Rabbits....is it worth it?

[Mary Catherine Williamson]

Is it worth owning rabbits just for their manure? I would diffenetly be getting grass fed good 'ol Polyface Farm rabbits so cost (besides making the movable hutch and initially buying them) wouldn't be much. Thoughts?

MC

 

[baymule]

Are you going to breed them? If not, get all same sex. If you breed them, are you ready to butcher/eat them? I had a 100 hundred doe rabbitry once upon a time. Now I'd rather have chickens.

 

[Mary Catherine Williamson]

I probably would not breed and get two does. The Polyface rabbits are mutts and don't grow to big (though they are used for meat).

 

[Nyboy]

I keep going back and forth over getting a bunny. I don't think they can live just on greens, I think you have to buy and give a pellet food too.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I probably do it all wrong and I have these big rabbits that came from a bad place. I have a Rex rabbit too that the second neighbor turned loose and I put him in the hutch after he ate all my purple sprouting broccoli and he does not seem to have any health issues at all. People who raise to eat them are a different story and I have not heard anybody regret raising them for meat, but the rabbits are butchered young, but I am like Baymule and would rather have chickens, but I have a friend who had a few rabbits and enjoyed it and is thinking of getting more for manure. I go back and forth of what I think about it. I told DS that when one dies, I just just go get the cutest baby rabbit and replace the dead one and then will be so busy with the new cute one that I will forget the dead one and DS said NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

 

[Smart Red]

I am not sure I can answer this question. My fertilizer bunny died this past winter and, while I appreciated the fertilizer I find I am getting well and enough from the chickens. I certainly am not rushing out to get a replacement rabbit at this time.

In the future? Perhaps I will. Perhaps I won't. It may just depend upon pressure by the Grands as to what I eventually do.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I had meat rabbits for about 10 years and, like most hobby type things, the attraction wore off. We don't have any bunnies now. I found that they became a bother and all the hutches needed to be replaced or repaired. Oh yeah, the manure was OK and made the compost pile richer (along with horse, cow, and chicken manure). But I don't miss the bunnies at all.