# Profit from Rabbits



## jrthom (Mar 8, 2013)

Is there a profit to be made from meat rabbits? Those I ask on the show side say there is little to non with show rabbits.


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

not here. i use it as a loss each yr. plus i eat good.


----------



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Our rabbits are the only profitable thing on our farm.

I raise NZB's and SF's. 

I sell some as breeders, starting at 45.00 each. The rest are sold or used by us for meat. When I sell for meat I do 7.00 each. 

I'll also sell mutt crosses for 10.00 each when you get multiples. No peds. 

I'll usually sell unpedigreed NZB's or SF's for 15.00 apeice. 

I do show, not as much as some people but enough that people know my name. I usually show less than 8, but that may go up now that I've got some nice NZB's to put up instead of just SF's.


----------



## jrthom (Mar 8, 2013)

Living in southern MI and a few miles from a Saturday morning auction puts some stress on the meat rabbit prices. I just picked up a SF pair and have Cals. The Cals I actually have trouble selling as breeding stock here. Not many are interested in papers and you can pick up non papered ones cheap


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Even when raising commercially, the profit margin is slim. Gotta pay close attention to expenses and cut corners without cutting health benefits for the rabbits. Buy feed by the ton to get discounts, make your own cages, sell manure, etc. No profit with show rabbits... gotta build a reputation for having winning rabbits and that takes money for show entries, travel, accommodations, meals, etc. 

Pat Lamar


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

there is profit, but you have to take the time to think outside the box, advertise and do things correctly. Since january 2013, so 2.5 months we have socked away over $1000 after paying our feed bill & all of our start up expenses from the previous year I do this as a side business and a way to pay for my hobby. Breeding stock & pets re the money maker here, just find your niche in your area and cater to it.


----------



## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

BWAHAHAHAhahahahah!!!!

Good luck!

Rabbits are a sickness, not a money maker.


----------



## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

jolly rabbit said:


> there is profit, but you have to take the time to think outside the box, advertise and do things correctly. Since january 2013, so 2.5 months we have socked away over $1000 after paying our feed bill & all of our start up expenses from the previous year I do this as a side business and a way to pay for my hobby. Breeding stock & pets re the money maker here, just find your niche in your area and cater to it.


please post your ledger, and any other details, how many rabbits,cages,feed etc

if your boast be prepared to back it up


----------



## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

Anyone here make stuffed animals with the skins? This is what I have been thinking of doing, in addition to selling culls and rabbit manure. 

I suppose if one counts the time and effort to process the skins and turn them into teddy bears it's probably a low margin--- but I look at it as a hobby that I hope to get money for I guess.


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

CraterCove said:


> Anyone here make stuffed animals with the skins? This is what I have been thinking of doing, in addition to selling culls and rabbit manure.
> 
> I suppose if one counts the time and effort to process the skins and turn them into teddy bears it's probably a low margin--- but I look at it as a hobby that I hope to get money for I guess.



if you ever figure out how to make leather gloves lined with rabbit fur.......id be a customer.


----------



## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

Yes it is possible to profit. However right now it is very slim, due to high feed costs and high fuel cost.


----------



## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

Dead Rabbit said:


> if you ever figure out how to make leather gloves lined with rabbit fur.......id be a customer.


I'll look into it... no promises though  I am but a novice at everything it seems. I also have goats and will in future get cows so I am reading up on custom moccasin making. With cowhide for souls and goat for uppers with rabbit fur linings I think they would be super comfy and warm. I have an aversion to shoes, being part Hobbit as I am but moccasins are great.


----------



## YellowRabbit (Mar 3, 2013)

I have never made money, maybe every once in while i will get 20-50 bucks lol. I am small scale and basically just do it for our own diet, and for fun. I would nto be enter it for money as it could get labor intensive very fast....


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

I had a full-time business raising rabbits. I catered to the show, pet, meat and laboratory markets. I also ran a vendor table selling supplies, etc., at the rabbit shows, so that pretty much paid for my show expenses. Most of my profit came from selling breeding stock, both for show and for meat... but I had to maintain two separate herds of NZWs... one for show, and the other for the commercial meat business. Show rabbits simply cannot deal with the more intensive breeding schedules of commercial production. The commercial herd paid for the feed for the entire herd of 700. Yes, advertising was definitely a major key to our success.

