Building resilience, sustainable meat, and sovereign individuals one rabbit at a time!
Rabbit meat is nutrient dense, sustainable, and easy to grow on a small scale. West Meadow Rabbits is here to help you understand everything that goes into producing meat rabbits, and how you can get started with them.
Meat rabbits are the solution to many of the problems facing us today. I believe that they can even change the world. I professionally breed New Zealand Red rabbits with the goal of producing animals that look great, and produce meat efficiently to help make this a reality. The content on this channel is based on my years of experience and has the beginner in mind. There are many ways to do things, but my goal is to ensure your success.
Please explore the channel and if you have any questions, ideas, comments or requests, let me know!
Sam
Owner and Operator of West Meadow Rabbits
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What would you say to people who claim feeding greens from your yard is dangerous? I think they are concerned about parasites/bacteria from the dirt or from wild rabbits. Do you think there's anything to that, or is it just fear-mongering?
Its a fair, if exaggerated point. The primary reason I raise rabbits in cages is to avoid parasites and disease. That being said, the risk is only moderate with grasses, and nonexistent for leaves form plants growing more than a few inches off of the ground. If I was in an area with an active outbreak of RVHD and a large wild rabbit population, then I would be cautious. Otherwise I think its mostly fear-mongering.
@@westmeadowrabbits Okay, that makes sense. Thank you for your insight!
One thing i have found out recently is that if you plan to homestead, then you can raise rabbits AND chickens (as long as you have the space and are allowed) side by side. When you butcher rabbits. There are a few organs you can toss to your chickens that are good and healthy for them, and its typically not ate by humans, at least in the U.S. Im going to do more research into the dietary needs of chickens whose main job is egg laying to supplement a primarily rabbit based diet, which could help ease peoples qualms or worries about "rabbit starvation". From what i can gather, as long as you eat the organ meats in a rabbit, then you should have enough fat in your diet, but for those who would like to not eat the organ meat. Eggs have lots of fats and other healthy vitamins that i am pretty sure are not able to be sourced from eating rabbits. So it can be a good supplement to your diet if you prefer to go that route instead of eating organ meats. I personally like chicken liver and am willing to eat and try other organ meats, but having eggs diversifies your meals a little more. This can help you not get burnt out eating only rabbits and organs. At least, that's what i believe. Another thing to note is that once your chickens stop laying eggs or their production goes down, then you can dispatch and butcher them to get the chicken meat. Now, from what i can gather because these chickens are older than chickens raised for meat, the meat is going to be tougher and chewier but there are people claiming that the age also develops more flavor in the chicken. Now because this is a tougher cut of meat it wont bake well or fry well. You want to cook these low and slow to keep it nice and tender or use a pressure cooker to keep it tender and moist
can you bag the finished compost to store (like up to a year?) or will it lose the nutrients
It should be fine, but you will lose some of the bioactive components (microbes, fungi, etc.).
Awesome video!
Thanks!
