We actually got a meat rabbit! In this post, I’ll tell you the reason plus why you need a rabbit in your apartment homestead too!
Meet our rabbit!
Meet the newest addition to the homestead, his name is Fillorian. I named him after a show my fiance and I loved to watch called “The Magicians“.
We would laugh every time the rabbits in the show would talk, they had a raspy voice. You would think a rabbit would sound cute and fluffy.
We call him Fill for short and he is a Tamuk buck. Tamuk is a new breed created by Texas A&M University in Kingsville, which the breed is named after and they are a cross of New Zealand and Californian rabbits.
This breed was made to withstand the Texas heat. This is what my main concern is as extreme climate conditions will continue to increase.
Why you need a rabbit in your apartment homestead
While living in an apartment the options of having animals is very limited. Besides cats, and dogs that leaves rabbits as the next best option. (I’d like the add that the only other option that would be feasible would be quail.)
Since we already have a cat (Check out my Instagram to see what he looks like) and are not ready for a dog due to lack of yard (and livestock to began farm dog training as young as possible) we went with a rabbit.
We didn’t get just any rabbit though we got a meat rabbit. I’ve listed down below all the benefits that come with keeping rabbits that you can gain from even if you live in an apartment!
Experience
My number one reason I decided to move forward with getting a rabbit was experiencing. Lately, I’ve been feeling “just ready”. I wanted to move forward on the imagery homesteading scale. I want just to learn and what better way to learn than experience.
With starting the learning process, I can be ready and devote new skill making to other things when we finally purchase land. (I’m sure I’ll have my hands full)
I need to get comfortable with rabbits. I have to learn their behavior and habits (good and bad). So I can learn how to take care of them and give them the best living environment that I possibly can within my means.
Manure
My favorite benefit is their golden nuggets. Rabbit manure is dry, odorless, and in pellet form. This makes it perfect to add directly to the garden. Because it breaks down quickly, there is little threat of burning the roots of plants.
It is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, nutrients that plants need to be healthy and grow strong.
I’m planning on adding it to my compost and saving some for direct usage on plants!
Meat
Rabbits are a good source of meat because their gestation period is roughly only 30 days. They also average 6 babies (or kits) per litter. If your female (or doe) has a minimum of 6 litters a year, with a minimum of 6 live kits you have 36 meat rabbits in one year. Raising the kits for meats means you can yield roughly 72 lbs of meat for your freezer!
I must note that you need the room for all potential rabbits, the buck, doe, and all the babies she may have.
We unfortunately only have enough room for one buck and one doe. That will be the max we can keep, so I won’t be able to breed them unless I can get someone who will let me raise out the kits in their yard.
Bone Broth
The benefits that you get with meat are the same for bone broth! I love making soups with fresh bone broth that’s homemade! So I can’t imagine how it would be when it’s home-raised!
I don’t know the numbers on making broth but I’d assume you can make one batch of soup pre rabbit you have.
Readiness
I feel that readiness is the most important reason to keep meat rabbits on hand. The prepper in me feels it’s a good idea to a have meat source readily available and one hand in case of an emergency!
Since rabbits reproduce so fast and take up so little room, it makes them the number one meat source for an apocalypse. I will feel confident knowing I have some type of food security, so keeping rabbits and having my balcony garden should keep me afloat.
Ready for a rabbit in your apartment homestead?
I hope you feel ready to start the rabbit journey, and learned something new. Whatever your reason for keeping rabbits is even if you don’t have the room to breed them, just know it’s okay to keep them and have them ready for your future farm.
That’s what I’m doing, so we will all be ready for that big move. Subscribe to my newsletter so you won’t miss out on more additions or projects that I have coming up.
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I love that you’re starting your homestead in an apartment!
Why wait until you have the dream land?!
Our 16yo has ferrets so he gets meat rabbits that way.
Plus we have quail bc in our deeds we’re not allowed poultry so chicken we’re out but we got around it with quail instead!