How many rabbits are sufficient?

Nov 03, 2011
Rating

Rabbits for a 30 person bunker
by: Rae

For 30 people to each rabbit just 1 meal a week (plus possibly another night of rabbit stew) you would have to be kindling a new litter of at least 8 kits every week. That's 52 births a year and all are being eaten. Depending on how aggressive you are with the breeding schedule each doe will kindle 3-4 time a year. At the very least you would need 13 does just for the fryers in a perfect world. You'll have whole litters that are lost, sterile does and bucks, losses to sickness, heat and predators or even to people forgetting to close hutches properly. A single buck can handle up to 10 does, so at a minimum you'd need 2. Your breeders will only be producing between the ages of 6 months and 3 years typically. So you'll need at the very least 5 for replacement breeders every year. Inbreeding can/will reduce capability so you'll want enough extras each year to trade/sell for new blood lines.

*****Karen Sez*****
Thanks Rae. This assessment needs verification, however I'd say it is fairly accurate.

Commercial breeders manage a breeding schedule that is more like 5-6 litters per year. That many babies requires ideal feed. It is not an excessive breeding schedule, given that rabbits kindle more frequently than every 5 weeks in the wild, with a couple months of reprieve in the Fall.

However, given that feed may not be ideal in a survival situation, Rae may be closer to accurate than not.

Lastly, a rabbit meal, or two or three per week, is fine (Rae mentioned two meals), but one cannot live on rabbits alone (www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-starvation.html)--not enough essential fats. So an additional source of meat and fat calories will be essential for human survival.
K

How many rabbits are sufficient?

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How many rabbits are sufficient?