2024, priced a roll of 14G. 36"x10' was $68.00. Ten years ago i made cages a third of the price. I paid dor the roll. To make cage bottoms. Oh, the small rabbit cage like you are showing was 120.00. Sigh' So with a roll of 67.00 bottom, i priced dog kennels. Way cheaper. So i picked up 9 large and xlarge. I can put 14 G on bottom and go up side a few inches for baby savers. Dog kennel are heavy duty, i can hang them up. In my shead. With my space the side or front doors on them are perfect to arange them in my 10x12 shead. I had my dogs kennels for 20 years. They are still strong. Even with big dogs. Im going to try it. I got the kennels for 32.00 and 45.00. Each depending on large or xlarge. I wont be stacking them because of height. But i can make a cool rabbit run with hideouts with that extra height. I juat picked up all the supplies today. Getting 2 rabbits tomorrow. So they can chill in transport cage in the house tell i put the botton wire on and get them hung. I put them in my shead cause of the very hot dry summers. We are already hitting 100f will be 110F soon. Or hotter. Tell end of August. My shead is holding 72F with AC on temp control. I have 2 windos for exhause. My shead is insulated finished it stays nicer than my home. So ya been spending time in my shead getting ideal of how many cages and a table to exam and train for shows, groming etc. I have electric for lights. I feel im ready for the 2 rabbits tomorrow. My wall are sheet rock and painted. But i want to put up splash guard or sorts. I did not price that today. I do have roofing metal that may work on walls. Or maybe a plexy glass. Depends on price. I have the metal. That is what i may use. My floor is a concret sheet like you use for a fire board for wood stoves. That you put over wood floors. And painted with outdoor patio floor paint. To catch dropping and pee i wanted to use the roofing metal. I wont have enough for walls and run off. I am open for suggestions. On what i can use on my walls. Or get plastic tubs to catch droppings. I can get them at wally world or where ever. Those are not cheap anymore either. But may work out fine. Like the ones on wheel made to slide under a bed. I like them best. What do you think?
Sounds like a pretty good setup. You are definitely going to want to cover the walls with something water proof because urine will destroy Sheetrock pretty quickly. Tubs are fine to catch droppings but they will probably need to be cleaned daily.
@@westmeadowrabbits I picked up a tarp and stable to the wall for now. I meet up with a fellow rabbit friend today. She was using dog kennels with the kennel tray. I gave her my ideal. She went out after me to buy hog pilier and wire to change the cage bottom up. Thank you for replying. I enjoy your videos. Everyday I learn something new.
@@brainchatter2078 Thanks, good luck!
Thank you very much! Never heard of klubertanz...hope they ship.
They do! Shipping is expensive but worth it for the quality.
Rabbits are unclean meat according to the Old Testament Mosaic Health Laws. They’re unclean meat. Survival situation, yes. Eat them.
Thank you for sharing this information. I heard this in a previous video and tried it out with my rabbits. I always introduce new foods in small amounts to see how they react and to give their gut microbes a chance to adapt.
That rabbit has a nice structure. Most forages have some level of toxicity. Which becomes a problem when inclusion rates are exceeded. By feeding a mixed variety of forages within their inclusion rates. As well as drying to remove moisture the effects of both toxicity and anti-nutritional factors will be mitigated. Rabbits themselves if left to free range will naturally forage. Choosing from multiple forage species. In the cage system, where we tend to feed "cut and carry". The farmer should employ the same principle. It will all be in the name of the best possible FCR. 🤷🏽♂️
Excellent... well, Tractor supply had the 30x36 cages on sale for Memorial Day and so I picked up four. Need to set up a rack to hold the cages and then I'm jumping in. Your videos have been extremely helpful.
Awesome!
Rabbits will refuse most greens that are poisonous to them. If given plentiful fodder. The same for goats except for rhodos. Goats really like them and will eat them and then die.😢
Exactly! As long as they aren't starving they are pretty good about that.
Great advice and beautiful rabbit.
I bought from Bass Equipment as they had the best price in 2022 and are really nice and sturdy cages. I did build one 30x36 but couldn’t find 14 gauge wire locally and still can’t in 2024. I do want to build a larger cage for grow outs.
Tierquälerei. Gib den armen tieren doch wenigstens einen boden und was zum verstecken
>organic meat whot blyat? like if meat can be non organic? r u idjit or just trolling? so much nonsence shit in this vid.
0:52-2:57 absolutleh kukoldish talk. grow bolls. clown.
>ethics just by the fact of mentioning it u receive a good dizloice.
o. anodda rabbitoed homestoed yes? will see. yes.
Do you vaccinate your meat rabbit or do you raise them organic without vaccines?
How about a come and take it flag with a rabbit on it instead of a cannon!
🤣 genius!
About to get my first in a couple weeks hopefully!
Good luck!
