Okey Dokey. I accidentally started an argument here by announcing that I’m thinking of raising meat rabbits. I welcome the discussion because I truly am ignorant on the topic. Anybody who wants to disabuse me of the notion that it’s a good idea, come get some.
ML spoke up right away. She tried raising rabbits in the desert, and it didn’t end happily. That’s certainly relevant. But I believe her desert was the Mojave. I’ve spent time in the Mojave. The high desert where I live is much more clement. Also she was raising California Giants, and I’ve heard (a lot of) very bad things about that breed.
Zelda suggested miniature pigs or goats. Alarm bells clanged and claxons sounded.
I’ve never personally raised either animal but I’ve worked with and for those who have. Pigs are smart, loud, destructive escape artists. The stink they can produce is astonishing. They require enormous amounts of food to get up to weight, and big box freezers once they’ve been slaughtered.
I spent a couple of years cleaning up after a neighbor’s goats. I determined that every bad thing said about their behavior is true and every good thing said about their hardiness is false. These animals fell expensively sick at the drop of any hat. It’s possible my neighbors were doing it wrong: It is highly unlikely that I would just accidentally do it better. The males are willful and strong and destructive and smell almost as bad as pigs. The females are mostly easy to get along with, but require a great deal of care.
Both pigs and goats require access to veterinarians. They require some capacity for transport – which I do not have.
Again, I’m speaking from ignorance here – except once many years ago I did have a brother-in-law who successfully raised rabbits and while I wasn’t involved I was able to observe. And my observations are…
Rabbits may have their faults as livestock, in my ignorance I will not deny this. But they do not make a lot of noise, they cannot spontaneously break out of their cages, they’re easy to clean up after, they never require you to stick your whole arm up their vaginas at 2 in the morning, they come to slaughter size in two months or less, and their meat doesn’t require huge refrigeration capacity because you can keep them alive until ready to eat them. How are goats superior to this? I’m not gonna go into business, I’m just hoping to raise a little meat for one guy without a refrigerator or access to huge amounts of fencing. Comments welcome.
Wasn’t trying to discourage you, really, just put in my 2 cents worth. Your goals for rabbit raising were mine too… it just didn’t work out for me. I also never really cared much for rabbit meat, which may have colored the experience. 🙂 They are small, and you can experiment with them on the cheap… but trust me, they stink too. The cages get gooed up with the manure, and especially the urine, and in the heat it gets pretty overwhelming unless you clean constantly.
http://farmingmybackyard.com/colonyraisingrabbits101/ Here are some ideas about raising rabbits in colonies, on the ground, rather than in the usual hutches. I never tried it, but have talked to people who did with some success. One family used a renovated old chicken coop with just a few rabbits to start.
As for goats, there are meat and dairy types, and a large variation of those. You are absolutely correct that they are smart, sneaky and destructive. The basic mutt type goats, however, are not prone to illness or injury. I had dairy goats for about 15 years and never had to see a vet. I can’t see you messing with either kind, really… you pretty much wind up hog tied with the darn things, whether you have two or twenty.
Nubian goat raiser here. Never needed a vet and care is minimal. Destruction only happens when they do not have enough to eat and want what’s on the other side of the fence. Bucks can be smelly during the rut, but other times they’re pleasant.
Perhaps, using the open range all around you and its legal protections, you could raise a herd of something mean enough and nasty enough to scare off cattle? (Just kidding…I think)
@ben, so… you’re suggesting tigers?
Just to ask the obvious question,you already raise chickens for eggs;why not add some meat chickens?You won’t have to learn new skills,and you only kill them as you eat them,so there’s no storage problem.You might have to raise them separately from your laying hens,but you’re committed to additional housing for whatever livestock you add.
But,whatever way you go,I would stay away from pigs…far away.Smelly,messy to butcher,hard to keep in a pen-bad news.
I would go,with rabbits. They do well in the cooler parts of AZ. Have to keep them dry and out of the wind. Also should keep them away from wild rabbits to,prevent transmission of disease and parasites.
Good question, and that was actually our first choice. Did it last year. Even with Cornish, which are grotesquely fast-growing birds, it takes too long and it’s not cost-effective. By the time you’re done raising one you’d have been far ahead just buying a fryer at the market.
“I’m just hoping to raise a little meat for one guy without a refrigerator or access to huge amounts of fencing.”
*ANY* kind of meat?
Have you considered aquaponics? Done right you can have a year round supply of fresh veggies *AND* fish/crawdads/etc. (though for the winter you’d need a greenhouse type structure).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
Money quote from article: “…aquaponics uses approximately 2% of the water that a conventionally irrigated farm requires for the same vegetable production. This allows for aquaponic production of both crops and fish in areas **where water or fertile land is scarce**.” (emphasis mine)
See also (you tube vids):
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=small+scale+aquaponics
Landlady looked into aquaponics a couple of years ago. I assume she found it a complicated way to raise fish and lettuce. I liked Tulapia, on the few occasions when I’ve eaten it, but would probably get sick of it pretty quickly.
Tulapia to a cook is the same as a blank page to a writer. As fish goes, it’s just a blob of protein with virtually no taste, so everything depends on the cook’s creativity.
As per Ben’s comment, how about finding some young pigs and letting them loose to go feral? When its time to harvest just use a scope and a rifle. Still have to butcher them and lots of meat at one time. Tell the neighbors that it’s free food if they get bothered.
Just a thought.
Raised rabbits as a kid with my pops don’t see a down side just research a hearty breed
Absolutely do not release hogs into the wild. They are extremely destructive. They will find and kill all small game in the area and your dogs if they cross paths with them. Just ask Texas about feral pigs. You may also end up in jail since most, if not all, states have laws against this.
Why not look at some of the pygmy goat breeds? I raised Cameroon dwarfs for many years. They are small, hardy and tough as nails. They also come from a semi-arid climate and can survive on next to nothing. They love weeds, especially burdock and thistle. The herd instinct is so strong that when one escapes, it will not leave the other goats still in the pen. The meat is delicious – and it has less fat that skinless boneless chicken breasts. If that is an issue for you.
We had no problem selling extra goats to locals for butchering.
Small as in 18 to 24 inches at the shoulder and 30lbs.in weight.
There is a reason Satan is sometimes pictured as a goat, or with goatish features.
“Giles Goat-boy” is an interesting book, however.
I’m in for the rabbit idea. Pretty efficient critters, and don’t taste like chicken. Probably against raising them in hutches, though. Forage/free range with regular pellets and water available is how my neighbors do it. They stick pretty close to home. Harvest with a .22 pistol with a red laser. Eat some and can the rest. Might not work around your dogs. Goats, from what I’ve seen, are a lot of screwing around for what you get. Probably get burned at the stake for saying it, but there it is.
The Peruvians swear by guinea pigs / cavys whatever you want to call them.
Hardy, fast growing, fast breeding, easy maintenance – allegedly taste something like rabbit or dark chicken meat. Also high in protein, low in fat and cholesterol – if that were an issue.
Here is some more on raising rabbits-
http://lakelivingston.com/burnettebunnies/whyraise.htm
I like the idea of raising rabbits. I have always liked the meat of even cottontails and would assume a farm raised meat rabbit would be better? I’m sure it wouldn’t cost much to get started and give it a try.