For meat animals, we started with rabbits and then got into meat chickens and turkeys later on. The deciding factor for us was that skinning a rabbit was easier to learn on our own compared with hand-plucking and processing chickens (messy pain in the butt IMHO). We typically take our poultry to the local Amish to process for us, but if I have to do one on my own, I skin the chickens rather than plucking. I suppose if we had a plucker machine it might be easier though :) Processing a rabbit on your own is SO EASY by comparison. And being someone who had never hunted or dispatched an animal before, I was much more comfortable using a pellet gun on a rabbit than I was slitting the throat of a chicken my first time (but that's probably just me). I'm hoping to start raising pigs next, as we have a lot of excess milk here (we also are in our 5th year raising dairy goats) and I would love to put that to use along with kitchen scraps to raise up some feeder pigs!! Just have to talk my husband into it... haha!
I’m listening to you and I’m talking back, Cows aren’t hard, Sheep are simple, Pigs are almost self raising, Rabbits are perfect, and then I thing well of course I’ve been doing this for 60 years. I think your correct, Chickens are perfect. I like Rhode Island Red or Australorp. Reds are perfect for pasture raised, their smart and will watch for air born predators and Azies are very quiet, perfect for back yards in town (no roosters) and don’t mind confinement.
We had 160 Acres in Butternut Wis. we were retired Navy and had never farmed. I started with five white turkeys. I raised them and a neighbor helped butcher them. The next year I raised 15. I was so proud of being able to share the meat with some of my neighbors who had helped us when we moved to a town that we had no ties to before we purchased the land. We lived there for 5 years and due to the cold clement we moved to Fl. Although we never farmed as such it was a great place to raise our two children. Our son is in his fifties and we all love the people and town so much , he purchased a home for the family and we go there in the summer. I which I had done more farming at the time but life got in the way. I now only have 5 pet chickens and live in a rural subdivision. I would like to fine a couple of acres and raise more chickens. I am 77 and 2 years ago I learned to build my own chicken house and run. It is never to late to learn a new hobby. Thank you for all the info you pass on to your viewers. I loved the camel interview you did. I ordered the book and should have it by tomorrow.
Nah chickens suck been raising some for like half a year or more now and 0 eggs they're a waste of time. Tbh rabbits or frogs or something would be best.
Well I can’t argue with the bacon reasoning. Bacon is delicious, however I would say around 25% of our meat consumption was rabbit. Any times we needed new breeders we would just walk out in the woods and catch some and bring them back to the pens. The majority of our meet came from deer who wondered onto the property. Not only did it provide meat but it also protected the gardens from getting destroyed. We never had pigs. We had chickens and rabbits and the vegetable gardens. Occasionally we would go down to the lake and fish. To get milk we bartered with the next property over who had all sorts of cows including dairy. When I retire I am moving back into the country and restart a homestead.
We moved out to a homestead from the city four years ago. We started Burr Oak Acres in Northern IL. I would say meat rabbits are the easiest and healthiest meat to raise on your homestead. We raise Silver Fox rabbits for meat, fur and their waste is great for the garden..
Honestly they have been hands down the easiest, sturdiest small livestock type animal we have. Ours arent for meat (it's a possibility that's why weve added bigger rabbits to our colony girls) but for pets who give us good fertilizer etc. However if we raised meat from them they would be great too. Our chickens flew over fencing (if doing fenced chickens dont get Easter eggers unless you have a roo... We rehomed our roo since we lived in town and suddenly our girls didnt feel they had to stay in the 6' pen). Our bigger girls like our buff rock hen and our RIR and New Hampshire Red girls didnt fly over. They probably could but it was harder for them. Our Easter eggers even took their bard rock cross offspring over the fence to get eaten by the fox. Skunks dont mess with our rabbits though they have found ways into our rabbit pen (getting stuck as it's a fenced floor and they cant remember how they got in) but when we had quail in the pen they killed our quail (skunks). They would fly out of the pen even with clipped wing fueled by adrenaline when the fox would sit next to the oen and get eaten by the fox. Goats could be sturdier if we did fecal testing to make sure the worm load comes down after deworming but they cam adapt in time to ANY EVEN NATURAL dewormed. Fecal tests also help to not over worm goats. Super inexpensive for a fecal testing slide and thanks to Amazon lots of cheap microscopes. If I knew then what I know now they could have been easier than they were. The thing is "easiest" "easier" isnt easy it's all work however you do it and it all takes time. I think rabbits are amazing for beginners or people living on a small space. If you have space for bigger meat animals and the time and the means to take care of them it makes more sense to raise bigger meat animals. It's like chickens vs quail. Quail can be raised easier than most people do and they lay soooo much quicker than chickens and can be meat birds even if so small. If you have the time, space, and means to raise chickens though they make more sense. For people who have a small space rabbits and quail make sense and can be raised successfully and relatively easily. It's all a learning curve. I'd say rabbits for us were so much easier though, the issues we had with deaths we adapted and did better in time but those as far as anything killing anything it wasnt predators it was other rabbits (and that wasnt often and was not even an issue when we implimented changes necessarily). Rabbits have a completely plant based diet so if you wish to grow your own animal food rabbits are way easier to make sure their needs are met. Quail need 28% protein minimum, chickens still need animal protein too, so that means raising bugs too. Rabbits can have a yard full of weeks and fodder in winter if you want to make sure you knew what they were eating. Getting all that at your home is harder without a huge place for them to free range for yard birds (except geese they are herbivores oddly enough I thought they were like ducks and chickens in the sense of diet and tried to give mine worms and bug treats and they refused it). It's all dependent upon what your goals are, what amount of space one has, money, time, etc what is easier for a person.
