How to raise meat rabbits THE EASY WAY

[@Icummings09]

Live on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex and I do this with a pair on my balcony. Granted it’s not as big of a set up. But it’s enough for us to save money on buying meat.

[@HelenEk7]

Cool. I love the fact that you made it work on a balcony. Since rabbits make no noise they are perfect city animals. If you have some extra space indoors, you could also raise quail.

[@therenaissancewoman2080]

Brilliant!

[@crunchycountrycatholic]

You're doing great. Weve been raising for about a year and a half. Trying different breeds and have found a good meat mutt is the hardiest. Keep an eye out for nestbox eye infections on the babies and do your best to help them, but it isnt the end of the world if they lose an eye. Give them a pirate name and know theyll taste just as good with both eye as they will without one 😅 Love your videos on bushcraft. Very fun to see someone with similar interests!

[@dasmeltorp4705]

We did pretty much same were I grew up. Rabbit is cheap to breed and good tasting.

[@HiAmandaHere]

Thank you for your time and knowledge. We are about to have meat rabbits on our farm and you have helped educate us very well. We also have chickens and dogs 😊 thank you again. Very much appreciated.

[@sagesmokesurvival]

I’m glad I could help!

[@burntbeansoup]

I'm glad you prioritize their happiness. No animal should spend their life in a tiny cage

[@torreyjones4421]

Tiny cage no, but some breeds actually do very well in cage hutches. For example I have Champagne D'argents; great meat breed and lovely pelts. Also dumber than a sack of rocks you can give them room to frolic but they will spend the vast majority of their time sitting in one place eating rather than playing or anything like that. Doesn't make much difference to them being in a good sized cage instead of a run and it's more space efficient and allows us to better control breeding schedules and lineages. Colony method vs hutches is your typical "pros and cons" rather than one being outright superior.

[@marty8722]

Just wanted to say, brand-new subscriber here. I wanna start my own rabbit colony on my homestead for meat and fur. Its gotten really cold down here in texas the last few weeks and wanted a warm cloak, but seeing the price i might as well make my own for next winter :) what breed are your rabbits and how do you keep them cool in the summer? Im looking into various breeds that are heat-tolerant but also with nice, soft hides. And hopefully are friendly because ive got kids who will love snuggling baby rabbits :)

[@sagesmokesurvival]

Great ideas! Mine are a mix. My buck is pure silver fox and would not do well in texas. My 2 does are half silver fox. Their mother was a flemish giant mix or something. Don't know for sure because the breeder false advertised. For the summer heat, underground burrows are a life saver. I also use some solar powered fans and some people use misters. If you did a colony in a shed, you could probably install a small AC unit, but that could get expensive quick.

[@pascualrosello1424]

I think if you dig a "cave hole" you would be able to make a cave temperature ,wich nomaly is around 17°-21° and Will cost 0 $ and good for ambient, only would be important to extend on the cave the metal mesh!

[@jimf1964]

That’s an interesting idea. I’ve only seen the small cage metro for food bunnies. One question, you got screen on the floor, so how do you clean the floor up? Or you just rake it out and don’t worry about it being spotless?

[@agoude]

Just subbed. Did you lay wire on top of the ground or dig it in? I started building out an area and just laid welded wire fence on the ground... I have my trio in a hutch for now.

[@sagesmokesurvival]

technically I put the welded wire fencing under an inch of fill dirt, but it might as well just be under the bedding. works all the same

[@agoude]

@@sagesmokesurvival Good to know, that's helpful. Thanks for replying

[@steveo_o6707]

I'm sure your day job and family take up most of your time, but I'd sure love to see more videos from you. thanks.

[@dannyjensen2447]

How often do you harvest a rabbit?

[@bilalzulfiqar9765]

How often and how to clean the cage

[@Dr.Schmondo]

What do you feed in the winter? Then you have to buy pellets?

[@kennysmith9659]

What are the fans on the door for?????

[@sagesmokesurvival]

keeps the rabbits cool during the hottest part of the summer

[@MrOneNye]

​@sagesmokesurvival are they conveyed to meat the same way like a cow thru the forehead. Or put to sleep? It would suck if it were pretty nice living, to go out in terror. I'm curious about the way it works.

