Here on our farm from time to time we have raised a few meat rabbits for food. Rabbit taste like juicy dark chicken meat if cooked properly. We have kept them in cages, pens with concrete floors and outside on the ground. Like the New Zealand cross Californian meat rabbits in the short video below.
What we have learned so far is that the rabbits seem a little bit happier on the ground however as with these rabbits they wean many more kits or baby rabbits and tend to be healthier in the cages off the ground. The cages keep the rabbits off the ground cleaner, dryer, and healthier they also seem to grow faster. Our breeder rabbits did very well in the cages with a diet of mostly standard rabbit pellets and good hay and fresh water. The biggest mistake you can do is change a rabbit's diet too fast, that's why most people have trouble moving rabbits out to pasture. They need to be introduced to the grass/pasture slowly so not to get sick and possibly die. Our rabbits favourite treats were apple tree trimmings and red clover but they will eat most greens and grasses. The number one reason for keeping rabbits besides the great meat they provide is there waste. Their droppings make one of the best garden and plant foods you can find.
Next time we raise up some rabbits on the farm we will be trying to raise them with no pellets. If you have done this before please leave your rabbits diet in the comments.
Thanks
