Raising Meat Rabbits to Feed Your Family

With food shortages looming and the modern supply chain becoming more unreliable, people are looking for ways to provide their families with fresh, healthy food. Meat rabbits are an excellent source of protein, and they can be raised on a relatively small scale. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the basics of what raising meat rabbits can produce and offer cost breakdowns for getting started. Let’s get hopping!

The main reason people are interested in meat rabbits is that they don’t require a lot of room, take very little work, and among other options, require a very low initial startup cost.

Raising Meat Rabbits

The first question everyone wants to know is, “How many rabbits will I need to feed my family?”

For a family of four, you will need 6 breeding does that will be able to raise 50 kits each year. This will provide 5 rabbit meals per week.

If that’s more rabbits than you want to eat per week, this chart will help you determine how many does you need. Of course, you can always can the meat or share it with others.

Rabbit Meals (per week)	Does Needed (one fryer per meal)
1	2
2	3
3	4
4	5
5	6
6	7
7	8

These numbers are rounded up, but it gives you an idea of how many does you will need to keep enough fryers in the production line for your family.

Cost to raise rabbits to butcher weight

The cost to raise a fryer up to 5 pounds will vary depending on feed prices but you should be able to do it for around $5.00.

Rabbit Feed (cost per 50# bag)	Feed Cost (per lb)	Cost to Raise Fryer (5 lbs)
$15.49	$0.31	$4.65
$20.99	$0.42	$6.30

These numbers apply best to rabbits like Californians and New Zealand Whites, the common meat breeds.

Rabbits gain weight at a 3:1 ratio, which means for every 3 pounds of a well-balanced feed they are given they gain 1 pound of body weight.

Take the price of the bag divided by the pounds in the bag, this gives you the price per pound of the feed.

The cost to raise a fryer up to 5 pounds will be 15 times your cost per pound of feed.

How to figure the cost per fryer

We’ll use a feed cost of $15.49 for a 50-pound bag.

• $15.49 divided by 50=$0.3098 (We’ll use $0.31 per pound)
• $0.31 x 15=$4.65
• So to get a fryer to 5 pounds using $15.49 per bag of feed is $4.65

To use a feed cost of $20.99 for a 50-pound bag

• $20.99 divided by 50=$0.4198 (We’ll use $0.42 per pound)
• $0.42 x 15= $6.30
• So to get a fryer to 5 pounds using $20.99 per bag of feed is $6.30

Pick the right breed

Californians and New Zealand Whites are regarded as the two best choices for raising meat rabbits. They both have a high meat-to-bone ratio. Which means you will get more meat per pound.

Californians, also known as Californian Whites, are very much like the New Zealand White because they share a common heritage. They were developed in the 1920s in California by George West. He used New Zealand Whites in his breeding process.

• Adults weigh in at 8-11 pounds on average. The ideal butchering weight is 5 pounds.
• The fur is white with black markings on the legs, ears, and nose.

New Zealand Whites also originated in the United States in California. It probably got its name because rabbits from New Zealand were used in breeding.

• Adults weigh in at 10-12 pounds. The ideal butcher weight is 5 pounds.
• The fur can be white, blue, black, red, or multicolored.

There are a few other good breeds used for raising meat rabbits.

Champagne D’Argent: This is a heritage breed that has been traced back to the 17^th century. It’s a larger breed with black fur and wonderful meat

Palomino: A docile breed known for its ease of handling. It has pale-orange fur and a live weight of 8-12 pounds.

Flemish Giant: They are called giants for a reason. Their live weight can be up to 20 lbs! Originating in Belgium’s Flanders region, they have a reputation as one of the most docile breeds available.

Chinchilla: They have an adult live weight of 12 pounds. Although they are good meat rabbits, some people keep them as pets.

Choosing the right diet

The fastest way to get your rabbits to the desired 5-pound live weight for butchering is to feed them commercially prepared rabbit food.

You can graze your rabbits and give them what I believe is a healthier diet than pellets however they will take longer to reach the 5-pound weight.

If you use low-quality pellets you may save money at the store but in the long run, it will take more feed and a longer time to get them to the 5-pound weight for butchering.

