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GB · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Ireland

I was wondering about raising a few for the pot as I cant seem to get them any other way but the other half is convinced that it is illegle for me to kill rabbits for food as they are kept as pets and are protected by anti cruelty laws.

any ideas?

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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Not wanting to start a family feud but rabbits can be kept for food. The number of food rabbits killed in Ireland must be so small that the Ministry do not give them a second thought. I intend to keep NZ whites as a source of rabbit meat for the table, and very good they are too. Much more tastier than the wild variety. I shall get the brood stock from the UK this spring. So perhaps I could supply you with the same. They take up little space and can supply far more useful meat than any other forage livestock. If anyone is interested in this kind of enterprise I would recommend they read "Back Yard Rabbit Keeping". The book is in a box somewhere so I cant give any more info at the moment. Good Luck Wink

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GB · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Ireland

This might be a bit of an insane question but will electric poultry mesh keep them in? I look at all that grass just asking to be eaten and it ocured to me that I could get a few to go in with the chickens when I move the pen in the spring to the good grass at the top of the garden. I cant get wild rabbit and this would be a nice compromize but I havnt the time to be foostering about with them in hutches so if the mesh would keep them in ok it would give them the most wild type life I could manage and still keep them as stock.

sorry, rambling a bit but you get the gist Wink

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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

I have always fancied keeping rabbits as the old warreners did and just take a few when I needed them. Nowadays we have Mixie to contend with and so if our rabbits are to be protected from this they would need to be kept over eighteen inches above the ground or inoculated. Rabbits can be controlled by electric wire and many hundred yards of it is used to protect arable crops in the UK. If you have few wild rabbits around your area may well be free of Mixie as the disease needs a large population to sustain it. Dont forget Charlie Fox!!!
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GB · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Ireland

In over a year here I have seen only one living rabbit Shocked

inside a two mile radius. Why the 18 inches over ground? and if the wire keeps them out it should keep them in so I might give it a try Cool

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blowin · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:00 pm Post subject:

GB · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Ireland

Thanks for that, I hadnt thought to ask the locals if there ever were any rabbits, there are hares about but they are raised and released so I dont know if mink would affect them. No problems so far with the chooks but the electric mesh saggs a bit so it makes the mesh size smaller so even more difficult to penitrate Cool

The thought of some free range rabbit to go with my chickens has quite taken hold of my imagination Embarassed

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greentree · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:36 am Post subject:

Rabbits are a wonderful source of food. Very tasty and easy to manage for the smallholder. I dont think we really eat enough of them in this country!

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

GB · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Ireland

Having grown up in the land of flees I can say for certain sure that flees can not only jump but climb as well, 18 inches isnt that much of a barrier Rolling Eyes

I have given up for now on the rabbit idea as I wont have them in a hutch and there seem to be no other safe way to have them. I have had hutch rabbits in the past and also a house rabbit so I know the difference between a happy rabbit and one that is brain dead from boardum Sad

considering Narly would climb the bookcases and look you in the eye and had play toys that she and the cats would drag round and "kill" and would get the zipps and scortch round the house that little hutch just doesnt seem adiquite to their needs somehow Wink

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