Holy shits… You’ve got me totally convinced - or at least as much as I can be from 1 guy telling his story, I’m gonna do my research and hope you were right about everything, meat rabbits sounds perfect.
Thanks! I don't want to make them sound like they don't have their problems. They do and we talk about them in other videos. But for most people looking for meat they will be better than chickens.
@@westmeadowrabbits yea but you forgot to ask the question: what is better; eggs or meat? Do you have a vid on that already?
@@unzin-rb6pm Both have their place, I don't think you can really compare them. I raise chickens for eggs, and rabbits for meat.
Really good 👍
Thanks!
Pets
Just got started with rabbits, went with colony setup, got 1 buck and 1 doe. Currently I'm feeding them fresh dandelion, weeping willow, alfalfa and some other greens, I'm drying my own alfalfa hay for winter, wish me luck and throw me any tips you got!
Also you were a big inspiration for me to get started, thanks!
Good luck! I'd give you some advice but if you've watched the channel you probably no everything I would say anyways!
It's important to note that not only can you get meat and fur from rabbits. But also if you find yourself in a sideways situation where everything has collapsed. You can use the hides minus the fur to make your own bow string. And then use a puff of fur as a silencer for said string. Not to mention the manure is good for both fertilizer and making your own potassium nitrate...for those who need to know
I didn't even know that! Thanks for sharing!
@westmeadowrabbits sire thing. Just take the soil from under their enclosure when you go to change it. Put it in a 5 gallon bucket with holes in the bottom then pour in boiling water. About half of however large the container is. So for a 5 gallon bucket about 2.5 gallons of boiling water. Catch it in another container then allow it all to cool overnight and a bit longer if you're patient. You'll get potassium nitrate crystals or commonly known as salt peter :) repeat for purifying and clarifying. Need I say more? Same process with soil from under chicken coops btw
Rabbit meat is to unhealthy hence the reason GOD said not to eat it
Don't argue with vegans in the comments. When food amd water shortages are implemented it will be important to be self-sufficient. We are damn close
Wise indeed
I want to because we are not at war with flesh but powers and principalities
Can you raise chickens off of only fly larvae?
Good question. Technically yes, but you would need to supplement with food scrapes and free ranging for them to get everything they need. But while raising insects is definitely doable, it is very labor intensive for more than a few chickens.
@@westmeadowrabbits I suppose that calcium mash is essential as a supplement too. I've seen YT videos where dinner scraps are depositted ontop of a slanted up pile of used coffee grounds in a closed plastic box, where there is another compartment that has access to light so the maggot that get laid in the scraps can make their way towards the light and fall into another bin for collection for feed. Pretty ingenius. So no real labor.
@@nataliechazvemba4929 Yea as I said at the small scale most things can work. But if you are talking more than ten birds you are looking at a part time job. My dozen layers used to go through 25-50lbs of feed a month depending on the weather. Assuming your insects are converting food to meat at a great ratio and you aren't losing many, you'd need a minimum of 100 pounds of quality scraps to feed your insects a month month. and you'd have to have system to harvest them. Of course you could always raise mealworms, but then your buying grain anyways. And then you've got to harvest and store 50 pounds of insects a month, and you need to balance your reproduction with how much your chickens are eating. And this is ignoring seasonal variation in insect production and chicken food requirements, cleaning your insect farm equipment, disease and mortality, breeding stock, etc. I should really make a video on this, but this is the problem with a lot of people on YT. They don't dive into the details. Again this could definitely work with a handful of birds, but trust me I've done this kind of thing before. Nothing is labor free when it comes to animals. In fact the opposite is true. They often end up being more work than you expected.
True. Animals are hectic on feed. I think what my family intend to get are laying hens , maybe 3 or 4. We aren't off grid. And on the eadt coast of South Africa the seasons arent that dramatically different. Thank you for the insight. Keep it up.