I have both chickens and quail. I think you are right chickens are a better bird to start out with. I like buff Orpingtons for eggs. They are pretty easy going.
Really liked this. We live in town and are limited on what we can get away with.... sometimes bending the rules🤷🏼, but all my neighbors directly around us get some care packages lol.....So we do meat rabbits and I love them. Hands down the easiest fastest way to fill my freezer. But agree with you not something for a very first time farmer.... I actually started with quail 10 years ago and I was overwhelmed. Lots of learning lessons. In town you want quiet animals lol...... so raising some meat poultry you pick up from the feed store is a good idea but research your birds if you’re in town. Some are louder than others. We have 4 laying chickens and two Muscovy duck hens laying. One of our Muscovy’s went broody so I bought two Peking ducklings to stick under her.... 8 weeks they’ll go in the freezer. We’re going back to quail soon because we’re set up better and they’re so easy from egg to freezer....... buy what you want to try is raising already out of the egg and learn like I did.... lol sorry you’re spot on...... my incubator will have Georgia Giant Bobwhite eggs is it soon. Not as big as Coturnix but the roosters call is less intrusive to my neighbors lol....
The problem with a colony is you have no control over breeding. After the doe has had a litter she could get pregnant right away. I raise meat rabbits in large cages 2ft. x 4ft. I have 7 breeding does and 3 bucks.
I've thought about switching from cages to a colony, but I would always recommend keeping the bucks in cages or in a small separate colony, so you can still control breeding.
Man the kids are gotten so big I've been not watching for a while or something I've owned my goodness how awesome I remember when y'all just got the camel Mama cee
When we checked our first ever litter, we counted 9 kits. Not bad for a doe first one. We lost a kit a few days after which is normal as it wasn’t growing (it was hard to notice under the fur). When they were ready to switch to the rabbit tractor and taste the delicious hay of our pasture, we were at....10 kits! Guess we hade 2 sneaky ones.
You know I've been wanting to see you guys with sheep so bad!! You got them, and said very little about them😭 Are they kathadin sheep? How old are they? Males or females or both? Are they just feeders? Are you thinking of trying your own sheep milk along with the camel milk? So many questions about those beautiful sheep 😍😍😍 #askhomesteady
Do a ton of research. We love our quail they grow to butcher size/ egg laying age pretty quickly! besides the fact that rabbits need hay which can sometimes be hard to get I think it's a very easy animal to keep on the homestead. 🤠
grow a patch of alfalfa. even if it's not enough to supply all your hay needs it will supplement it a bit, making things that much easier. you can get seeds for cheap from people selling them as health food. like tens of thousands of seeds for under $10-$15.
I love the habitats that they're not in cages and you actually got them in the barn it's really cool that they're all together like in the wild. A white rabbit New Zealand rabbit showed up on our homestead my brothers actually homestead. It was one of the neighbors but we live in the mountains and the rabbit loves it and is doing well and found a old Burrough that it's living in. On Dad's profile Mama Z . Thank you for the information very informative I'm going to finish the video
#AskHomesteady Hey Aust, I’m going to be done getting out of debt this year, I have a home I’m selling and I would really like some advice on buying land. I know you said in a previous video about having infrastructure, I think I’m really interested in buying property/land from a previous homesteader that has infrastructure like barn and chicken coop, also garden in place and fruit and nut trees. I’m turning 50 this year I’m in good health and I work in health care so acquiring a new job shouldn’t be a problem. I’m ready to leave the rat race and I’ve raised 3 amazing young adults who are self sufficient.
