Well, let me tell you: a few years ago, when I was dating the woman who is now my wife, we decided to raise rabbits to save money for our wedding and the start of our married life. I invested some money in buying cages from a friend, along with a few female rabbits and one male.
It was a lovely experience; rabbits are adorable, but they do require significant care. If the cages are made of metal, their paws can get injured, so if possible, make the bottom out of wood or soft plasticâthough not too soft, or they might chew through it, make a hole, and escape.
Even though they are herbivores, keep in mind that they eat literally all day longâand I mean a lot, especially at night. If I recall correctly, itâs recommended to have about 20 to 50 square meters of land planted with feed crops per rabbit; naturally, you can also give them commercial pellets and special feed. Here in Cuba, we used to give them something called "miel de pulga" (flea molasses)âa dark sugarcane molasses that they really love; you could even mix it into their water.
Speaking of water, itâs important to keep it available all day, so itâs best to have a dedicated water tank for them, connected to those drip-bottle dispensers in their cages.
The females are calmer, but the males can be aggressive; putting two males in the same cage is literally asking for troubleâat least in my experience. Itâs funny to watch them jump and kick each other with their hind legs.
A ratio of one male for every ten females works well; any extra males can be used for meat or sold off. They really do reproduce very quickly; you need to observe which females are attentive and which aren't. Some females aren't good at raising their youngâget rid of them after the first litter; don't wait for a second one.
If they are kept in a rural area, mice are your biggest enemies, so be sure to manage that by placing traps and poison near the cages. If the cages are on legs, wrap the legs in sheet metal so the mice can't climb up them.
Well, let me tell you: a few years ago, when I was dating the woman who is now my wife, we decided to raise rabbits to save money for our wedding and the start of our married life. I invested some money in buying cages from a friend, along with a few female rabbits and one male.
It was a lovely experience; rabbits are adorable, but they do require significant care. If the cages are made of metal, their paws can get injured, so if possible, make the bottom out of wood or soft plasticâthough not too soft, or they might chew through it, make a hole, and escape.
Even though they are herbivores, keep in mind that they eat literally all day longâand I mean a lot, especially at night. If I recall correctly, itâs recommended to have about 20 to 50 square meters of land planted with feed crops per rabbit; naturally, you can also give them commercial pellets and special feed. Here in Cuba, we used to give them something called "miel de pulga" (flea molasses)âa dark sugarcane molasses that they really love; you could even mix it into their water.
Speaking of water, itâs important to keep it available all day, so itâs best to have a dedicated water tank for them, connected to those drip-bottle dispensers in their cages.
The females are calmer, but the males can be aggressive; putting two males in the same cage is literally asking for troubleâat least in my experience. Itâs funny to watch them jump and kick each other with their hind legs.
A ratio of one male for every ten females works well; any extra males can be used for meat or sold off. They really do reproduce very quickly; you need to observe which females are attentive and which aren't. Some females aren't good at raising their youngâget rid of them after the first litter; don't wait for a second one.
If they are kept in a rural area, mice are your biggest enemies, so be sure to manage that by placing traps and poison near the cages. If the cages are on legs, wrap the legs in sheet metal so the mice can't climb up them.