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Hare Raising!

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Raising huge, meaty, California rabbits is simple, rewarding, and being prolific breeders; guarantees a plentiful meat supply for your homestead. One can use, rabbit, as a substitute for any recipe that calls for chicken. Rabbit can be deep-fried, fricasse'd, diced and used in rabbit and ham pie, rabbit and dumplings, rabbit soup; the list is endless. I slaughtered my fryers at four months of age, and filled a good portion of my large freezer with them. I sold dressed fryers to neighbors for $12.50 a piece. Breeding pairs were sold for $40; Mama rabbits sold for $25, and Papa rabbits for $20. The pelts weren’t wasted, as I’d tan them and either keep them for myself, or sell them at a profit.

HOUSING:

Rabbits should be raised on wire, as it is cleaner and more sanitary than a wooden floor, and won’t get soaked in urine. Using wire will also prevent their hutches from smelling and their feet from getting wet and sore.

When purchasing your initial stock, look for clear, bright eyes, free from gum and mucous. Check out their feet to make sure they're free from sores or boils, and their ears; mite-free.

Thoroughly disinfect the hutches before use, as this will stop the spread of bacteria, fungi and infectious diseases. A blowtorch can be used on the wire to destroy germs and burn unwanted clumps of hair and fecal matter. Make sure the hutches dry thoroughly in the sunshine, before placing the rabbits in them.

A tarpaulin should be used to cover the hutches at night and during inclement weather; a freezing wind will kill an exposed rabbit, whereas a covered California rabbit can tolerate –20 degrees F, quite comfortably.

During the summer months, the hutches should be placed in the shade, to prevent the rabbits suffering heat stress. Ice should be added to their water to keep it cool.

BREEDING:

The adult buck's should have a hutch each, as they’ll fight with other buck's. The adult doe's also, should have a hutch each with a large nesting box within—spacious enough to enable them to lie down on their side, and nurse their bunnies when they’re born. I placed my rabbit hutches next to each other in a circle, and put a doe's hutch between two bucks and then two other doe's either side of the bucks. This pattern will keep the doe's in heat regularly, and will make it easier for you to detect the event. It takes only one buck to service fifteen doe's, but he has to be well fed and in tip-top condition to produce strong, healthy litters. The buck is half your herd--so take extra special care of him. Make certain that the commercial rabbit feed that you use, is of good quality and urea free.