I've always been worried about narrowing the search too much. As long as a property already has power and water, then a person could get it a whole lot cheaper and just put on a trailer/RV (less than 100k easy) and a DIY or pre-bought chicken coop. The land and utilities is really all you need and I feel like that broader search would turn up more opportunities? That's my thinking anyway.
Would like to suggest raising guinea pigs for meat as they do in South America, where they're a delicacy. Cuy tastes like braised pork shoulder and is delish if cooked low and slow either over a grill or in liquid. Prodigious breeders, hardy, social animals that can be skitty, but they're also very small and easy to house.
The picture of you bunbuns it looks so sad that bunny picture. Give that bunny a hug for me I think i might go into heavy fasting if i had to eat cute bunnies . They are too cute to eat .
Yea I guess if i was starving but probably not since do clean old testament Torah style Eating These days . im Just hypocritical woosss lambs and cows are cute to. Lol I can eat some steak. Be well. Much love 💞🌱🌾
Cornish Cross chickens we found were easy start last year. The processing is messy and stinks but were not hard. This year we have started rabbit, and unlike cornish cross-they are adorable😕 been watching alot on processing them to desensitize myself before butcher time. But they are easier to grow out so far than the chickens. Ours are raised inside with tray we clean alot but still less work than our coops.
I agree with the chicken being the best, with ducks being a close second. However I will say that rabbits are an excellent choice for folks that aren't able to have chickens due to homeowner association and other things like that. so if you live in the suburbs and want to get started with livestock I recommend rabbits because they don't make any noises and you can easily butcher without anyone seeing it with adequate fencing.
We started with sheep and definitely agree they were flighty... we learned a lot about fencing and herding!! Now we have some chickens and I'm hoping to get some pigs this year too
Do you keep the mom and dad rabbit together? I've heard that you need to keep mom seperated from dad until they are ready to breed because the mom is territorial with her area?
#askhomesteady many people have many goals when considering self sufficiency. Do you believe there any goals that really set people up to fail? Even if it's a short term goal that should be a more long term goal
I agree with most of what you are saying, although I still like rabbits for a first meat animal. You can get a feeder rabbit, or a rabbit ready to process on craigslist, and make sure you are OK with processing before you dive head first into raising your own. But with a 31 day gestation, and 8-12 weeks from birth to harvest, you can be producing your own meat in 3-4 months. Also, you can raise rabbits in your garage (I have done that), while chickens really need an outdoor run or tractor.
Oh, also, all our TSC and feed stores are completely sold out of any chicks - people are lining up outside the doors on the days they are supposed to arrive. Even many of the online hatcheries are sold out for a couple of weeks out at least - chicks are the TP of the livestock world right now, unfortunately.
I love meat rabbits, they are very beginner friendly, I just think if I MUST pick one... Cornish x, but your points are so good, and there is something to the raising indoors thing too!
#askhomesteady Do you raise meal worms etc for your chickens, do you buy them in? Do you indeed use them at all? I'm doing it as an experiment this year as I buy them as an extra food source for them and to give my girls some Varity.
We are doing homesteading for nearly 2 years and just recieved our firts 3 rabbits big learning curve for us as we are doing a colony aswell and not cages. Sofar they get out every otherday🤨
I think rabbits are the easiest for us to raise. I used to think chickens but with raptor birds and coyotes in the area I don't think that way anymore. I keep rabbits in portable chicken tractors during the spring through fall, then inside a rabbit house in cages during just the winter months. Butchering rabbits are easier than chickens because all you need is something to hang the carcass on while butchering, whereas chickens you need killing cones, a hot water dunker, defeat her machine, unless you have strong hands and fingers to do it by hand.
#askhomesteady how did get comfortable with dispatching your meat animals? I want to raise meet birds and eventually other meat livestock, but have difficulty with dispatching part of the process
Cornish cross chickens are probably the easiest way to get a new prospective livestock owner to give up entirely within 8 weeks. Rabbits are far easier, cleaner, and safer than any chicken. They don't stink, they aren't as gross to process as a bird, they don't carry salmonella, they don't need as much space, etc. The only reason chickens are easy to chase down is because they get so disgustingly fat that they crush their own legs and end up laying in their own refuse. Any problems mentioned about rabbits can be solved by keeping them in cages, which is a more natural environment than running around the floor and climbing over the top of each other.
I liked that little "chicken out" pun you threw in there. Lol I think chickens woukd ve EASIER to dispatch over rabbits... We started with rabbits. And dispatching got harder not easier. Emotionally not physically. Cleaning is essy peasy on a rabbit tho
I think you completely nailed it. Spot on. And like you said 90% of people will want to do some sort of Ranger after doing cornish. I get very depressed when I raise them. The mortality rate and occasional deformity, combined with their very sluggish nature just bums me personally out. Do you keep your male rabbit with your females at all times? Also, do you check your litters right after they're born? I've had runty babies die and if left will cause the others to get sick.
