Grit's Guide to Backyard Rabbits

by the publisher of
Mother Earth News

I was in my favorite store the other day...Tractor Supply, and picked up a copy of Grit's Guide to Backyard Rabbits.  This edition was chalked full with good info about rabbits.  I particularly liked that they addressed most aspects of raising rabbits...pets, meat, fur, and show.   They forgot the fiber aspect this time, but I won't be too hard on 'em...still lots of good stuff.      

Some highlights from the magazine were:

• Raising rabbits for meat and breeding stock...lots of reasons why rabbits are a viable meat source, breeding tips, and a historical look at changes in our agriculture and food systems.
• Some scrumptious looking rabbit dishes with recipes.
• A look at meat rabbits on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's  Rare Breeds List.
• Separating pets from meat...eating the animals you raise as a solution to today's food source concerns.
• Raising rabbits as livestock...a primer on rabbit care. 
• DYI Rabbit Home and Equipment...nice housing plans for a wire cage, stand alone covered hutch, wire nestboxes, and a plan for stacking cages. 

• How to make hay the old-fashioned way.
• The Rabbit House...rabbit colony living as a housing alternative.
• Bunny Love...a primer on pet rabbit care and a list of popular pet and show breeds.   
• Handling garden pests...not just wild rabbits.  This section includes plans for a humane trap.
• Professional rabbitry advice from a conservation breeder...this one focuses on meat rabbit production. 
• How to tan rabbit hides, sew the fur, and find a market.
• An excerpt from Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits gives information about showing your rabbits. 

• A review on classic rabbit literature...and an interesting story about President Jimmy Carter and a marsh rabbit.  

The magazine ends with a list of resources for everything you need to raise the best bunnies for whatever reason you choose....available at a Tractor Supply near you.  Good read!