We carried a variety of breeds... Mini Lops, Rex, Mini Rex, Satins, English Lops & Flemish Giants, but the NZW, both show and commercial, was our main breed.

Pat Lamar


----------



## TriWinkle (Oct 2, 2011)

theemon said:


> please post your ledger, and any other details, how many rabbits,cages,feed etc
> 
> if your boast be prepared to back it up


Y'know I was considering asking that person a few questions, but given that they've been accused of "boasting" I'd be surprised if they'd want to answer any questions at all.

I guess I'm inclined to give someone the benefit of the doubt before accusing them of "boasting." I understand what you're asking, and why you're asking it, but there's probably a way to go about it that doesn't put someone on the defensive.


----------



## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

My rabbits operate in the black. Between sales of fryers, breeders, show quality animals, and the pet food trade (yes this includes snake food) they make money for me.


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

When I was raising meat rabbits, I made a profit. But there was a whole group of us, so feed could be bought by the truckload, which made it much, MUCH cheaper...

When I was raising show rabbits, I made enough of a profit to start up a parakeet habit, and a teddy bear hamster habit... Built the aviary with the money I made off the rabbits, bought all my tanks and supplies for the hamsters, as well as paying for the rabbit habit. But the show rabbits were smaller breeds. My mother had Mini-Rexes, and I had Jersey Woolies and Netherlands. Anything that wasn't show quality got sold to the local pet store, which took everything I could give them. 

In the future, I'd like to do both... Raise larger, meat-types and dwarf breeds. Meat-types not good enough to sell for show will feed the dogs, and dwarfs not good enough for show will go for pets. All in all, I think I can still make a decent profit of it. Rabbits fed to the dogs are still a profit to me... That's money I'm not shelling out for premium kibble.


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I did not read their post as boastful. Someone asked if there was a profit, and they responded with the fact that they've been successful at it. 

Why would they have to post their personal details for you? Perhaps if you're curious about how they're making it work, the inquiry should be worded differently. As is, it just looks accusatory.


----------



## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

Hmm. Interesting. I have been running the numbers almost weekly on my small (but slowly growing) operation, and I have been encouraged by what I'm seeing. Once I have the kinks worked out I am planning to be able to make some money with my rabbits. I don't see why so many people say "no way" to turning a profit on meat rabbits. Pound for pound, rabbit meat is cheaper to produce than most other conventionally raised meats, and generally speaking there is very little local competition (I guess it depends on your scale). Cages and/or building materials are expensive, so maybe it takes a year or two to pay everything off initially. But after that it should be possible to make some money. 

I am a newbie and don't claim to have all the answers, in fact I have very few answers at this point. But I do have a meticulous business plan that tells me if all goes according to plan, I will not see a loss every year.

Maybe location has a lot to do with it. I live in a very health conscious area where wealthy people are willing to pay a big premium for healthy, naturally raised local meats. $8-10 per pound is not unreasonable if you are good at marketing.


----------



## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

I think for my area, it would be very difficult to earn a profit. I have contented myself to showing my best rabbits and eating the others. If I can sell a few here and there, that is just great.


----------



## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

Yes it can be profitable, if you know how to calculate profit and loss and understand how to cut costs. Many can raise good food but just don't have the business sense to make it profitable. If you are buying bag feed for 100% of your rabbits consumption then there is no way you are going to profit. That goes for just about everything on the farm. You need to be able to produce a percentage of your rabbit's feed at home, raising the rabbit is only half the equation, raising it's feed is the other half...maybe even more important. The greater the percentage of feed that you can provide, the greater the profit.


----------



## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> BWAHAHAHAhahahahah!!!!
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Rabbits are a sickness, not a money maker.


