We had a pet rabbit once, and pretty soon we had a rat. Cause or correlation not established. In any event, rats abound in this Green Acres Neighborhood, which abuts a restaurant, and that’s what pest control folks say probably got them going. I WILL look into some way to get rabbits here as a food source (I can see just the place where they would go.) BUT: It all depends on if we could figure out a design for their cages impervious to rats so that they would grow discouraged.

Also, since we have chickens, we already have rats . . . Grrr . . .

Hi Ann

Why do you say rabbits would draw rats? I have a number of rabbits in my back yard and have no problems with rats. Handful of field mice and voles, but that’s normal. House their cages/hutches up off the ground, with an intermediate level of sloped ‘pellet catchers” halfway, and collecting the poop for the garden is largely effortless and does not pile up on the ground, if that’s why you’re thinking it would draw rats. I highly recommend giving some rabbits a try.

I am looking to find some cuy next. The “livestock” variety is larger and less pet-like than our common guinea pigs, but I’m not having much luck finding any breeding stock so far. May have to settle for regular ‘piggies. They taste just a good, but are not as large or as hardy.

We’ve thought about rabbits, but they would draw rats. This entire neighborhood has trouble with rats. Maybe we should just eat rats? Just joking. Or am I? Anyway, I agree with you on all this and the warrior part of me would love to live in a fancy neighborhood where I could defy its HOA. Somebody’s got to do this, get the ball rolling.

So while it’s not time to panic quite yet, it IS way past time to rip up the lawn (HOA be damned) and turn your yard into a garden. Rabbit poop makes great fertilizer that doesn’t have to be aged like chicken & cow poop. Rabbits are also a good protein source, they’re quiet & won’t disturb your neighbors at sunrise, can easily be hidden from casual view in a shed, and they can be fed largely on grass/hay (and kudzu, which is also free).

For those who did make the non-optimal decision to live in an HOA that objects to front-yard gardens and back yard livestock, perhaps it is time for groups the like-minded residents who want to have those things to start paying some unofficial visit to each HOA Board member and impressing upon them the severe likelihood that they will become the first “guest of honor” at upcoming “long pig” BBQ dinners if there’s no front-yard garden produce or back-yard rabbits/chickens for HOA residents to eat because of the restrictive covenants….