[@mathewanderson7552]

​@@sagesmokesurvivalare you located in the 209 or is the Modesto milling just a coincidence? Just found your channel and love the content and am learning a ton of stuff I wish I knew earlier on

[@sagesmokesurvival]

I get the Modesto milling feed from a shipping service called azure standard here in Idaho.

[@HelenEk7]

How cold does it get in winter where you are? Great set up by the way! I like that your colony is next to your house.

[@kalissahood7050]

Do cats ever bother your colony? I want to transition to a colony, but I'm worried I'll have to wire up the roof too 😅

[@jerimy1lisinski]

how did you mack sure they don't dig out

[@rockitrocket]

When do your baby bunnies start eating forage? The breeder my bunnies came from said that it would give them diarrhea at this age (5 weeks) but people with grow out butchers at 8 weeks and they feed forage. But she also wasn’t feeding them hay…

[@cmmrris1]

Do you keep your males and females together

[@Thehotalings804]

How do you kee it dry when it rains? We are in a stormy season and I’m worried about hail and wind getting them

[@sagesmokesurvival]

I have a rain fly in their enclosure. As long as they have hides to get out of the weather, they should be fine

[@definitelynosebreather]

That's great. I'd find a hard time eating animals I raised, but its just me. Fair play to you! Keep doing the rabbit videos!

[@HolyFamilyHomesteadWV]

Thats what i worry most about. Will i be able to dispatch bunnies? 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@burntbeansoup]

Yeah, I want to raise animals for food but I'd feel so bad :( especially if they're cute bunnies lol

[@TUKByV1]

I need a yard.

[@cmmrris1]

This is how I want to Do it. But all I hear is how they need to be separated

[@mindyourownbastardbu]

The link is to a video that demonstrates that rabbits are not in any way self sufficient and require burrows, straw, hay, feed, fresh water troughs and enclosure. So that's totally different to chickens then, plus you get shedloads of rabbit fur pelts but no eggs...

[@IvanIvanovich-qh9xt]

Did you think rabbits eat sunshine

[@amypayjack6481]

You still need feed and water and shelter for chickens, and he said meat chickens aren't self sufficient. You won't get eggs from Cornish cross. I raise laying hens because the eggs taste better, and i like seeing them in the yard. during the cold months they eat far more than the value of eggs in a year. Cornish cross eat far more feed than the value of meat they produce. ( in canada anyway) it's cheaper to buy chicken from the store. When I had rabbits I raked up grass clippings for free hay and picked grass, dandelions and garden veggies for free in the summer.

[@d.j.roberts187]

When you say meat rabbits….

[@Eddievargas1]

He use the pelts too

[@blakecarnes9400]

Yes rabbit's used for meat and hide

[@thenatural1278]

Nom nom bunny go bye bye

[@machinemaker2248]

For conversion of low quality protein into high quality protein, nothing beats 'em. Fast & efficient.

[@foundfate6931]

Meat rabbits.. fucking disgusting. Evolve!

[@lukasbroderus8582]

Do you struggle with killing them after raising them for so long hahah?

[@KermitAdventures]

Hey rabbits shouldn’t have corn just so you know

[@sagesmokesurvival]

Studies have shown corn in moderation is fine for rabbits who are actively growing, un-neutered, and live an active life. It's actually the most used ingredient besides alfalfa for meat rabbit feed. I use a small amount of non-gmo organic feed corn in their homemade winter mix, and I haven't had any problems from it.

[@emeriusjones]

​@@sagesmokesurvival Akshually! 🤓

[@jon.bo_]

@@emeriusjoneswell, what’s he supposed to say? this is how communication works, not just one word and a 🤓 emoji. not everything needs to be a zinger. ofc, the easy option is to reply to this message with 🤓 and some quote from my response showing my 🤓-ness but we both know your sense of humor isn’t that lazy and contrite, right?

[@emeriusjones]

@@jon.bo_ Was referencing the original poster. You know the guy who confidently and incorrectly stated rabbits can't have corn? 😂 The one who came around to say "Akshually" just to be wrong?

[@jon.bo_]

@@emeriusjones you know. yeah, fuck, you’re right, my bad😅😅been online too much i think. wishing you well edit: i assumed you were not responding to the original poster lol

[@dwightmaciv4789]

U throwing that famn stick at these rabbits huh