Yeppers!
Never gonna happen unless you're a huge commercial place or over price and find lots of suckers to pay up. No offense to those who do manage to make some money off these darned hairballs.
Certainly will spend the first year or more just making $ back for all the equipment, feed and individuals. Then with the price of feed now, you'll rarely make a buck for yourself! 
I pasture mine 3 seasons of the year, but I still don't make much, since they wont and shouldn't breed in the dangerous heat of summer. Lost a few rabbits because of that last year, many, many breeders did, actually. =(


----------



## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

secuono said:


> Yeppers!
> Never gonna happen unless you're a huge commercial place or over price and find lots of suckers to pay up.


I guess it comes down to location. You're lucky to find grass fed hamburger around here for less than $7-8 per pound, and rabbit is a hard to find specialty meat that most people would expect to be priced higher. Sure, there are lots of folks that would never even consider spending that much for meat when they could go to the grocery store and buy beef for $4.50/lb, or chicken for $1.49/lb. But I don't think of it as overpricing for suckers so much as paying a premium for quality and community. There are lots of health conscious folks around here who have the money to pay for top quality and supporting their local farmers, instead of shoveling money to the industries that are pushing out the little guys like us. They aren't just paying for the 3 pounds of meat, they are paying for an idea. Voting with their dollars to change this system that nobody can seem to make any money in. It's got to start somewhere.


----------



## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

Pat Lamar said:


> I had a full-time business raising rabbits. I catered to the show, pet, meat and laboratory markets. I also ran a vendor table selling supplies, etc., at the rabbit shows, so that pretty much paid for my show expenses. Most of my profit came from selling breeding stock, both for show and for meat... but I had to maintain two separate herds of NZWs... one for show, and the other for the commercial meat business. Show rabbits simply cannot deal with the more intensive breeding schedules of commercial production. The commercial herd paid for the feed for the entire herd of 700. Yes, advertising was definitely a major key to our success.
> 
> We carried a variety of breeds... Mini Lops, Rex, Mini Rex, Satins, English Lops & Flemish Giants, but the NZW, both show and commercial, was our main breed.
> 
> Pat Lamar


Pat do you have photos posted any where of your commercial operation you used to run? I would love to see photos of an operation like that.


----------



## saritamae (Jun 2, 2012)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> BWAHAHAHAhahahahah!!!!
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Rabbits are a sickness, not a money maker.


 
Oh and I have the sickness BAD! LoL I am constantly telling myself "no, I don't need any more...maybe one?"

My rabbits usually break even...usually and not always. I am pretty small scale even though I constantly want more  . We have 6 does and 2 bucks full-time, although last year I only wintered 3 does and 1 buck. I usually only worry about them paying for the cost of their own feed and filling up our freezer. (In case the fiancee asks, they pay for their own food, lol.) In the summer I have garden scraps and some forage to suppliment their feed and in the colder months they get hay which cuts down on the feed costs a lot. I don't so much do it to even break even, I just like knowing where our food comes from, and...well...theyre just so tasty!!


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Pheasant283 said:


> Pat do you have photos posted any where of your commercial operation you used to run? I would love to see photos of an operation like that.


I'm so sorry... no photos! It just never occurred to me at the time, plus I was waaaaay too busy!

Pat Lamar


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

please do ask me questions, this site is here for learning and sharing, while I cannot put my "ledger" down due to personal info on the sheets (mine and customers, always keep customer info, repeat business is HUGE factor in running any business) if you give me a few days I will gladly copy over my numbers. And to the person who said I "boasted" I do not take offense but I do feel you could have asked with a little more class, not to mention why would I go out of my way to fib about running a successful rabbit business. Trust me I have way more important things to do than make up crazy rabbit stories. Anywho I will post numbers by monday.


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

classy answer JOLLY


----------



## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

Let me give a few words of advice; #1. Buying bag feed at a retail outlet makes it very hard for anyone to profit from their operation, be it rabbits, chickens or otherwise. The people who can generally profit by feeding 100% bag feed are huge operations that can buy in bulk to get a discounted rate, and even so they work on very low margins but make up for it in volume.

