Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits is a comprehensive 4-H rabbit project manual published in November 1990 that teaches young people and beginner rabbit raisers how to select, house, feed, breed, show, and care for rabbits. The guide is designed as an educational resource for 4-H members and their parents, covering both hobby and commercial rabbit production.
The manual begins by introducing the fundamentals of rabbit raising, emphasizing that rabbits are relatively inexpensive, clean, easy to handle, and suitable for urban or small-farm environments. It encourages new rabbit owners to start with healthy purebred stock and explains how to select quality breeding animals based on body type, health, and fur characteristics. Detailed breed descriptions are included for popular rabbits such as New Zealand, Californian, Champagne D’Argent, Rex, Flemish Giant, Dutch, and others, along with their primary uses for meat, fur, laboratory work, or exhibition.
A substantial portion of the guide focuses on rabbit housing and equipment. It provides practical plans and diagrams for building hutches, cages, nest boxes, feeders, and watering systems. The manual discusses proper ventilation, protection from weather, sanitation requirements, cage construction materials, and nesting arrangements for breeding does. Several pages contain detailed construction drawings that would be useful to homesteaders and small-scale livestock producers.
The feeding and management sections explain rabbit nutrition, watering requirements, handling techniques, reproduction, kindling (birth), weaning, tattooing for identification, and raising young rabbits. The manual stresses consistent feeding schedules, proper sanitation, disease prevention, and recordkeeping practices. It also includes guidance on breeding schedules, litter management, and maintaining healthy stock.
For preparedness and homesteading audiences, the manual is especially valuable because it provides a practical introduction to raising rabbits as a renewable meat source. The combination of breed selection, housing plans, feeding guidance, breeding management, and disease prevention makes it a useful foundational handbook for anyone interested in backyard livestock and food self-sufficiency.
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