Off the Urban Grid

Useful Rabbit Breeds

There’s nothing wrong with keeping rabbits for pets, but there are other uses for these furry critters as well. If you’re trying to create a more self-sufficient lifestyle in the city, rabbits are small enough that you can probably keep them.

There are several rabbit breeds you might consider. First, let’s take a look at the possible uses (the breed you choose will depend on what you will use the rabbit for):

• Wool
• Fertilizer
• Meat
• Fur

Personally, I’m a big softy, and you’re not going to catch me raising rabbits (or anything) for meat and fur, but if this isn’t something that bothers you, raising small stock such as rabbits is something you can do even in limited spaces, such as we’re often stuck with in urban settings.

Here’s a look at the breeds that are recommended for each use:

Rabbit Breeds for Wool

Natural-fiber products are popular, and you can make money selling the wool from Angora rabbit breeds.  Also, you can use the wool yourself. The plucked wool can be spun into yarn, and clothing made from Angora wool is soft, warm, and commands a high price.

The cool thing about Angora wool is that you don’t have to hurt the rabbit in order to get it.  You simply pull the loose hair from the mature coat, and the hand-plucking actually helps with the natural shedding process, so it’s beneficial to the animal.

Examples of Angora rabbit breeds are English Angora, French Angora, Giant Angora, and Satin Angora.  The English Angora is the fanciest of the examples with luxurious wool that covers the entire body, including the face, feet, and ears.  These rabbits are relatively small, weighing 5 to 7.5 pounds, and they have two color varieties (white and colored) with about 30 shades.

Two other rabbit breeds that have wool instead of normal fur are the Jersey Woolly and the American Fuzzy Lop.

Fertilizer

You know what’s great for your garden?  Rabbit droppings.  (I shall spare you and not include a picture here.)

For this purpose, any breed of rabbit will do.

The droppings have a higher nitrogen content than any other common barnyard manures (i.e. cow, horse, pig, etc.), and they’re small, compact, and nearly odorless (always a plus!).  They can be used in flower gardens and also for vegetable gardens.

Rabbit Breeds for Meat

If you want to supplement your diet with rabbit meat, some breeds are better for the purpose than others.  Generally look to the large breeds, weighing 9 to 11 pounds mature.  Not all large breeds are great for food, but in general they convert feed to meat at an economic rate and some types yield a good fryer.

Breeds worth considering are Californian, Champagne D’Argent, Florida White, New Zealand, and Palomino.  The New Zealands, which are also a good fur rabbit, are known for full, well-muscled bodies and the fact that they mature by 8 weeks of age.

Rabbit Breeds for Fur

Fur markets are few and far between these days, and it’s not practical to raise a rabbit just for fur.  But some of the breeds that you might choose for meat production also offer good furs.  In general, white-furred rabbits are best for fur production since their pelts can be dyed to different colors.

Example Breeds are Rex (most valuable fur breed) and Satin, though the New Zealand and Californian (both meat rabbits) also offer decent furs.

For more on rabbits, and all sorts of other livestock, check out Barnyard in Your Backyard, which I used as a source for this post:

Barnyard in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cows

Tags: livestock, rabbits