(Be nice I'm new
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To cut a very long story short - I am considering pasture raising rabbits for meat in the south west of the UK on a solar park as I have grazing rights and rabbits are the only animals who wont cause damage to the panels. I am starting with an acre pasture, current plan is to securely fence the edges to keep rabbits in and more importantly, wild rabbits and foxes OUT. I am proposing large mobile pens to enable pasture rotation, with chickens to control parasite and insect activity. There is a market in my area for rabbit meat, no other producers are pasture rearing. I intend to obtain high welfare accreditation and market to bistro pubs and restaurants throughout the south west.
I would very much so please like some advice on the following topics:
- which breed (or crosses) will reach good weights on pasture and are hardy enough to survive coastal weather, solar panels will provide shelter from the worst of it. We often get Atlantic gales, usually about a week of snow in late February, otherwise windy and wet! As it's close to the sea a lot of salt blows in with the storms, everything rusts so quickly.
- what would be recommended way to rabbit proof an entire acre? New mesh and barbed wire fencing has installed earlier this year, how far should I dig below and lay chicken wire?
- pen design: I provisionally imagined something similar to this (see below) with supervised access to larger area possible as a colony (not for heavily pregnant does or those with young kits)
- as there are many wild rabbits about I am thinking of vaccinating my breeding stock - 1 - will this sufficiently cover the kits until they are eaten? 2 - is it recommended to vaccinate in animals intended for human consumption? There is no myxi at the moment although we are expecting an outbreak with the expected wild population boom in the next 2 years (all that unmowed yummy grass between the panels!)
- I intend to process the rabbits myself, I am aware that Defra and the FSA want a license for the same. If I sold them as skinned and cleaned carcasses, what uses have people found for the heads and intestines? Ears can be dried for dog treats, pelts frozen then tanned / sold in bulk, feet either as lucky charms or in dog food, offal such as kidneys and liver can be eaten, but what about the guts? I have read that some people feed the leftovers to chickens! Also - any uses for the blood other than a fertiliser?
- Can I make my own hay from grass which may have been exposed to wild rabbits and how can I prevent disease transmission through this?
- has anyone had any success using natural methods and herbs as medicine for rabbits? One I am particularly interested in it grapefruit seed oil or apple cider vinegar dilated in the water for worm control. The Rise and Shine Rabbitry posted a through list here:
http://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/06/09/medicinal-herbs-for-rabbits/ which seems helpful.
- Final random thought - would crossing with a native wild buck increase hybrid vigour and lead to healthier genetics and local disease resistance? (Please bear in mind when answering that the wild population local to the farm already has some domestic strains in it due to escaped pets (dutch x) around 10 years ago. We do still see black wild rabbits every now and again around the farm)
I welcome all advice, please point out any obvious failings with this plan!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thankyou in advance for your advice
