When most people think of small scale backyard animal husbandry, they\u00a0tend to think exclusively of chickens.\u00a0 And while chickens are not\u00a0without their own advantages, they are certainly not the only small\u00a0animal that even a new backyard farmer can raise, one such animal is\u00a0the rabbit.<\/p>\n
There are many benefits to having either chicken or rabbit. Both animals produce sustenance, and can provide the backyard farmer with plenty of nutrient\u00a0rich manure for the garden, as well as have their feeding needs reduced\u00a0by keeping them in a mobile pen. \u00a0Not every backyard farmer has the same resources\u00a0available to them and what might work for one might not be right for\u00a0the other, so here are some considerations:<\/p>\n
Gestation Periods<\/strong><\/p>\n Rabbits generally gestate for about 30 days.\u00a0 This is around a week\u00a0longer than chickens take to hatch.\u00a0 However; a doe rabbit can get\u00a0pregnant as early as the next day after birthing a litter of 12, while a mother hen will take considerable time off from reproducing\u00a0eggs in order to care for her new chicks.\u00a0 This is important to\u00a0consider when thinking of your animals as a direct food source.\u00a0 You\u00a0can\u2019t eat the same animal twice, so when resources and space are tight\u00a0it is a great advantage to have animals that can reproduce new \u201cfuture\u00a0meals\u201d for you quickly.<\/p>\n Once hatched, most chickens will take about 6 months to reach sexual\u00a0maturity for hens, and maximum size for roosters.\u00a0 Compare this to 3\u00a01\/2 to 4 months for rabbits and once again you have your next meal\u00a0coming much quicker with rabbits than with chickens.<\/p>\n Food Provision<\/strong><\/p>\n But just how big is that next meal going to be?\u00a0 Rabbits average in\u00a0weight from 1 to 4 pounds, while chickens can weigh can anywhere from\u00a02 to 9 pounds.\u00a0 That being said, the larger chickens are those that\u00a0have been breed for their meat and for their eggs, but they have lost\u00a0most of their brooding instincts and therefore the hens will often not\u00a0incubate the eggs they lay even if they are fertilized, and will show\u00a0less interest in raising and caring for chicks.\u00a0 So while your initial\u00a0chicken dinner might be larger than your rabbit alternative, it won\u2019t\u00a0do you too much good down the road when you are all out of chickens.<\/p>\n Care<\/strong><\/p>\n As mentioned, both rabbits and chickens can be fed scraps from the garden or even from the household vegetable scraps, and both can be given mobile pens to move around the homestead. However, while you can in certain environments let chickens go free range, this can be harder for rabbits. Rabbits also need to be watched carefully, as they can get very sick if their enclosures aren’t clean enough. Of course, if you live somewhere with a cold winter, it’s the same for chickens.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whether or not chickens or rabbits are preferable for your homestead will depend on what you’re looking for and what you have available for them, and these are some of the factors you can consider. If you can’t decide, hey-you can always get both!<\/p>\n If you like\u00a0this, you might also like:<\/b><\/p>\n When most people think of small scale backyard animal husbandry, they\u00a0tend to think exclusively of chickens.\u00a0 And while chickens are not\u00a0without their own advantages, they are certainly not the only small\u00a0animal that even a new backyard farmer can raise, one such animal is\u00a0the rabbit. There are many benefits to having either chicken or rabbit. Both<\/p>\nAdvanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production\u2026<\/a><\/h3>\n
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