Night and day between freedom rangers and Cornish crosses. Takes about 2 to three more weeks for me to get similar sized birds, but it's more than worth it IMO.
#ASKHOMESTEADY at what age are you going to harvest the rabbits/young - AND - are you going to allow some of the young to mature and reproduce to increase the source of meat you harvest??
Love seeing people raise a rare breed. I hope you have been keeping up with RHD2 because it has jumped to wild rabbits and can be tracked in on your shoes 😕
If you decide to start with rabbits, there are a lot of really good videos on processing your own rabbits, from humanely dispatching them (try searching on the choke chain method) to processing the carcass and cooking them. My family loves it deep fried, and I also grind a lot of it and use it in any recipe that would work with ground chicken (it has a softer texture than ground beef). All that being said, you could take them to a butcher if you'd prefer, but it will add to the cost of your meat.
we are allowed to snare rabbits here following seasons and proper methods. so for me, raising a rabbit is not worth it. I can snare or hunt rabbits for next to nothing in cost. I wouldn't have to house them, feed them, water etc. But i do get your point of view. for some it may be perfect.
In Florida there isn't even a season to snare rabbits! but our predators (red-shoulder hawks, foxes, coyotes, raccoon, possum, etc) will ALWAYS get to them before you can check the traps. Even if you're on a 12 hour cycle. Caught countless, never tasted one out of a snare lmao
I wouldn't celebrate the rabbit thing yet guys. The real challenge in the colony is around when those kits hit 4-5 months. You really need to thin that colony before that point and keep up on it. There's a reason the natural state of rabbits is a boom and bust cycle.
@@Homesteadyshow I get that. Everyone starts there. I just say from experience. They'll catch up on you if you don't keep up on it. The nice thing about meat chickens is one big batch, done in one. The nice thing and the cutting edge about meat rabbits is a steady supply, frequently.
I agree with MT that the number of rabbits will catch up with you if you are keeping your bucks in with your does. In cages, people typically rebreed about 4-5 weeks after kindling, around the same time the kits start weaning, so mom gets a little break between litters, but in nature (and in colonies) mom is often rebred within a day or two of kindling. That means, about the time the current kits are 4.5 weeks, she will have another litter. By the time the oldest are 9-10 weeks, and nearing processing size, she will be having her third litter. So from each doe, you could be looking at 8ish rabbits to process every 30 days. Times 3 does (I think that's what I heard you say you had), that could be 24 rabbits, or maybe 75lbs processed weight, a month. That's a LOT of rabbit meat.
I love your every video. I am a new homesteader and I have tremendous questions to ask you. Is there any other way to contact with you or call you? I live in Southwest Florida. Thank you and many blessings
What type of rabbit makes a good meat rabbit? Just curious. They look a bit small compared to other rabbits I've seen people call meat rabbits. If I remember right, those were Flemish Giants, and it seems they be about twice the size. Why not pick a bigger rabbit breed?
How do you guys deal with pests? Ticks, mites, mice, squirrels? And what would be the best way to deal with that ? From Your experience. Thank you guys xoxo amazing channel ,
I would have said ducks. More specifically muscovies. Ducklings are hardier than chicks, so you’ll likely lose less before maturity. Muscovies vs say, pekins, because they don’t make as much of a mess. Ducks can be a huge, gross mess, but muscovies tend not to do as much swimming around and flinging their water all over the brooder than mallard breeds.
I’ve started off on feeders specifically Turkeys and Chickens (and layer hens) I want to eventually move up a level. I want to get feeder rabbits and test it out, if it works out well I want to move on to breeding them and have my own bucks and does. I need some advice, for some background I’ve grown up around lots of animals almost every type of farm animal and I also raised pigs for FFA (still a highschool student) First off, where do I get rabbits what do I look for how do I obtain them. I want some uncommon advice and maybe some things that any of you have experienced personally with rabbit. If y’all could help that’d be awesome! Thank you so much
I was raisin parrots and was told to add quail to the floor of there cages. Almost the first time i opened the Avery door good by quail. A year later I saw the pair walking around the neighborhood with their babies. Chickens or turkeys are good.
Literally just got done processing my ducks (thumbs are numb from plucking) I would say stay far away from ducks unless you have ponds. Otherwise the hassle is immense and their poop will burn the grass :/ Not to mention they are the loudest, save pigs
The time to count productivity in meat rabbits is not when the kits are born. It's when you are ready to butcher. Too many things can happen between birth and butchering. Of course, if you don't count the litters you don't know when there is loss. 🙄
