I have a rabbit I don't want anymore. Will you take it?
- While I'm happy to help you rehome your rabbit, it's important to understand that this is a farm, and everyone works around here. If your rabbit fits into my breeding program, it'll get to stick around for as long as it's happy being a productive member of the crew. If it doesn't, it'll either be rehomed to someone its more suited to, or it will be humanely dispatched to either feed me or my dogs.
Where do I find cages?
- While you can buy cages at places like TSC or Rural King, they aren't a quality that I find acceptable. The wire is of a lighter gauge than I like, the welds aren't super, they require more clips than provided to go together securely, they rust pretty fast, the doors open into the cage (which freaks out the rabbits), and they cost too much for what they are.
- Used cages can sometimes be found on craigslist.
- Local cage builders
- Rabbit shows ~ rabbit shows often have a cage building vendor set up with cages, carriers, and rabbit raising supplies.
- Build your own! You can buy flat pack cages or wire by the foot to build your own from rabbit supply companies. See below.
Where do I find wire to build my own cages?
- NOT the feed store or big box hardware store. I bought cage wire at TSC one time, and one time only. One afternoon, my apparently bored Flemish Giant doe pulled her cage apart, one weld at a time. That wire is fast and convenient when you didn't plan ahead and need a cage right now (bunny math victim!) but the cages you build with it will have a significantly shorter lifespan than if you used quality wire. Consider also where that wire was made.
- Klubertanz and Bass both sell quality USA made cage wire, although I only have direct experience with Klubertanz. They're a smallish family business, so cut them some slack on the time needed to fill your order. They are especially busy in the couple of months leading up to national convention.
- ARBA National Convention - call ahead to Klubertanz, and ask them to bring your order to convention. You could also ask them which shows they'll be attending, and have them bring your order to whichever show you're both going to be at. To my knowledge, they only attend big shows.
What's a heritage breed and do you raise them?
- Heritage breeds are breeds with character and history! These are the colorful breeds that don't quite fit into most commercial meat operations. They have that same potential, and back when there was a more robust market for hides/fur, and more of our food system was local instead of national or international, they were quite popular. These are the rabbits our grandparents raised.
Do I need pedigreed rabbits?
Where do I find rabbits?
What kind of feed do you use?
Do I need to feed hay?
What if I don't want to feed pellets?
How long do you wait in between breedings/litters?
Can you breed related rabbits to each other?
How old do rabbits need to be to be butchered?
What is the best way to humanely dispatch a rabbit?
How do you package meat for the freezer?
- I used to use my foodsaver, but I experienced too many seal failures due to moisture getting sucked into the part of the bag that gets melted to form the seal. It would look sealed, but later in the freezer would come unsealed. Now I use shrink bags from poultryshrinkbags.com (nci). They ship crazy fast, and are really easy to use. These are the same people with a great tutorial online on how to butcher meat chickens, and they also make the whizbang plucker. There are other companies to buy shrink bags from, but I've only
What can I make with rabbit?
- Hasenpfeffer
- Coconut Curry Rabbit Stew
- Spaghetti
- Enchiladas
- Rabbit Salad
- Sweet Garlic Rabbit
- Pulled BBQ Rabbit
- Roast Rabbit
- Bacon wrapped Rabbit
