You can attend my class on Raising Rabbits at Prepper Camp in September... jus' sayin'!
I like the Colony approach, no cages, rabbits on the ground, metal roof, all does and kits in one big run, bucks in small isolation runs. Make sure it's rabbit-proof, as well as 4 footed predator proof, raptor proof and snake proof. No ants and no mice. 4' rabbit wire (1"x 2") on the walls, welded wire (2"x 4") on the ground, 2' rabbit wire on the ground around the preimeter and welded wire from the top of the rabbit wire up to the roof. 2' Nylon Wildlife Netting around the perimeter will keep out snakes. Keep it clean and keep the perimeter clean. They need shade and good ventilation... they love any cold temperature, can't stand heat above 95F.
If you want to eat rabbit twice a week, get one buck and two does. Alternate breeding them every two months. Both does in the Doe Run, buck in a separate, smaller run of his own that shares a wire with the does. Make sure the three breeders are unrelated.To breed 'em, put the doe in the buck's run, watch him cover her three times, then return her to the doe run. One month later, you'll have 5 to 8 kits. Doesn't matter the breed, but choose one that's a decent size. I like French Champagne D'Argent and American Silver Fox rabbits. It helps if you like the breed and learn something about them. Champagne D'Argent were developed for meat in the 1600s. Silver Fox were developed in the US during the last century and are somewhat rare. Both are beautiful.
Check the newborns for problems, remove dead kits. Make sure momma takes care of 'em, feeds 'em so there are no wrinkles on their bellies. Check all rabbits for ear mites, dust 'em with diatomaceous earth to get rid of ear mites. Clean out all rabbit pellets periodically so you can avoid coccidia.
Spend time in the runs with the rabbits and get them used to being held. If you do this with the kits, then they will be easy to handle. Otherwise, they will rip your forearms to shreds when you try to hold them. The kits grow up in the Doe Run. When the kits get to be 12 weeks old they are sexually mature, so remove the males to a separate Grow Out run. To sex them, you have to turn 'em over, dig through the fur and look at the genitals. On males and females, it looks like a tiny hot dog. If the hot dog has a longitudinal slit, it is a female. When they are 20 weeks old, harvest 'em.
You can buy rabbit food, but that's expensive. They will eat lots of high protein greens that are common... what we call weeds. Red and white clover, wild violet, wood sorel, dandelion, wild grapes, mulberry leaves and branches, kudzzu, thistle, buckwheat, alfalfa. Six bales of alfalfa will last through the winter. During winter, we make fodder by sprouting 1 lb of wheat every day, and feeding it to the rabbits when it's seven days old and weighs 6 pounds.
Consult the forum RabbitTalk.com.