Ransomware Forces Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Shut Down City Computers

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The Ready Brief #215

Practical preparedness for uncertain times

A rabbit hutch fits in places a chicken coop often cannot. Maine Cooperative Extension's budget for a backyard meat rabbit operation assumes about 30 fryers per doe per year, raised in cages roughly 30 inches square. That is a lot of protein from a small footprint, and rabbits are quiet. Today's issue covers housing, the numbers, and the one hard part, processing.

Raising Rabbits for Meat

When most people think about raising livestock for food, they picture acres of pasture and loud animals. Chickens are popular in preparedness circles, but they're noisy, they smell, and many neighborhoods restrict them. Rabbits are different. They're quiet, compact, efficient, and in many areas, they fly under the radar of zoning restrictions that specifically list "poultry" or "livestock."

Maine Cooperative Extension's budget for a backyard meat rabbit operation assumes about 30 fryers per doe per year, each 4 to 5 pounds live weight. That works out to roughly 120 to 150 pounds live weight per doe, from a cage about 30 inches square. Dressed weight is lower, so treat those as ceilings, not meat on the table.

Costs depend on the housing and breeding stock you choose, and the cage we recommend below prices one option. Feed is the main running cost, mostly pellets plus hay. New Zealand Whites and Californians are the standard meat breeds. They grow fast, dress out well, and have predictable temperaments.

Rabbits breed efficiently. Does can be bred at about 5 months of age. Maine Extension's schedules run from 45 to 59 days between litters (8 or 6 litters a year), with a typical litter of 7 to 8 kits. Most fryers reach at least 4 pounds by 8 to 10 weeks. This growth cycle means you can scale production up or down based on need, something you can't easily do with larger livestock.

Housing doesn't need to be complicated. Wire-bottom hutches raised off the ground are the standard for meat rabbits. They keep the animals clean, allow waste to drop through for easy collection, and provide good ventilation. Maine Extension describes doe cages of about 30 inches wide, 30 inches long and 18 inches high. It calls rabbit manure excellent compost material, rich in organic matter.

Feed is primarily pellets supplemented with hay. Rabbits also eat many garden scraps, greens, and weeds, which further reduces feed costs. During an extended disruption, rabbits can survive on foraged greens and hay alone, though growth rates slow.

Processing is the part most people hesitate about. It's worth being honest here. If you've never dispatched and butchered an animal, there's a learning curve, both practical and emotional. Rabbits are small enough that processing is manageable for one person with a sharp knife. Many rabbit-raising communities offer hands-on workshops. The first time is hard. It gets easier with practice.

Rabbit meat is lean, high in protein, and mild in flavor. It's comparable to chicken breast in versatility. It roasts, braises, stews, and grills well. The main nutritional caution is that rabbit meat is extremely lean, which means you need to supplement with fat from other sources. A diet of nothing but rabbit can lead to protein poisoning, sometimes called "rabbit starvation." Pair it with other foods and fats.

From a preparedness perspective, rabbits offer something most stored food doesn't: the ability to produce fresh, renewable protein independently. They don't require pasture, they're nearly silent, and they turn garden waste into food. For suburban and urban households, they're one of the most practical livestock options available.

Check your local zoning for rabbit keeping.

Search your city or county zoning code for "rabbits" or "small animals." Many areas that restrict poultry still allow rabbits, sometimes without any permit at all. Knowing the rules before you invest saves headaches later.

US Employers Announced 43,281 Job Cuts in September, Fewest for the Month Since 2022

Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 43,281 announced job cuts in September, down 18% from August and 20% from September 2025. Through nine months the total is 573,195, down 39% from a year earlier. Technology led September with 10,799 cuts, up 77% from August, and the firm attributes about 21% of this year's cuts to artificial intelligence. Hiring plans were weak too: 90,787 announced hires, the lowest for a September since 2011. Initial jobless claims were 197,000 for the week ended Sept. 26. When layoffs are low but hiring is slow, a lost paycheck takes longer to replace, so keep a cash buffer.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Reuters via Investing.com, CPA Practice Advisor

Bob Bennett is the author of Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, 5th Edition (Storey Publishing, about $21 in paperback, 240 pages). The publisher describes it as a handbook covering breed selection, housing, feeding, humane handling and preventive health care for people raising rabbits for meat, fur, show or as pets.

Our takeaway, not Bennett's: settle housing, feeding and handling with a small group before you add stock or a second hutch.

Source: Amazon book listing (publisher description)

Ransomware Forces Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Shut Down City Computers

Vicksburg, Mississippi, took its city computer systems offline after a ransomware attack, the city said in a statement published Oct. 1. Mayor Willis Thompson says police, fire and 911 dispatch were not affected, but in-person utility payments are delayed. The city's water and gas office serves more than 10,000 accounts, and the city says no one will be penalized or shut off while the system is down. No group has claimed the attack, and officials have not said whether personal data was taken. Keep your utility account number and a recent bill saved offline, so a portal outage does not leave you guessing what you owe.

Source: Vicksburg News (city release), The Record, DataBreaches.net

KW Cages Series 4000 Stacking Cage (36 x 30 x 18)

KW Cages lists this as a single-compartment cage, 36 inches wide, 30 deep and 18 high inside, made from galvanized-after-welded wire. The cages stack up to three high, the extra-deep 2.5-inch refuse pan slides out on steel runners and is designed to hold 3 to 5 days of waste, and the cage is sized for rabbits up to 12 pounds.

The cage lists at $224.56 on kwcages.com before shipping, so a breeding trio of one buck and two does would need three cages, about $674. That is a real investment, but it houses the whole operation and uses galvanized wire built to last.

Budget alternative: Build your own from welded wire and J-clips. Plans are widely available, and Maine Extension's bulletin includes housing specifications.

Overrated: Heritage breed rabbits for beginning meat producers. They're beautiful animals, but they grow slower, produce less meat, and cost more. Start with proven commercial breeds like New Zealand Whites.

Underrated: Rabbit manure as a garden input. Maine Extension calls it excellent compost material, rich in organic matter, with 3.71% nitrogen in its figures. Many gardeners apply it fresh, but composting it first is the cautious route.

Ladder and roof safety. Storm damage assessment puts more people in the ER than most disasters themselves. We'll cover how to inspect safely.

How was today's issue? Tap one below. If you pick "Could be better," tell us what to fix.

PS: Yes, people do get attached to their rabbits. Naming the breeding stock is fine. Naming the grow-outs is a mistake you only make once.

THE READY BRIEF is published for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing here is professional legal, medical, financial, or tactical advice. Preparedness looks different for every household. Use your own judgment, consult qualified professionals when the stakes are high, and adapt what you read here to your actual situation.