Rabbit Care 101

     Rabbits are an excellent addition to any homestead. They don't take up much space and they really don't require a whole lot of work on your part. You can breed them for meat and sell the hides or use them for crafting projects. If you have a homestead than you have a garden and rabbit poop is a great fertilizer. You can throw it directly on your plants no need to compost it first. Rabbit care is also a great way to get your kids involved in homesteading. Our kids, including a two year old, handle the majority of the rabbit work themselves.
    Now there are a few things to take care of  before bringing your rabbit home, housing being the most important. The exact amount of space your rabbit needs depends on the breed but, to sum it up, they'll need between 3 1/2-7 1/2 sq ft of living space. there are plenty of rabbit hutch plans online and I see prebuilt hutches being sold on Craigslist quite frequently. We're cheapskates so, my husband built one from scrap wood and old cabinet doors. If you're planning on breeding your rabbits then you'll need nest boxes for the does. They sell chicken nest boxes at the feed store and they would work great. Again, we built ours from scraps. I think it's important to remember that any animal housing you build needs to just serve its purpose. It doesn't have to be perfect.

                                                               Our rabbit hutch

                                                   Old cabinet doors made a perfect and free
                                                   door for the hutch!


    Just like any other farm animal rabbits need fresh water readily available. You can buy a water bottle at your local feed store or any pet supply store. If you figure out how to make one from scraps let me know. Rabbits eat a standard rabbit pellet which can be found at a variety of stores. The main ingredient in most rabbit pellets is compacted alfalfa and/or hay. As with space, how much you feed your rabbits depends on the breed. They'll eat between 1/3 cup and 1 1/4 cups per day. Make sure you research your breed to know exactly how much to feed! Overweight rabbits will have a hard time breeding and that'll put a big damper on your plans.

Our American Sable

Our Dutch

 Hay provides essential roughage to the rabbits diet so make sure to provide them with fresh hay or alfalfa often. My favorite thing about rabbits is that they can eat all kinds of scraps (apparently I love scraps). Rabbits are strict vegetarians so, no meat. Also stay far away from gassy foods such as, beans, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. Rabbits can't fart or burp so, there's no way for them to expel gas. I don't know what would happen if a rabbit had gas and quite frankly I don't think I want to know! On a lighter note, my rabbits love carrots, apples, bananas, dandelion greens, clover, and basil among other things. The key is moderation and variety when giving rabbits any treats.

                                                     A bowl of scraps for the bunnies

   With some thorough research on your breed of choice and a little prep work, you'll be ready to bring your furry friend home in no time. Happy Homesteading!!