Raising Rabbits: My Source of Manure

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I love raising rabbits, mainly because of rabbit pellets also known as rabbit manure. When people
ask me why I raise rabbits they expect me to say meat, pets or fur. When I say manure I really
surprise them. I do love my rabbits and I love their meat, but rabbit pellets are invaluable. If you
work on a small homestead rabbits might be a great livestock option.

I first got into raising rabbits as a meat source. We went out and picked up a few cross bred bunnies
that were cheap, $5.00-$10.00 each, and I just wasn’t having much luck at the beginning. They
were dying on us and the ones that did survive had kits (baby bunnies) that would just die after a
few weeks of age. I went on with this for 2 years. The other problem I had in my area was selling
colored rabbits. My market wanted pure New Zealand rabbits and almost always wanted to start
their own rabbitry.

My other market was for dog food. The most I could get for this market was $10.00 for 4-5 lb.
rabbits. This wasn’t really bad because usually they take all the bunnies you can sell to them.

I really thought that I could get more money for the same work I was doing, so my decision was to
get rid of all my rabbits and start over. I did just that with pure bred New Zealand Rabbits and have
never regretted it. My market loves these rabbits and I get people from as far away as 200 miles to
come buy my rabbits. I don’t have registered rabbits but as is they are worth $20.00 a doe all day
long. We just eat the bucks: they grow faster anyway.

As far as efficacy on my homestead, I adore my rabbits and know they are an integral part of life
here. I have tried feeding naturally with hay but this hasn’t worked for long. I have had problems
getting my breeders to successfully kindle. I see wild rabbits eating from my garden every afternoon
but my domesticated bunnies just don’t do well that way. I’m not saying it can’t be done I’m just
saying it didn’t work as the main food. I do, however, feed them about 10% from the homestead (in
winter) 50% from the homestead in the summer.

I think the hardest part of feeding hay is finding the right hay. Bunnies can be picky and some hay
like alfalfa is just too high in protein. When you find good hay, buy as much as you can. Changing
hay on rabbits can be just as bad as changing feed pellets on them. Young rabbits should also either
have access to it from day one or not until they are 4 months old. While they drink milk from the
doe they will have the right flora in the intestines to break down the hay. If you wean the kits and
then give them hay, the kits can possibly die because they don’t produce the right flora yet. At about
4 months of age introducing hay slowly is the safest route.

For caging, I prefer wire cages, but I still have some wood cages. Wood cages harbor dangerous
bacteria that will eventually kill rabbits. All wire cages are easier to clean and will be much more
sanitary. The best way to clean all wire cages is to remove the rabbits, use a grill cleaning brush to
scrub quickly, then run a weed burning torch over the cage. This is the quickest way to clean the
cages and burn off all hair, webs, and bacteria.

Either way you build your pens, keep them high enough to easily collect the manure. Keeping them
high enough will also make it easier for feeding, watering and breeding. Getting your bunnies set up
right the first time not only makes it easier on you but also makes it cheaper in the long run.
I would like to explain why rabbit manure is my choice for a small homestead. Chicken manure is
really hot (nitrogen so high it can burn your plants). Be prepared to compost poultry manure for at
least one year. Chicken manure also needs to be mixed with straw or hay to compost properly.

Sheep and goat manure is not nearly as hot as poultry manure but it still needs to compost a few
months before you can use it. Rabbit manure can be used fresh and won’t burn your plants. As a
matter of fact, you can plant directly in the rabbit manure without any trouble. Now, not all plants
do well this way because not all of the plant’s needs are present in the rabbit manure, so putting a
layer of rabbit manure on top of the soil is usually the best bet.

Keeping rabbits is really easy once setup correctly. As I write I have 10 breeder New Zealand
rabbits. This isn’t enough to give me all the manure I need on my ¾ acre but in the spring when
they start producing kits (rabbit babies) I get all the manure I need. The more food I give them the
more manure I get.

When I feed my rabbits, I keep in mind how efficient they are. If I put 1 cup of feed in, what
doesn’t come out in manure comes out in meat. I love to eat rabbit and I love our fresh vegetables!
My rabbits make both of them possible and help with a cycle on our small homestead.

Using the rabbit manure is easy: just spread it out around your plants. You don’t have to be
concerned on how much to put because it’s never too much. The round little pellets will take a long
time to break down if you just broadcast small amounts in the garden. If you put them out in the
fall, most of it will be looking the same in the spring. Keeping moisture on the pellets will break it
down faster. I like to spread the manure then cover it with leaves or straw. It will break down and
the life in your soil will flourish.

