Eric Rapp - Raising Rabbits for Meat

Praise for Raising Rabbits for Meat

As our culture moves toward more honest sources of meat, the rabbit continues to be one of the most efficient and nutritious options. Eric and Callene Rapp have a wealth of experience which they share in this detailed and personable guide. The Rapps dedication to breed integrity and to rabbit health are exceptional, and this book will be essential for anyone interested in raising rabbits from the homesteader to the commercial farmer.

Meredith Leigh, author, The Ethical Meat Handbook and Pure Charcuterie

So you think you want to raise rabbits?!? Everything you need to know to do it successfully and enjoyably is contained in Raising Rabbits for Meat, co-authored by the most comprehensive rabbit-rearing couple of our time, Eric and Callene Rapp. Readers will not only receive information gleaned from decades of experience but they will become engrossed in the Rapps engaging delivery. Raising Rabbits is destined to become the single authority on all aspects of creating and maintaining a successful meat rabbit business and should be on the bookshelf of every livestock farmer out there and those who aspire to raise rabbits, poultry, or other stock as a business.

Hank Will, Editorial Director, Ogden Publications

You may have noticed that Ive never written about raising rabbits. Thats because it was a complete disaster when we tried with three different breeds! If only Id had this book back then, we might have been enjoying homegrown rabbit all these years. The Rapps tell you everything you need to know, from setting up your rabbitry to buying your first rabbits, and from breeding and kindling to harvesting.

Deborah Niemann, ThriftyHomesteader.com, author, Homegrown and Handmade, Ecothrifty, and Raising Goats Naturally

Kudos for Raising Rabbits for Meat. It is a useful tool that is fully loaded with the knowledge that newcomers will need for success in building a rabbitry from the ground up. The common-sense practical advice coupled with the Rapps notorious wit make the book a delightful read.

Jeannette Beranger, Senior Program Manager, The Livestock Conservancy

Raising Rabbits for Meat is very well written and covers everything from having a plan when you start out; to housing, cages, feeding and watering; selecting breeding stock; kindling and processing, etc. Even after raising heritage breed rabbits for years there are still many ideas in the book that I can use to improve my management practices. Im looking forward to adding it to my reference library.

Donald Richey, DVM, Columbia City, IN

Rabbits have been considered pets by many over the last several decades, but their original purpose for human domestication was to provide a healthy meat source for a family in a minimal space. Since 2003 when they started The Rare Hare Barn rabbitry, Master Breeders Eric and Callene Rapp have collected vast amounts of knowledge about rabbit breeding and care. They have now created a go-to book of raising rabbits for meat: including the history, nutrition, care, harvest, and consumption. This is a comprehensive guide that is perfect for the beginner, but still useful for the experienced breeder.

Alicia Boor, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Cottonwood District, K-State Research and Extension

Well-organized and detailed, Raising Rabbits for Meat is an excellent resource for anyone considering meat rabbits as a family food source or farm enterprise. It will help you decide if raising meat rabbits is right for you, and how to manage every aspect of husbandry involved, including feeding, breeding, health, processing, and selling. Beginners and experienced rabbit-keepers will find plenty to learn and benefit from in Raising Rabbits for Meat.

Victoria Redhed Miller, author, Craft Distilling, From No-Knead to Sourdough, and Pure Poultry

Copyright 2018 by Eric Rapp and Callene Rapp. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Cover images: top and bottom rabbit photos: Callene Rapp; background texture:

iStock 517263067; rabbit illustration: iStock 494058002.

All photos figures Eric and Callene Rapp unless otherwise noted.

Interior images: p. 1, 5, 13, 19, 31, 41, 61, 79, 127, 141, 149 doublebubble_rus 5282;

p. 87 jenesesimre; p. 95, 119 unorobus; p. 107 morningglory1285 / Adobe Stock.

Printed in Canada. First printing September 2018.

This book is intended to be educational and informative.

It is not intended to serve as a guide. The author and publisher disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk that may be associated with the application of any of the contents of this book.

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Raising Rabbits for Meat should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Rapp, Eric, 1959, author

Raising rabbits for meat / Eric Rapp & Callene Rapp.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-889-0 (softcover). ISBN 978-1-55092-682-8 (PdF). ISBN 978-1-77142-278-9 (ePub)

1. Rabbits. 2. Meat animals. I. Rapp, Callene, 1965, author II. Title.

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.

This book is dedicated to all the rabbits who have nourished us, challenged us, and taught us, and all the master breeders who passed down their knowledge.
We are all better for having known you.

While its true that the act of writing is a solitary endeavor, no book ever sees the light of day without a host of other people involved in the effort.

Eric is the one who, day in and day out for the last 15 years, has cared for our rabbits with meticulous attention to detail. I am merely the scribe who attempted to put all that experience down on paper.

To the chefs who have been our partners throughout this little adventure we cant thank you enough.

Thanks to my friend, Danielle, who helped transcribe citations when I was too bleary-eyed to focus, and thanks to everyone who read any part of this manuscript to answer the question, Does this make sense?

Thank you to Jordan for her beautiful artwork, and thanks to the Graphics staff at SCZ for helping me scan them into a format that would actually work in the book.

Thanks to Ingrid from New Society Publishers for believing in this book, and for dealing with the shenanigans and the cluelessness of a first-time author.

And special thanks to New Society Publishers copy editor Betsy Nuse. The fact that you are actually holding a physical copy of a book in your hands is in no small part due to her efforts in shepherding, guiding and helping organize what at many points in the process could only be described as a hot mess. She assured me it was not, but I think that was just that innate Canadian politeness talking.