In your opinion - ducks or rabbits for 1st meat animal?

[tortoise]

I think the cons listed for rabbits depend entirely upon your choices for housing and choice of rabbits. And with not knowing what to expect.

"hate the mess and cages"

Yeah - they do poop a lot. and it makes fab fertilizer! There are a lot of ways to set up cages depending on how often you deal with poop. I have mine set up high maintenance. It takes me 20 min to clean every day in summer, and I clean only once a week in winter. It's important to have urine guards set up for bucks and territorial does. I have my cages set on plastic trays that have wood chips in them to absorb any urine-spray drips. I dump poop into a compost pile and get awesome compost from it.

"My experience is they get sick more easily--ear mites, cocci, and my sil is dealing with wry neck right now) IDK if this lessens by being freeranged, we'll see."

I can't compare to ducks, but I haven't had this experience. I've only had one rabbit sick - he had mites when I bought him, led to a wool block. Didn't know the wool block was secondary to mites. Just started treating for mites and we'll be done with it. I've never had ear mites, worms, wry neck or pasteurella outbreak. (All of my rabbits carry pasteurella.) I do have my rabbits out in the grass for summer, but because there hasn't been a dog with worms in this yeard for at least 6 years, there is minimal risk of my rabbits getting worms. I have never needed to treat them for worms.

I think that disease has a whole lot to do with their environments and handling. I'm out there every day handling every rabbit. I groom them regularly. I notice every little thing that might be a health concern. Their cages are scrubbed and burned free of wool/hair. Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's not a dump some food in the bowl and fill up a water bottle deal (if you want to do it well). If I can't get out there, I have a neighbor come out and handle them for me.

"My brother is missing a finger tip due to an ill tempered buck. ... I also have a scar on my stomach from getting scratched by a rabbit." "if your does are not friendly, they can and will bite"

Rabbits are not usually the fluffy cute little house pet. There are AGGRESSIVE rabbits out there. Rabbits do kick, scratch, and some bite. They can "thump" and knock the wind out of a person. Rabbits can growl! For real!

When choosing rabbits, look for the calmest, most docile and easy-to-handle rabbits. This is super-important to me. My first (pet) rabbit in high school was extremely aggressive. I will never tolerate a poor temperament in a rabbit.

Rabbits (especially does) become more aggressive as they age. Unless she is a fabulous producer, just butcher her out and be done with it.

BUT, I've taken 2 rabbits that were said to be a little skittish or thumpy and when put into my rabbitry were perfectly docile and calm. Cage setup and the way you handle a rabbit makes a big difference.

For example, I free-ranged rabbits for a while. Even with the same amount of grooming and handling as a caged/indoor rabbit, these rabbits were kittish and jumpy. I brought them back into cages and they settled down. Because of this experience, I DON'T believe that free-ranging rabbits is necessarily a good idea. A nervous jumpy rabbit is not a happy rabbit.

Rabbits will scratch you if you don't handle them correctly/carefully. (Also poor temperament rabbits with kick and scratch regardless of how you handle them.) I have gauntlets for handling rabbits. I rarely use them, but when my son (3 yrs old) handles a rabbit (he has a tiny pet rabbit, not a meaty) he wears gauntlets.

I'll shut up now, lol. You can see pics of my rabbits and rabbitry here: http://www.penelopesrabbitry.blogspot.com

One other thing to consider. IF you have rabbits with good temperament, you can get yourself in a position to command a premium price for pet rabbits. Around here pet rabbits go for free to $15. I get $60 because they have excellent temperaments. I sold off $300 worth of culls this year which gave me enough money to put in more cages, get some carry cages, add breeding stock and put in an automatic watering system. Pretty sweet.

 

[Wifezilla]

You'll love the Welsh Harlequins

One advantage for rabbits is fur. Will you use it?

But in the duck category, you get all those yummy eggs and if you don't want ducklings you are still getting edibles from them.

