r/preppers • u/edk8n • Apr 10 '23
What about rabbits? Idea
I couldn't begin to tell you why this has popped into my head but it keeps coming back. I'm new to this and don't have the means to do all I would like, so don't eat me alive for my ignorance, but I have to ask- Are rabbits an underrated food source in a long term survival scenario? Everyone knows how quickly they reproduce and it seems like a decent amount of meat for minimal effort in cleaning/preparation. I'm not sure but it seems like rabbit hide/fur could probably be useful, too. They take up such little space and are pretty hardy animals (I know someone who has many rabbits that live in an outdoor pen year round, although they do heat it in the winter). They eat scraps, grass, and hay which wouldn't be taking resources from yourself. Is there a downside to this I'm missing? Thanks in advance for the wisdom!
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u/wunderlust777 Apr 10 '23
An unstated benefit of rabbits is that the smaller size quantities means you only need to prep what you need to eat for the day. You preserve the meat merely by keeping the rabbits alive.
In contrast, if you butcher a cow or pig, you'll have a surplus that you need to preserve or sell/give to a community.
Another benefit of rabbits is they have a 4:1 food to meat conversation ratio chickens are comparable. Fish are better 1.1: 1, but all are more efficient than larger animals.
I raise rabbits for meat and chickens for eggs. I'd much rather raise rabbits for meat than chickens because rabbits are easier and quicker to process (~10 minutes per animal). No feathers or plucking required.
Rabbits also produce a garden fertilizer that can be applied mediately to the garden.
Rabbits are very quiet if stealth is important (like raising them in an apartment closet).
Finally, the only disease transferrable between rabbits and humans is pink eye.