Photo by George Hodan
Many people like to raise meat rabbits. They’re an easy and fast source of meat. However, there are other ways besides meat production that a rabbit can benefit your farm.
Furs
You have meat rabbits because you want to eat them, so naturally you are going to end up with rabbit furs. Instead of throwing the furs away, why not sell them? Rabbit furs are prized for their delicate softness, and if you become a good tanner, your furs could fetch a nice profit.
Chicken Feed
If you have chickens, your rabbits can be a big benefit in the way of chicken feed. When your rabbits use the bathroom, their manure usually gathers in piles under their cages. This usually attracts bugs, which are one of the best protein sources for chickens. While these bugs most likely can’t completely replace chicken feed, they can supplement it and save you a little more money on your monthly feed bill.
Photo by Petr Kratochvil
Fertilizer
As your chickens scratch through rabbit manure, they loosen it up and remove the bugs from it. This leaves you with two profitable options for your rabbit manure. You can either use it for nutrients in your own garden or sell it to other gardeners.
Babies
Depending on the breed, a mother rabbit can be pregnant for only 20-30 days. On top of that, she can breed again only a day or two after birth, and her babies are ready to leave the nest at 15-20 days after birth. This leaves you with huge potential to make a good profit on selling the babies as meat rabbits.
In short, your rabbits can give you much more than meat. Their production on the farm can be increased and make your meat rabbit operation more efficient and beneficial to your family and your self-sufficiency efforts.
Photo by Karen Arnold