We built rat proof cages in my barn, we have rats in our barn, they'll eat your rabbit babies
I haven't had rat problems before, but that's likely because of where the rabbitry is located. I've got a whole video on where to locate a rabbitry to avoid these properties.
This video is da bomb
I hate rabbits, however I think you have swayed my opinion on keeping them for me
I appreciate that but one thing I should have mentioned is that you should like the animals! You are going to be spending a lot of time with them after all!
Lol rat crack
I found this video, because today marks the end of my year of raising chickens and the beginning of my year raising rabbits.
This channel must be young, because I am an immediate subscriber. I assumed you had many more followers than now, so anyone reading this comment please like And subscribe to support this man who is conveying clear honest truth.
Thanks a lot I appreciate the support!
You don't have to kill chickens for food if they lay eggs
Correct but you do have to kill the if you want meat, which is the point of this discussion.
Don’t care if I make money. I just want a source of meat to feed my dogs that’s quicker to process than the pigs we raise
That should make your life a lot easier!
Yes, when I was pregnant I carved ice 24/7. It's all I could think about!! Turns out I had very low iron 😅 that's why 😂
That's so crazy how that happens!
@@westmeadowrabbits craved** ohmygosh 😂 I was not carving ice while I was pregnant, nor any other time in my life 🤣
Rabbits and hares are not food. In the Scriptures, Leviticus 11. Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 11:1-8 [1] And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them, [2] “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth: [3] ‘Whatever has a split hoof completely divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat. [4] ‘Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you; [5] and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you; [6] and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you; [7] and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you. [8] ‘Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.
We bought two processed rabbits and I had no trouble eating it, the wife and mom was trying to not think about it, the step son loved it UNTIL I informed him that it was rabbit and he refused... losers!
You shouldn't have told them!
How do they fare in inclement weather conditions?
No problems at all if you keep them dry!
When rabbits start laying eggs I'll get some rabbits.
We are talking about meat though. . .
Yes rabbits are quiet, clean, easy to feed with local safe plant, manure is safe to put directly into your garden, plus they are great at reproducing. All this is great with the right setup, that is why they are on my list of animals to get (along chickens and bees for sure, plus goats and pigs down the line ~ 2 years in). With the proper set up, chicken can be as great as rabbits. Chickens are mostly meat eaters, going after bugs and small critters first. Growing up we had chicken (hens and a rooster or 2) and I don’t ever remember going to buy chicken feed. Our chickens would free range in the yard (well half the yard was theirs) and get kitchen scraps, that is all, they gave us eggs daily and about once a week (or every other week) we would have chicken for dinner ( we did have to plan few hours in advance though …)
That's all fair points, and I keep laying hens myself. But once every two weeks isn't the same as enough meat to feed a family consistently. I'm not sure if you have winters were you are, but there is absolutely know way you are getting consistent eggs, let alone meat through the winter without grain. Again I have no problem with chickens, I've raised them for decades. They are fantastic for eggs and occasional meat. But they are inferior to rabbits if you are looking for consistent meat for the reasons discussed. You can still raise them (for meat exclusively) if you like the taste! But that doesn't change the facts.
Hi, What about using hay cubes vs loose hay? Does it matter? I find it to be a easy way to avoid a lot of waste. I am also feeding a pellet diet.
Despite some waste, I think you would save a lot of money feeding regular hay. I get a 50lb bale for around 10 bucks or less from the feed store. With mangers, maybe 10-15% is wasted, but that just turns into compost.
Rabbit is too lean.
It has more fat than chicken breast! kzread.info/dash/bejne/pYurvJmtZ5zPoaw.html
@@westmeadowrabbits people have died eating only rabbit.
@@blobmonster9494 I'd go watch that video.
Biggest problem with rabbits, their eggs taste like sh*t.
I Cannot find the right video, but it was on the diatomaceous earth and I just want to let you know That tip alone has improved the quality of life of my male rabbit significantly, so thank you
Glad I could help!