#2 Learn and understand how to calculate costs and profit. Someone here mentioned that he would have to get 'back' the lay out of pens, breeding stock and etc. from the sale of his rabbits and therefore its impossible to make a profit with rabbits. This shows a poor understanding of how profit is calculated. Example; Man buys a hay mower and baler to make hay...cost is 8K. This 8K represents CAPITAL COST. He runs through $100 dollars in fuel and $100 in maintenance per year. This $200 represent his OPERATIONAL COSTS. Profit is calculated as income - operational cost. Capital cost is redeemed wholly, or partially at resale. Some capital costs appreciate ( land, commodities, etc ), some depreciate ( equipment, housing ).

If you buy a house to rent out, you don't 'lose money until the cost of the house is paid for by the rental income'. You make a profit when your rent is greater than your operational costs ( taxes, insurance, utilities, etc ). You make your capital cost back if and when you sell the house. The house may depreciate or appreciate (some depreciation is deductible and some appreciation is taxable). Its the same for any business, whether you are buying rabbit pens, breeding stock, or equipment.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

So this seems to be the best way to write this while still keeping names and personal information out of it. I will list start up expenses almost down to the T, and I will list profits & Expenses from this year starting January 1st 2013. The numbers of course are not exact but it is the best I could do. NOTE: numbers rounded up to nearest dollar. I want to add without getting to much into the business aspect of it, you can easily watch spending vs income by keeping a rabbit jar. all money made and spent goes into the jar, pretty soon you will know how much you are making or losing. Hope this helps a little, hit me up with any question you might have.

Start up expenses:
Hutch 10 Hole- $368
3 hole growout-$120 
Used 8 hole hanging cages-$100
Gas usage (includes cages, stock pickup) $250
Breeding stock- $240 
Feeders-$60
Bottles-$85
Carrier-$45
Nestboxes-$40
Website- $60
*TOTAL: $1,368*

Feed Expenses: Since start up
Orchard Grass (for nest boxes)- $20
Pellet STAR* Feed- $680
*TOTAL: $700*

Profits: since January 1st 2013 
These I will list because there are not too many because it has only been 3 months. The previous year you will have to take my word for but I will post the sales.
January-March
Flemish-$40
Flemish-$60
American-$50
2 Flemish $100
Flemish $80
Flemish$60
Rex-$20
Cali Trio- $60
Cali/Rex Trio-$60
American-$30
2 Flemish $30
Flemish-$40
Cali Trio-$60
Flemish-$60
4 Flemish-$160
2 Dwarf Hotot-$120
2 Rex-$40
2Rex $40 
*TOTAL$1110*
2012 (profits were affected by breeding stock maturing and not yet producing)
2 litters/18 rabbits for meat (guy was making sausage for Christmas)$180
Pets-$800
Breeding Stock-$850
Meat Rabbits-$250
*TOTAL:2080*

EXPENSES
Start up-$1368.00
Feed- $700.00
*TOTAL:$2068.00*

INCOME
2012- $2080.00
2013- $1110.00
*TOTAL:$3190.00*

*PROFIT:$1122.00*


----------



## YellowRabbit (Mar 3, 2013)

way to go Jolly!

thanks for sharing some numbers, I have been wanting to go bigger, but my son and I like our little operation...but I will have to keep it in mind.


----------



## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

nice! thankyou


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

c'mon y'all that can't be it, don't tell me you had me post all them darn #'s for nothing! lol. If you have questions don't be shy about asking. I really am sincere about answering questions and discussing business practices. I didn't learn this all overnight and I still have so much more to figure out its not even funny. I did forget to list my rabbits though but I am downsizing as well because of our move to Oregon. so I have 2 Flemish, 4 Rex, 2 Americans, 4 Californians, and 5 litters right now. Just sold my breeding pair of Hotot's.


----------



## tbishop (Nov 24, 2004)

Pat Lamar said:


> I'm so sorry... no photos! It just never occurred to me at the time, plus I was waaaaay too busy!
> 
> Pat Lamar


My favorite story of yours, Pat, on the Meat Rabbit group on Yahoo, was about the mini lop buck that helped you track down your escapee New Zealands by holding them down to settle them until you caught him. Did you ever publish a book?

