Rabbits are an excellent source of food, and they also are very easy to raise and keep. They require minimal space, can reproduce quickly and require minimal resources to feed. Building a rabbit cage and breeding them can be accomplished with minimal resources or experience, and you can create a stable and reliable food source without the need to invest a lot of time or money. Here are some basic steps to follow to get you started.
Building the Cage
The first thing that you need to do is build a cage that will provide the rabbits with enough space and shelter them from other predatory animals. You can either purchase a large wire cage or build your own. A simple wood-framed box that is lined with chicken wire will usually do the trick as long as there are no openings or weaknesses that predators can use to their advantage. Rabbits also require at least 2x3x5 feet of space each. Make sure that you build or buy your cage according to how many rabbits that you will be keeping.
You want to also build a center frame that bisects the cage lengthwise for the food and water dishes. You want to use small chicken wire for the lining of the bottom of the cage so that waste will go through and make cleaning easier. You can also add some straw or put a plastic container lid in there for the rabbit to rest upon as well. Don’t use litter or pine needles.
Feed and Water Dishes
Metal feeders and water dishes are ideal for raising rabbits because they will eat through plastic. One of the most effective ways to make your own is to fashion them out of large coffee cans. You want to cut a horizontal line about two to three inches from the bottom around the circumference of the can. However, you don’t want to cut completely around the can because you will need to create a holder for water bottles, so keep a couple of inches intact in the back. Then, cut a vertical line down the middle and peel open the top portion of the can.
Fold inward so each end touches the other and press down so that there is an oval shaped enclosure. The next step is to bend in all of the jagged edges around the cuts you made with pliers in order to prevent injury to you or the rabbits. This is especially important around the basin that you just fashioned along the bottom of the can. Repeat the process with as many cans as you desire based on the number of rabbits that you will be raising.
For the water dishes, poke some holes in the caps of plastic water bottles and invert them inside of the oval holder that you just made. The caps should just touch the bottom of the basin. Squeeze the sides of the top portion of the can to hold the bottles in place. This process will help to regulate the flow of water and reduce the amount of time that you will spend on refilling the bottles. You can also invert bags or containers of feed in a similar manner.
Feed
Rabbits love hay, dried grass, scraps of dried bread or crackers and vegetable scraps. Alfalfa is one of the most popular options to consider, but most other types of hay will work if you don’t have that option available. You can also feed them special rabbit pellets as well. Monitor what your rabbits are eating and stop feeding them things that they do not consume. Also, it is important that you remove any uneaten feed from the previous day and replace it with fresh items. This is the best way to determine how much food they need every day along with what items they prefer the most.
Breeding
Rabbits mature at about six months of age, but it is a good idea to get younger ones in order to give them a chance to adapt to their surroundings. Look for rabbits with broad heads, large paws and a general appearance of health and fullness. A good rule of thumb is to have one male for every three females. You really don’t need to do much except make sure that the rabbits are well fed and their cage is properly cleaned and maintained. The gestation period for rabbits is generally a little over a month.
You can separate the rabbits based on sex and let the children grow in another cage or you can breed them with other rabbits. The goal is to develop a supply system that will meet your needs or raise them for sale, but you also don’t want to be overrun with them either. Separating them by sex will help to control their population and give you exactly what you need when needed.
This is just a basic outline that you can use to get started, and you don’t need to invest a lot of money in complicated systems or cages. Consider this option if you are looking for a stable food source and plan on being situated in one location for an extended period of time. You can also transport rabbits in cat carriers and rebuild cages if you need to bug out. Try this out for yourself and see how easy rabbits are to grow, nurture and then use for food or barter today.
