing) a month.

Rabbits take up very little space and the area does not smell bad if you
clean under the cages frequently (we do it once a week - that's what kids
are for).  They are excellent for the "city slicker" who wants to know what
went into the meat they are eating.  They also are great for "recycling"
(garden->rabbit->garden).  We have even sold the young for extra cash.

Cooking and flavor:

You cook rabbits just like chicken.  They can be *slightly* tougher, but
taste GREAT.  They have little relation in taste to wild rabbits.  The only
people we know who don't like them do so because they can't stand the
thought of eating a "cute little bunny", not because of the flavor.


Ken Yoder
kyoder@lamar.colostate.edu