Tim


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

only problem for me, is i cant get the prices you charge for your rabbits. i only deal in meat rabbits. but its almost impossible for me to get anything over $10 for a weaned rabbit. ive even had people here buying and i try to sell them a proven doe for only $25 and they still decide to go the cheaper route. 
i see others trying to sell on CL for more than me, and they seem to run their adds for ever.


----------



## froebeli (Feb 14, 2012)

I would like to know how you market. I found your website and it is nice, but how do you drive traffic to your website? Do you show your rabbits? How long have you raised rabbits before the start of this adventure a year ago?

TIA!


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

I figure that might be the case in quite a few places, in which case if you don't have the margins, you have to make up in quantity of sales. the weaning age makes a big difference as well. I would like to do a small experiment regarding the ages they are sold. my rabbits are all weaned and OFF of mom by 6 weeks. that is when I start advertising the litter and selling, I realize not everybody will agree with my practices but in my eyes there is no reason a healthy, weaned 6 week old rabbit cannot be sold. instead of waiting till they are 8 weeks, advertising and probably not actually selling them all till they are 10-11 weeks of age at which point they have eaten A LOT more feed than if I had sold them between 6-9 weeks. At $0.32 per lb of feed, this will start adding up between 8-10 rabbits. now imagine how much could be saved between 5-6 litters.(this of course does not work out the best if you are selling an actual meat rabbit that will be processed, no one is gonna buy a scrawny 6 week old meat rabbit for dinner. LOL) I would be interested in reading other ideas people have and use as well.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

froebeli said:


> I would like to know how you market. I found your website and it is nice, but how do you drive traffic to your website? Do you show your rabbits? How long have you raised rabbits before the start of this adventure a year ago?
> 
> TIA!


I advertise quite a bit, there are so many free sites out there to advertise and put your name on the map. Vista Print lets you get 250 free cards, I hand those things out all the time, some are posted in the local coffee shop as well.The sites I use currently are CL, domesticsale.com ,hoobly.com. I am looking into facebook as well. all of my advertisement leads back to my website for more information, so although my customers were looking at an ad for californian's they also see all the other breeds I have to offer, which oftentimes leads to more sales. I do not show my rabbits, because of all the stories I hear regarding disease and mites from the shows, I honestly don't want to deal with it. but in about 6 months I will see if I can get someone to look over and register my breeding stock, I still get the papers that say my stock is good without having to risk the health of my entire herd. The last question you probably won't believe the answer too, which is as of march 23rd 2013 jollysrabbits will be 1 year old. I had never raised rabbits before that and had no experience in them whatsoever. I took the time and ordered numerous books, joined ARBA, read articles on HT regarding the most common problems, I actually registered on this website twice because I had joined under another name before "jollysrabbits" was even a thought in my head. Even with the books I read and people I talked to I still made mistakes, thought I could do it better (laughable, like my 10 hole hutch that i built, out of solid wood. darn thing is a giant chew toy!). did I learn the hard way, yes of course, but I also avoided a whole lot of mistakes that cost others money/time/effort. I am very happy with my little business/hobby. I find it relaxing and fun. it has also paid for a few thing that my wife and I enjoy, we are still kind of young and like to go out and have a good time (I am 25, she is 24). the rabbits paid for season passes to Knotts Berry Farm this year. they are also paying for some of our relocation to Oregon.


----------



## jrthom (Mar 8, 2013)

I think location is a big thing in how much money you can make. If cheap rabbits are plentiful in your area you will have a tough time covering costs. When I run the numbers on doing a combination of selling high quality breeding stock by culling stringently and selling for meat what doesn't qualify then you should make some profit. I also find that finding a food source you can grow so you aren't feeding 100% pellets also would help. However, these are theoretical ideas at the time as I do not have enough history to give solid stats over a long period of time.


----------



## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

jolly rabbit said:


> but in about 6 months I will see if I can get someone to look over and register my breeding stock, I still get the papers that say my stock is good without having to risk the health of my entire herd.