Both ducks and rabbits provide good fertilizer for your garden, but rabbit poop can be used right away. Poopy duck bedding needs some aging time.

 

[tortoise]

High maintenance cage set-up:


Penelope's Rabbitry by Penelope's Rabbitry, on Flickr

This is a nice set up. The boys go on the bottom to minimize urine spray. The most docile girls go by the door. (They won't startle when I (or the dogs!) come in.) Any new rabbits go next to a calm doe until they settle in. Rabbits that kick when they are put back into cages go on the top row.


Pickle's Kits by Penelope's Rabbitry, on Flickr

THIS (cute photos) is how to sell rabbits. I made $200 on this litter and got 3 meaties too.

 

[tortoise]

One advantage for rabbits is fur. Will you use it?

Good point, lol. I have angoras, so I harvest the wool. I can spin it into yarn, felt it, sell it ($6 - $12/ounce), and it makes an awesome barter item.

I have a pelt in the fridge now. My brother needs some fur for the edge of a hood...

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, my personal experience is that I don't like the high maintence factor of rabbits being in cages. Yes, you need to clean them. alot. I also think their quality of life is much better outside where they can run around, munch on grass, fertilize my lawn. You can see their personalities much better now. None of us like chickens spending their whole lives in cages, but it's ok for rabbits? Been there, done that, don't like it. Depends on the person I guess. I prefer ducks to rabbits but I will still raise rabbits, I will just do it outside On the ground, not on wire. If you are raising rabbits for meat, you can use the pelts, but there is not a (big) market for it.

If I had to choose one over the other though, I would choose ducks.

 

[CrimsonRose]

If you like chicken (white meat) but hate plucking then rabbit is the easiest to raise...

Ducks are fun but they do POOP everywhere... and stink... but yes you get the added bonus of eggs! The only duck meat I've had was greasy... and tasted more like dark meat to me... so even though it was good... it wasn't my favorite...

To me rabbits are easier since you don't have to wait for them to sit on eggs to hatch out babies... Rabbits you can breed on your own schedule... From the time you breed your mama... they are ready for the table in about 4 months! Ducks take longer to grow out...

With Rabbits the mom takes care of the babies... so no need of a broader or extra equipment...

Rabbits for the first 6 weeks to 8 weeks of their lives can live with mom and supplement their feed by drinking milk... so you have very little feed in growing them out... Where as ducks need you to feed them from day one!

plus rabbits are quiet!

we do raise our rabbits in hutches... we tried to pasture some but where we have a high population of wild rabbits we also have a huge problem with parasites... So our rabbits stay much healthier if raised in cages... we just pull them weeds and garden extras for treats...

Rabbits can scratch you up and harm you more than a duck could... but I breed for temperament and also let my kids handle the babies from birth... so they are really tame and used to being handled by the time they are breeding age...

Biggest bonus from the bunnies is the poo! we have HORIBLE soil here... and rabbit poo can be put on plants straight as a fertilizer... no need to compost it and it won't burn up your plants... we planted our tomatoes in straight poo this summer and it was the BEST crop of tomatoes we have ever had!

I haven't had ducks since I was younger and hope to get some one day... but for me rabbits are much easier and less messy so I went with them first!

 

[Wifezilla]

With Rabbits the mom takes care of the babies... so no need of a broader or extra equipment..

This totally depends on the breed. I have Welsh Harlequins. They will brood their own young and you can even slip in other hen's eggs...duck or chicken. They don't care

 

[FarmerChick]

alot of "mom" bunnies eat their young also

 

[lwheelr]

Muscovies also brood their young, and take very good care of them.

Rabbit moms do nurse their young. But they EAT a lot when they do! Their food doubles or more, and the babies start eating at two or three weeks, and then the food REALLY increases (so does the scattered wasted food). So either way, you feed them from day one.

