Feeding your meat rabbits is definitely the most expensive part of raising them but you’ll still get more bang for your buck than you would if you were raising other animals for meat. What you put into your rabbit will be directly reflected in what you get out. Quality, not quantity, is the key.

Rabbits are vegetarians but a large portion of the meat rabbit’s diet needs to be proteins and amino acids. However you try to combine them, there’s no way that a meat rabbit could ever get the protein needed to produce it’s fullest capacity and be in top health by getting these amino acids from salads alone.

If you’re not focusing on the goal of high production, rabbits can easily survive on grains, vegetables, lawn clippings, or garden and table scraps. Give them the tops of carrots, salad hearts that aren’t used in the salad itself, pumpkins and more. Subscribe to the Meat Rabbit News mailing list on the side of this page to get a whole list of fruits, vegetables, herbs, tree cuttings, leaves and flowers which are safe to feed rabbits for free.

During the Great Depression and in some third world countries, people still raise rabbits on a diet of scraps and grains alone.  The rabbits continue to produce and grow just fine, but their litters are smaller and grow more slowly. Not optimal if you’re raising meat rabbits. The rabbits may also lack protein, salt and other nutrients that they normally consume from feed pellets. Using a good store-bought feed pellet just simplifies your feeding routine and keeps you from spending a lot of time mixing together your own feed. An over- or underweight doe is more susceptible to disease and may have trouble breeding and kindling.

• Would you like to know exactly where the meat you are eating came from and what happened to it during its lifetime?
• Would you like to fully control the animal’s diet and whether it truly was fed organic feed and the best other foods possible, instead of just being pumped full of chemicals?
• Would you like to be certain that it lived in a cage or pen that was cleaned regularly, where it lived a content life and was culled humanely?
• Would you like to provide your family with warm clothing as well as put food on the table?
• Would you like to have meat, fur, rabbits and more to sell, trade or barter?

All that and more is possible if you begin raising your own rabbits for meat. Rabbits are quiet, clean and docile creatures which can even be raised in your home. Even most apartment dwellers can find enough space to raise a few rabbits and neighbors may never even know they are there.

People have been raising meat rabbits for centuries but breeding rabbits for meat and fur production didn’t become popular in the United States until the beginning of the 20th century. During the Great Depression, many families began raising rabbits for food to avoid starvation and provide a significant source of protein. Despite only feeding the rabbits table scraps and foraged greens, a family could still have decent rabbit meat production numbers although the rabbits were not at their ultimate protein levels.

The US Agricultural Department expects food prices to rise 3.5-4.5% in 2009, versus an increase of 5-6% in 2008. The average price of beef has increased almost 44% since 1996.  The price for a pound of chicken has increased 300% since 1998. Do you want to keep giving your money to big business or would you rather keep it at home where it belongs? There is no better time to take control of your own food supply chain and to being raising meat rabbits in addition to growing your own vegetables and fruits. Just a few minutes out of every evening are enough to keep your rabbitry running smoothly.

If you’ve gotten this far and are still wondering what a “locavore” is, it’s someone who chooses to eat seasonal, locally-sourced foods rather than industrially-farmed meat and produce. Most of the time, “local” is within 100 miles of you although some prefer to set stricter limits. The concept is so trendy that Webster’s Dictionary even chose “locavore” as the word of the year in 2007.

The push to buy produce and meat at farmer’s markets has been on the rise for the last few years – but those with a little determination and perseverance will find raising their own fruits, vegetables and more very rewarding. Stick a few tomato seeds into pots on your patio and see how easy it can be to start growing your own produce. And the difference in taste is almost alarming.

But did you know you can also raise your own meat at home; even if you live in an apartment? When people think about raising their own meat, they generally think of chickens, cattle, goats, ducks and other livestock. But raising rabbits for meat and fur is an easy alternative for anyone who wants to become more self-sufficient. Rabbit is also very high in protein and low in fat and cholestrol so you’ll also be eating healthier while saving money. You only need 3-4 rabbits to get started and 1 young rabbit provides just the right amount of meat to feed a family of four. Rabbit meat has a neutral flavor, like chicken, and can be used in a wide variety of dishes without anyone noticing the difference.

What do you grow or buy local? Do you look for restaurants that also are pledging to get their produce and meat local? Isn’t it better to support your community directly instead of sending all that money overseas?

And that is why places in the UK are starting to offer rabbit on their menus. Restaurants of all shapes and sizes want their clientele to keep coming back for more so they are now offering rabbit, a less expensive meat with even more health benefits. Butchers are stocking skinned rabbits now as well for £3.00-3.50 per pound. Even fish and chip vendors are jumping on the bandwagon, offering rabbit and chips for those who dare to wander from the usual fish or chicken.

Almost everyone is currently looking for ways to pinch pennies but they don’t want their quality of life to suffer. Imagine how much money you could save if you not only switch to eating rabbit when you dine out, but if you actually started raising your own rabbits at home. You can completely control what they eat, how they live, if they’ve been sick and how they will die. Rabbits are easy to raise and far less work than most other small livestock. Plus they multiply like crazy so you really only need 3-4 producing rabbits to feed a family of  four year round.

I can’t possibly go into all the details here, but check out the ebook Raising Rabbits to Surive! for more information about how you can start becoming more self-sufficient today.