 
Simply registering your breeding stock does ot prove that they are "good", almost any rabbit that has a pedigree and meats the SOP for the breed can be registered. The only way to really prove your rabbits are good is by winning legs from showing, one a rabbit wins three legs you can get a Grand Champion cert


----------



## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Location is a big deal- it can make or break you- Breed matters too. If you hustle you can make money, and of course its a lot of work as well, rabbits are labor intensive. You have to keep your numbers up and get out there be known, repeat business is important. You have to have rabbits available when their wanted, or people will buy from someone esle. You need to create a niche market, it helps to have somewhere to dump your culls when you have too many to butcher, and you have to stop pouring feed into them. We have a livestock auction nearby, depending on the time of year I've gotten 45 cents a lb, I've gotten $4.50 a lb. I also sell pets to a pet shop, that helps. With the feed prices the profit margin has gotten thinner and thinner- to the point that I'm slowly getting out of rabbits. To anyone starting out I would suggest getting a breed that can be used for both meat and pets, that are thrifty eaters yet produce well. For me that breed is Florida Whites- they also cross well on other breeds for meat babies and pretty pets.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

bassmaster17327 said:


> Simply registering your breeding stock does ot prove that they are "good", almost any rabbit that has a pedigree and meats the SOP for the breed can be registered. The only way to really prove your rabbits are good is by winning legs from showing, one a rabbit wins three legs you can get a Grand Champion cert


exactly my point, they will be registered and meet the SOP which means you do have a good rabbit, I am not to concerned with shows, but I would like my customers to know they are buying a good product whose parents "met the standard" is it as great as a GC of course not but its a lot better than saying yeah they are pedigreed, now pay me $25 for a rabbit. Which would you buy, a pedigreed rabbit, or a pedigreed rabbit whose sire and dam are both registered and meet SOP.


----------



## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

jolly rabbit said:


> exactly my point, they will be registered and meet the SOP which means you do have a good rabbit, I am not to concerned with shows, but I would like my customers to know they are buying a good product whose parents "met the standard" is it as great as a GC of course not but its a lot better than saying yeah they are pedigreed, now pay me $25 for a rabbit. Which would you buy, a pedigreed rabbit, or a pedigreed rabbit whose sire and dam are both registered and meet SOP.


Honestly for me I do not care if a rabbits parents are registered but I think some people (especially new people) would, I have seen two GC rabbits bred together and none of the babies came out well. All the babies met the SOP but none were good enough to even place in the top three of their class, I am more concerned with the way the rabbit I am buyig looks ad how it will rate among other rabbits. Of course it does not cost that much to register a rabbit so you might as well, it certainly will ot hurt you with sales.

My first two years raising rabbits I did very well profit wise, however I am rasing a rare breed and I was the only person with in 300 miles that had any. Now that more people in the area have them I am not able to sell as many, mostly the only people that buy from me now are the ones that want high quality show rabbits. The people that just want to raise rabbits for meat go and buy from one of the less expensive breeders. I do sell rabbit meat but there is not a whole lot of profit in that for me but I am trying to develop a better market for it. With rabbit meat you have repeat sales but will selling breeding stock you do ot get many repeat sales so I think meat is important to have a steady income


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

bass I totally agree, this is why show is not as important to me. My dwarf hotots were the same, had 6 GC in the last 3 generations on both sides. Dang rabbit could not build a nest
to save its life. Lost 4 litters in a row. Irked the heck out of me. I was lucky enough to meet really good breeders for my other breeds and I am just building my own pedigreed lines up to what I believe fits what I need. And meat is equally important but right now breeding stock brings me the most $$ along with pets.


----------



## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

Jolly are you selling butchered meat and live rabbits for breeding? I just recently started selling some processed rabbit after checking on my laws, I have to sell the rabbit live (like 2.50 pound live weight) and then I can butcher it as a free service. I can not have a freezer full of rabbits and sell from my freezer or sell processed rabbits at a farm market or anything

My second year was my best year profit wise, I made 1,487.00 profit. Last year I only made about 250.00, I keep 15 cages so not a whole lot of rabbits


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

jolly rabbit said:


> I do not show my rabbits, because of all the stories I hear regarding disease and mites from the shows, I honestly don't want to deal with it.
> 
> ...we are still kind of young and like to go out and have a good time (I am 25, she is 24).