If you raise your rabbits in a group, you will also increase your feed costs as they will compete for feed. Some will eat more than their share and others will get less. Raising meat rabbits in individual cages is the best way to have the highest feed-to-meat ratio.

However, rabbits are social animals so if you keep them in individual cages, you will need to allow social interaction every day.

If you want to lower your feed cost and don’t mind a slower growth rate here are a few ideas.

• You can feed high-quality hay or hay pellets to supplement their diet.
• If you have good pasture, you can put them in a chicken tractor or portable rabbit hutch and move them from one spot to another each day.
• One of the best and easiest ways to lower your feed cost and raise healthy rabbits is to grow microgreens in trays as fodder for them.
• You may even be able to find a lower cost grain like oats to replace some of their diet.

45-Day Breeding Cycle

How much rabbit meat can be produced on a 45-day breeding cycle?

• Breed January 1st
• First litter born February 1st
• Breed again February 15th
• First litter weaned March 15th
• Second litter born April 1st
• First litter butchered April 15^th
• An average of 8 kits per litter= 64 fryers from this doe per year
• 5 pound live weight=3.5 lbs dressed weight x 64 fryers=224 pounds of meat

Cost Breakdown For Getting Started

You can expect to spend between $25-75 each for quality breeding stock rabbits with good genetics and proven track records.

Most people buy a breeding trio of one buck and two does. If you’ve done the math and need more meat than these can produce, consider an extended trio, which is one buck and three does.

Purchased item	Cost
Trio of adult breeding stock rabbits	$50-150
Cages and equipment for breeding rabbits and fryers (rabbits raised to 5 lbs for butchering)	$400
Cost of feed for fryers and 3 adult rabbits	$9
Cost per fryer for processing and packaging	$5

The equipment cost covers everything you will need to purchase to get started. You will need to place the rabbit cages under an overhang or under a shed.

Unless you’re grazing them in hutches or chicken tractors, you can put them on blocks or sawhorses for easy access.

They need good airflow and protection from the weather. They should not be exposed to excessive direct sunlight.

So, the total expected cost for starting from scratch to putting the first fryer on the table is going to be around $500.

Of course, you can save money by repurposing materials you have on hand to build hutches. You can likewise spend more and build elaborate housing. It’s totally your choice.

Sometimes you can get blessed and find a person giving away a cage and rabbits they no longer want to keep or at a significant discount. If you do purchase used cages or other equipment, make sure to disinfect them before adding your rabbits to them.

FAQs

1.How many rabbits are needed per person?

With the right breeding cycle, one buck and two does should be enough rabbits to satisfy the meat intake of a family of four.

2. Is raising rabbits for meat worth it?

With the lowest initial investment and easiest upkeep of any meat animal, rabbits are the meat-producing superstars. You can start with a breeding trio of rabbits which can produce in as little as 10 weeks and provide around 500 pounds of meat a year.

3. How many rabbits can you raise?

Some people have raised up to 500 breeding pairs each producing around 60 kits a year. Really, it’s up to you and your family to decide your goals and needs.

4. How many rabbits should you have for a farm?

Small farms have one buck and two does. Which can produce around 120 kits a year and with the right genetics around 500 pounds of meat a year.

5. At what age do you butcher rabbits?

For meat rabbit breeds, you butcher them as fryers at 5 pounds live weight which is 3.5 pounds dressed weight on average. This is at about 3 ½ months old. If you want a roaster, larger rabbit for roasting, they are ready at about 8 months old.

6. Can you make money on a rabbit farm?

Raising rabbits for profit can be done with less space and time than any other animal raised for meat production. With the right genetics and production plan, you can supply enough meat to your market to make a good living.

Wrap Up

Meat rabbits are an excellent choice for those looking to get into homesteading and raising their own food. Rabbits are relatively easy to care for, have small space requirements, and can produce a large amount of meat in a short period of time.

Rabbits are social animals and if you keep them in separate cages, you should allow for some social interaction every day.

We’ve covered the basics of what to expect from meat rabbits. There’s a lot of information out there on housing and breeding for you to research. Our goal was to give you the basics of how to get started, the cost, and how much meat to expect.

Have you ever raised rabbits for meat? What breed would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!