Rabbit breeding is the perfect complement to gardening. We already knew this, but we rediscovered it last year when our lionhead rabbits and our garden were right next to each other. As the rabbit cages were cleaned, all of those beautiful and mighty pellets (also known as manure) went straight into the garden beds. As a result, we had the most prolific garden we have ever had.
Most people don’t realize that rabbit manure is like little magic bullets that can be put directly into the garden. They will not burn your plants, but will provide nutrients that will enrich your soil and allow the plants to continue to produce and prolong the production of your garden. Rabbit manure has even more nitrogen than poultry manure and also contains a large amount of phosphorus which is important for flower and fruit formation. As a result, our tomato harvest last year was higher. In all my years of gardening, I have never seen a tomato plant produce so many tomatoes. When it seemed that the harvest was dwindling, we simply added a small pallet full of rabbit manure around the base of each tomato plant and within a few days more flowers began to form. We were still picking ripe tomatoes after our first frost here in North Texas. (We had covered the plants with tarps to give them some protection.)
Since rabbit manure doesn’t really need to be composted, it saves time and energy. However, we still add generous amounts of rabbit manure to our compost pile to allow it to be processed into good quality compost very quickly.
Another advantage of rabbits is their therapeutic nature. They are great stress relievers, especially when you handle and brush them, and they make absolutely wonderful pets. So the double therapy of gardening and handling rabbits should help your stress level; Unless, of course, the rabbits manage to get loose and eat your garden!
So enjoy the benefits of rabbits along with your gardening. Rabbits + orchard = higher productivity and wonderful synergy.
There are also many helpful e-books available if you are interested in learning more about raising rabbits. See the resource box for more information.