Rabbits are burrowing animals, and they are prey animals. They spend their days in a burrow, and come out at night. So they like an environment that feels closed, safe, and predictable. That is undoubtedly EASIER to provide indoors - though I tend to favor natural as far as possible for practicality. It is also easier indoors to handle year-round breeding, because you can light an enclosed area to extend daylight hours.

Our long term intention is to have our hutches outdoors - easier to clean up. Can't do that in Wyoming though, just too bitterly cold. I don't think I'd free-range rabbits in a tractor, because rabbits do burrow. You can lose a rabbit really fast. Not all rabbits will, but it is an instinctive behavior, and one that I'm not willing to take a chance with.

Currently, we have the cages propped up so the waste falls on plastic on the floor, where we clean it up every two weeks. You can also put redworms directly into rabbit waste, and they'll keep the amount and odor down, according to a couple of rabbitries online. Since the waste can be put directly into the garden without composting, rabbit waste is probably the easiest animal waste to recycle. My sister just digs a trench where she wants her next garden bed to be. She fills it with manure and bedding straw, over a period of months. Once it is full, she covers it with black plastic and lets it sit for a couple of years. Then she uncovers it, puts a shovelful of dirt where she wants each plant, and plants into that. She has terrible soil, says this has fixed that problem.

We bring our rabbits fresh greens on a regular basis. They will eat wheatgrass, but they absolutely LOVE cabbage, broccoli, kale, and other cole crops. Rabbits fed a variety of fresh foods tend to be healthier, grow better, with less disease - though you do have to accustom them to it, they don't take well to rapid change in their diet. My mom and sister both did this also, and had no disease problems in their rabbits over the course of many years.

We also breed for temperament. One reason the feminist does were removed. Our Flemish is an absolute treasure, a really calm mom, does not get upset at activity in the garage, doesn't mind when we handle the babies, etc. Kevin pets her every time he feeds her, and we bring her veggies every day. Yesterday though, I brought the treats late. She is nursing and her kits are eating pellets too, so we have to fill her feed bowl a couple of times a day. She always snatches the greens right from our hands, but yesterday she must have been extra hungry or something. She would have taken off my finger if I had not been wearing gloves, she aimed for the broccoli and got my glove instead. Not because she is aggressive, just because she loves that fresh stuff.

Scratching happens. Rabbits instinctively pedal their hind legs when you pick them up. The bigger the rabbit, the harder it is to hold them so they feel secure (you can't pick up really big ones by the scruff of their neck). More aggressive rabbits are worse about this, but even well behaved ones will scratch, it is instinctive. You learn to hold them and handle them to help prevent, and you wear clothing that helps also if you are going to be handling them a lot at once.

There is an organic grocery store in our area, we go there whenever we are in town. They have a "compost bin" in the back, where they throw the old produce. We rummage through that, pull out the good stuff, and bring it home for the animals. They've been getting daily veggies this way, though not as much as they need. It is really only treats right now, not what we'd like to be doing.

We are raising rabbits and bantams in cages. Not because that is how we'd like to raise animals, but because that is what works in our situation. We take good care of them, make sure they have enough room, and we talk to to them every time we are in the garage.

One other thing not mentioned. Some ducks will fly. You either let them (and hope the neighbors don't mind - and hope the ducks come back), or you clip their wings, or you put some kind of containment over the top of their pen. We chose to clip wing feathers (which is legally required for Muscovies anyway). We quill clip the flight feathers individually, and leave the guard feathers in place. Our ducks still flap up on top of the compost pile (they like roosting there in the cold), but they don't climb the fences or try to fly over.

 

[patandchickens]

I do eventually want turkeys, also. But for a 1st meat animal, I'd think staying small would be in my best interest.

I dunno, turkeys are totally no more difficult than chickens or ducks. Easier than ducks in a lot of ways, because there is not the issue of water and mess. And you can raise just a couple of them as an initial trial and get LOTS of meat out of it.

Sorry, I just think turkeys are da bomb as "small meat livestock"

Pat