End of the Rabbit Experiment

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Published: Monday, 03 April 2017 08:39
Written by David DeCiero

I am sad to say that I ended my rabbit experiment in March 2017.  My situation in life has changed and I no longer had the time or the desire to raise rabbits.  So, I was able to butcher the last few ones and sell the adults to good homes.  The rabbits provided me with a lot of learnings and fun times over the last few years and I wish I could have kept them, but that wasn't the case.  Hopefully my writings on the subject will help people keep rabbits and make decisions on whether they want to embark on this path.  I strongly encourage people to look into it, they are easy to care for and the meat tastes good.  I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to think about raising livestock.  They are a good beginner animal for learning what goes into taking care of animals.

Cost of Raising Rabbits - Update #3

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Published: Saturday, 17 December 2016 07:37
Written by David DeCiero

rabbits

This is an update of a couple previous posts that show how the cost has come down.  The first post and the second post.

Since my last post in June of 2015 on this topic, I have bought:

$38 2 50# food and water bottle
$48 3 50# food
$8 Food holder
$48 3 50# food
$45 Tarps and heated water bowls
$17 50# food
$51 3 50# food
$51 3 50# food
$51 3 50# food
$48 3 50# food
$80 5 50# food
$46 3 50# food
$34 Shavings and heated water bowl
$42 3 50# food
$50 3 50# food
$51 3 50# food
$68 4 50# fod
$11 Food - Hay

This represents $696 in food (Manna Pro food in 50 pound bags from Tractor Supply) and only $91 in supplies.  (The tarps and heated water bowls are necessary for the winter here in New England).  During this time, I harvested 174 lbs of meat, leading to a per pound cost of $4.51.  Overall, my per pound cost (from my fixed costs in my prior posts from when I began) is $8.00.  Considering last year my cost was $15.00 per pound, it has come down nicely since I am no longer spending a great deal of money on equipment.  The only thing I do need to continue to buy is the heated water bowls, which only last 1-2 years before the heating elements burn out.  This is a tradeoff, since it does cost more money, but I get peace of mind knowing that the rabbits have fresh water when it is 0 F outside.

 

 

More Articles ...

  1. The Great Escape
  2. Cost of Raising Rabbits - Update
  3. Finally More Kits
  4. Another round of rabbits
  5. Litter #2
  6. Cost of Raising Rabbits
  7. Cold weather rabbits
  8. Rabbit butchering - No pruners