Raising Meat Rabbits-The Pros and Cons

Oct 10
07:54

2009

nathalie veilleux

nathalie veilleux

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Raising meat rabbits as a small backyard operation could be a positive experience for a family who wants some healthful,drug-free meat.Such project can involve all family members and provide them with an exceptional quality of meat/protein compare with what is found at the grocery store.Lets take a look at the pros and cons of this practice.

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Pros
  • Rabbits are good for rural or urban areas.They are very quiet animals and are not considered as livestock such as chickens,Raising Meat Rabbits-The Pros and Cons Articles geeses, turkeys or ducks.So they are permitted when those other animals are not.
  • They do not required a huge up-front money investment to get set up and you can get started with just a couple of rabbits.You can built a large pen to let them roam free out of cages and let them eat pasture.
  • Rabbits are fairly easy to raise, there is no need for special equipement and they multiply very very fast.Also their meat is low in cholesterol and fat and high in protein.
Cons
  • It will cost as much money to produce a pound of rabbit meat than buying any meat at the grocery store.It may be desappointing to expect much monetary profits from such operation.
  • Very few veterinarians have good knowledge about rabbits.So if a health problem arise among your bunnies, it could be difficult to get help.Also keep in mind that a lot of predators are going to be after your rabbits.
  • A lot of people, specially in the U.S. are considering rabbits as house pets.It could be hard to know with whom to talk to about your activity.Pet are consider as part of the family,people would never eat their dog or cat,or their pet rabbit.
  • Rabbits are very sensitive to overheating.Hot summer months could be fatal for their lives.Therefor do not set up such operation in a hot climat area.
People who want to get into raising meat rabbits should get a lot of documentation about this practice before starting so. Hear to mouth advice is never enough to aquire all the essential knowledge and it should be looked at with caution.

Since rabbits can multiply very quickly, some people woke up with a lot more animals than they could handle physically and financially.As a result rabbits where neglected and lived in miserable conditions,and animal shelters got overwhelmed.