It may seem taboo to many people to eat a rabbit. Rabbits however are an excellent source of protein on our homestead. They make wonderful animals to raise as a beginner and with little to no land required. Have you ever eaten a rabbit? Don't scrunch up your face as you read that question! Let's be honest here, rabbits are super cute and fluffy. That's what most folks have trouble getting past. I'm gonna tell you how amazing these little fluffy guys are, in so many ways you've probably never even thought of.
We raise Pedigree Silver fox Rabbits. This breed of rabbit was bred for meat, show and their fur. They are a rare breed but are making a comeback in more ways than one. They are a recognised breed by the American Rabbit Breeders Association. These rabbits are a docile breed and weigh between 9-12 pounds. Raising rabbits can easily be a family task. Caring for the rabbits can be an excellent task for children, even the little fellers can help feed and water. Children can also give lots of love to these fluffy critters. We fully believe that every animal here should live its best life here and those who will be eaten will only have one bad day in their life. We choose to love all our animals fully even those we will consume. Silver fox rabbits come in five main colors black, blue, chocolate, lilac and white. They have a beautiful fly back fur that is silver tipped. The does tend to be excellent mothers. building a nest and caring for their young kits. They generally have between 6-10 babies/kits, but have been known to have more. The does can have a litter in about 30-34 days and kits can be weaned at 4-5 weeks, if you choose to. We wait to wean until 6 weeks here and don't sell any kits until 8 weeks at the earliest. The does can be rebred at the 4-5 weeks mark. Again I try to give the mothers a little rest time in between litters to recoup. They can be bred year round and do well with most weather so long as they are kept dry and out of the wind.
Now that you know a little about these fluffy little critters, let's talk about how wonderfully useful they are. Again don't scrunch up that nose! Honestly rabbit meat is truly tasty, just like chicken. The meat is mostly all a white meat and does really taste like chicken. The butchering process takes place here at about 12-14 weeks old and is one of the easiest animals I've ever butchered. Our children help with all tasks around our homestead and rabbit butchering is no different. They are taught all aspects of raising your own food and that includes the one bad day. No they aren't forced to participate, but they all always help in some way. Each will have some task during the butchering to do. Kids in general enjoy being helpful. They also know we thank the lord for each and every harvest we get on this land. Nothing is free we must work for what we have. Several of our rabbits never see butchering as they are sold to other families who wish to raise the Silver Foxes for show and/or as a meat source. We try to breed to the standard of perfection among the breed and choose the best to sell and eat the rest. I truly enjoy breeding these rabbits. Rabbit meat can be parted out very similar to a chicken and fried, smoked whole, slow cooked or stewed, baked and even pressure canned for quick busy night meals. It can be added to any recipe calling for chicken, Seriously you'd never know it was rabbit and not chicken! We love rabbit fajitas, rabbit and noodles, rabbit casserole and pulled rabbit. The possibilities are endless. rabbits are clean to raise unlike meat chickens and eat much less feed. The rabbits provide us with much needed bunny gold, "manure" for our gardens. This natural fertilizer can be added directly to your garden, no need to wait for it to compost. It won't burn up your plants. We try to make full use of everything we raise. Saving the ears, feet and hides from our butchered rabbits, we are able to make natural dog treats for our dog and while dehydrating with the fur on provides a natural dewormer for him as well. The fur can also be saved and tanned to be added on garments or pillows etc.
I ask you to not discount the rabbit as a means of protein. They really do provide us with so much. Taking a very minimal amount of care. These rabbits are a very sustainable venture for any home. Rabbit raising can be a fun, healthy and cost effective source of meat for any family who would like to raise their own meat. Knowing how and where your food comes from is a great feeling as well as knowing it is easily sustainable. Learning to raise and butcher rabbits may be a skill that most folks haven't passed on or been able to learn, for it's almost a lost skill. It is a life skill that I will be glad to pass on to anyone interested. Please feel free to email me with any questions or comment below. Rabbit's make a great dinner or even a nice breakfast sausage. No face scrunching! Home raised food is healthy fuel!
