Raising Rabbits as a Survival Food?

K Williams

K Williams

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Nov 17, 1998
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Does anyone here raise rabbits as a survival resource? Do they have to be kept in pens, or can they live outside in the elements? Are they any donestic rabbits that have brown fur? Can cottontails be raised?
 
Yes, Rabbits are good for raising as a food source. Pens keep out people and animals who also think rabbits are a good food source. Rabbits also can provide glue, leather, fur ( fur of some rabbits can be spun into wool.), and other rabbits. Raise domestics, as you can choose which suits your needs best. meat, multipurpose, or fiber breeds.
 
I'd say they are one of the best animals for that purpose. Keep them in pens and keep 'em clean. Reproduce like mad. Don't really even need a knife to process them. Grab them by the legs and let them get tired. When they stop kickin' give them a good blow on the back of the head with a heavy stick. Swift and clean kill.

You can get them in brown too! :)
 
I used to raise rabbits on the homestead I grew up on. The breeds I had were silver martins and californians. The californians were fantastic meat producers. The New Zealand red and whites were good meat producers as well. The angora is the rabbit that produces wool that can be spun. There are many domestic breeds, some are brown. The cottontail is high strung, and in my admittedly limited experience on that topic, are not easily domestically raised on a long term.
 
I have a friend who is out of work and they couldn't really afford anything but the house note. he had 5 rabbits and they feed them good. you start to get tired of it but if it's all you have it's all you have. definitely need to be in a pin and kept clean. for shtf they are pretty ideal. they make no noise don't eat a lot and feed is super cheap and they will eat most the stuff grown in a garden.
 
You might be better off raising chickens as a survival food.ckicken has fat in the skin wich is what carry's the vitamins & minerals that your body needs to survive. in Marine corp survival training we were told that in the long term even with your belly full of rabbit you could still starve.
also rabbits breed fast but they can also die off fast. my kids had 60+ bunnys we spent all winter and spring feeding and they died off in about a three week period. YMMV
 
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Rabbits are, IMHO, a PITA. As just mentioned, chickens or other fowl are much more suited for reliable meat production, plus eggs. They require far less care and can pretty well feed themselves at certain times of the year. Well constructed pens and coops can support 40 birds easily in a space 10'x40', more if they are allowed to free range during the day.
 
I've been thinking/reading about this and I believe that chickens are a superior animal for self sufficiency. They produce eggs, they forage by themselves and put themselves away at night. When they stop producing eggs you can eat them.

Chickens can be quite loud though. Chickens and rabbits both produce a very fine fertilizer.

If you have the space I believe that goats may produce more meat than other animals with less feed.
 
One of the main theories of the reproductive activities of rabbits is they are susceptible to so many diseases and birth defects, that without fast reproduction, then would be extinct. Of course having a pen would keep the weaker ones away from predators, but having something like that as an emergency food source seems like a super last resort. Raise chickens.
 
A lot of folks in the city are raising chickens. When I lived in Seattle I had several neighbors who had fresh eggs every morning. There are certain breeds that are pretty quiet.
Growing up in Northern California ( in the burbs) I had neighbors who raised cat fish, rabbits, chickens and goats. The big problem with catfish is all the standing water leads to mosquitoes. I've heard of folks raising carp at home too. I don't care for the taste of carp myself.
 
Not rabbits.

Chickens outside, guinea pigs inside. They've been raising guinea pigs for food in South America for centuries. They're clean, don't smell, and can be raised by the dozen in a box.
 
Keeping rabbits to add a little meat during hard times is good thinking. But if you are planning to live off rabbits for an extended period without any other form of meat or veggies, then you should read up about rabbit starvation.

Its not meant to scare you away from rabbits, just to give you the info you need to make a informed descision: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation
 
I've heard of Rabbit Starvation before but it sounds different to me now as I'm re-reading it. Could this apply to eating wild birds as well? Or squirrels?
 
Chris Pierce said:
A lot of folks in the city are raising chickens. When I lived in Seattle I had several neighbors who had fresh eggs every morning. There are certain breeds that are pretty quiet.
Growing up in Northern California ( in the burbs) I had neighbors who raised cat fish, rabbits, chickens and goats. The big problem with catfish is all the standing water leads to mosquitoes. I've heard of folks raising carp at home too. I don't care for the taste of carp myself.
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My auracanas were near mute, quite tame and proliffic layers. I kept mixed flocks for many years. Each breed has it's own traits as far as speed of maturity, productivity, self propagation, muscle development, food conversion, ability to fly and intellegence. I kept them mostly for meat and eggs, but they also kept the ticks out of my yard when I let them range. They do attract predators, but that can be another food source.
 
Does anyone here raise rabbits as a survival resource?

Yes I raise rabbits to supply most of my meat needs these days. I have Florida Whites. I chose them despite being harder to locate in my area due to the fact that they are a smaller rabbit than the NZ which are very common. This choice was made for a number of reasons. 1. Smaller rabbit equals smaller cages and less food. 2. Despite being smaller these rabbits they have a much smaller bone structure than NZ and when you flesh out the fryer they have almost as much meat as a result.

Do they have to be kept in pens, or can they live outside in the elements?

They are best kept in pens. I use the stackable Bass cages. They maximize the space they take up and make for a good way to expand or reduce your operation as needed.

Are they any donestic rabbits that have brown fur?

Yes there are.

Can cottontails be raised?

You can but the going can be very difficult. They are very high strung, easily excited and are very prone to injury thrashing about the cages. That being said I think they are far more trouble than they are worth. Your best bet is to stick to domesticated breeds.
 
I wonder if pigeons would be a viable option ? As a child one of my uncles used to have a large cage and he raised them for racing. I remember his timing clock etc. When I was about 12-14 I was in a country field and came around a bush. I spooked up a flock of pigeons pecking corn out of spread cow manure. I let fly with a 3 inch 410 shotgun shell and 3-4 went down. I cooked them up as we were in the country and it was a grayish meat that reminded me of chicken (doesn't everything ?, lol). I remember little about it so it must not have stood out as gamey.
 
I would vote for chickens. But predators can be a problem. Had 25 chickens went on a trip, my friend left the coup open one night and coons killed everyone of them. My wife (who is a city girl) was devastated. She is convinced that Racoons are the Al Quada of the animal world. The idea of goats as a meat source sounds interesting. Although I would expect that butchering and processing a goat would be much more challenging than processing a chicken (or rabbit).
 
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