If you can, I suggest just making a pile of manure and keeping it moist by sprinkling with water and
turning the pile often. If conditions are right you will have a fresh compost looking pile in a few
weeks. Then, spread it out anywhere in your garden. The look is much better and it will help
improve your soil much more quickly.

I’m just scratching the surface with this article on the reason that I choose to raise rabbits. Rabbits
can benefit any small homestead. City dwellers can really benefit from keeping rabbits. You
probably won’t have any city ordinances saying you can’t keep rabbits where chickens are banned.
Using containers to grow plants in rabbit manure could be a real possibility in that sort of situation.

If you don’t have rabbits, consider getting some and if you do have some please use that manure
because it’s just a blessing to your soil!
11 Comments

1. Kim says:

December 19, 2016 at 3:27 am

We do a similar thing with guinea pigs, except we don’t eat them. They have been my “pre-
composters” for years now. And they are very pleasant little creatures, too!

Right now we have a guinea pig cage set up that has a worm/BSF bin underneath it. I tried
so many cage setups over the years, and anything that makes cleaning it easier is a big plus!

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Reply

1. Richard Bogdanowicz says:

January 8, 2017 at 11:40 am

Hello Kim, I love guinea pigs. We use to breed them years ago. Out in Peru and
other Southern countries they eat them. I have a friend that loves the taste.

Thanks for reading!

Reply

2. Dominik says:

December 26, 2016 at 1:00 am

Hi,
some good points on the manure!

I just want to let you know that wire cages are extremely cruel to animals. Just imagine
yourself sitting on a wire mesh all day long. As far as I know they are also illegal in
commercial animal farming.
So I would like to kindly ask you to reconsider wire mesh cages for your rabbits. There’s
plenty of different cage designs, I’m sure you can find something that suits your needs as
well as your rabbits’!
Rabbits love to sit on straw or hay, wood pellets (although there are also materials that are
bad for their lungs, like sawdust and clay-based cat litter.) Just google until you and your
furry little friends are happy!
Thank you so much for caring, even when the animals can’t complain!

Reply
 1. Richard Bogdanowicz says:

January 8, 2017 at 11:50 am

Hello Dominik, thanks for reading and your input. I will tell you why I use wire
cages. I started out using community rabbit pens on soil. They were like big dog runs
and my bunnies would get all sorts of diseases from bacterial growth from the poop
and urine. Even when I picked it up daily the urine was still there. Then I tried
movable pens and they were still dying from worms and other parasites after some
time. Begrudgingly I went to wire pens but only after coming up with a design that
would not hurt their feet. I check my rabbits regularly and they never had one foot
issue. I do use hay but I keep my cages really clean and you know what I haven’t had
any deaths in 2 years. I really do love my bunnies and they are a food source. With
the exception of my breeders the kits are only housed for 8-12 weeks. My breeders
are changed out every 2 years.

I can understand if you don’t agree with me and that is ok but I do want you to know
I care for my bunnies the best possible way.

Cages are also the only way to raise rabbits on the factory farms they clean easy. The
FDA approves

Thanks for reading!

Reply

3. mikie says:

February 3, 2017 at 4:07 am

Is there a good source to show how to process (butcher) rabbits. Your post has peeked my
interest!

Reply

4. Richard Bogdanowicz says:

February 3, 2017 at 12:49 pm

If you want some good information I would check out https://youtu.be/8OkXszeclxs on if

you would like to see the process. This is the most humane way to process a rabbit cleanly
but it is graphic. May not be suited for some audiences.

Reply
 1. Mikie says:

February 5, 2017 at 7:35 am

Thank you for the link

Reply

1. Richard Bogdanowicz says:

February 13, 2017 at 9:54 am

Your welcome Mike.

Reply

5. jay says:

May 4, 2017 at 4:32 pm

The rabbit in the top photo does not look happy. I have rabbits and wire cages are cruel. Just
because they dont die does not mean they are not cruel. Do agree rabbit fertilizer is great.

Reply

6. Heather Staas says:

June 16, 2019 at 2:33 pm

Love this article! I moved to the city last year and just added a rabbit to my backyard this
spring. During the day she’s in a tractor for exercise and fresh grass/clover, and I forage
weeds and garden clippings as well. Overnight she’s in a hutch with a litterpan of wood
shavings. She’s very clean, using her box exclusively for urine and most pellets. Those add a
really big volume or material to my backyard compost bin! I may pick up a second rabbit for
body warmth and company over the winter for her, my rabbits were raised in a large colony
before I moved to the city and they were quite interactive and social with one another. I
think she’s missing that.

Reply

7. Melissa says:

November 8, 2019 at 6:14 am

I would urge you to please get the rabbits off the wire bottoms of the cages, they are very
hard on their feet and can cause a lot of pain.