I've been to a LOT of shows, and I've never heard of anyone bringing mites or diseases to one... :shrug:

And... Did you just say that 24 was "kind of" young?! *lol* 



jrthom said:


> I also find that finding a food source you can grow so you aren't feeding 100% pellets also would help.


I have always fed almost 100% pellets, and made a profit. The rabbits got supplements here and there... BOSS, oats, wheat germ oil, fresh veggies, etc... But the main part of their diet was pellets.


As if I'm not already rabbit-hungry! This thread is making me want to start breeding rabbits again tomorrow!!


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

bassmaster17327 said:


> Jolly are you selling butchered meat and live rabbits for breeding? I just recently started selling some processed rabbit after checking on my laws, I have to sell the rabbit live (like 2.50 pound live weight) and then I can butcher it as a free service. I can not have a freezer full of rabbits and sell from my freezer or sell processed rabbits at a farm market or anything
> 
> My second year was my best year profit wise, I made 1,487.00 profit. Last year I only made about 250.00, I keep 15 cages so not a whole lot of rabbits


same rules here, charge for the rabbit and butcher as a free service. But I sell almost all my rabbits as breeders or pets, so its more profitable to sell them at these prices instead of meat.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

SilverFlame819 said:


> I've been to a LOT of shows, and I've never heard of anyone bringing mites or diseases to one... :shrug:
> 
> And... Did you just say that 24 was "kind of" young?! *lol*
> 
> ...


I belong to another forum that only talks rabbits and I have heard a couple of stories, and a personal friend of mine took 3 lops to a show and came back 2 weeks later she noticed fur mites but only on the 3 that she took.

and yes I said kinda young, just because I don't feel my age most days, I have done so much and do so many thing that involve the middle aged crowd I forget I am not 45yrs old. I started working when I was 14, graduated high school at 17, became a dive master at 19, now I teach judo, just got married and so on.... But yes if we look at the years my wife and I are young. Lol

I hope to start growing some of my own food for the buns, but I too only feed pellets and make a profit as well.


----------



## CntryDaydreamer (Mar 7, 2013)

Has anyone tried the movable hutch that Saladin talks about. According to the hype they reduce feed intake by 70% during the warm months. They basically set up a semi free range situation. 

Also Easter bunnies. There is a good profit if you can get the breeding timing down so that they are weaned in time for Easter but not to big that they are out of the cute easily sellable stage. I have seen the lighter fur colors colored(just like chicks) Personally I see selling rabbits/bunnies during Easter as no different as selling to a pet stores at any other time of the year. I have seen them sold road side for pet store prices so it is obviously profitable if the timing is right.


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

tbishop said:


> My favorite story of yours, Pat, on the Meat Rabbit group on Yahoo, was about the mini lop buck that helped you track down your escapee New Zealands by holding them down to settle them until you caught him. Did you ever publish a book?
> 
> Tim


Yes, I did self-publish a small book, but unfortunately, it's currently out of print. It was titled "Rabbit Stew for the Breeders' Soul" and had a lot of stories of my experiences. "Buster" was the Mini Lop you referred to, and there was a special section titled "The Adventures of Buster." He was a very unique rabbit! 

I do have more stories to add to that book, so maybe someday....

Pat Lamar


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I find the Easter rabbit industry to just be sad... So many kits going to homes as impulse buys. Almost every one of those poor things ends up neglected, dead, or dumped at the local humane society. I never sold kits during Easter season when I was breeding... I feel like you are guaranteed more sales, but I just couldn't stomach what was going to happen to those poor things... I feel like selling rabbits during the non-Easter season gave them more of a fighting chance.

I have dogs, so I think as long as I don't go crazy breeding lots of rabbits, there will always be a market for them... just sometimes the market will be my dog food bowl. In a roundabout way, it's still saving you some money, since you're feeding the dog what you raised instead of having to go out and buy dog food.


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

There are various methods of taking advantage of the Easter season without actually selling pet Easter rabbits: I "rented" litters to be on display at Easter Egg hunts, fancy motels with restaurants featuring Easter buffets, and, of course, single rentals for a day for photo shoots. You'd be surprised how much of a demand for these services there is.

Pat Lamar


----------



## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

CntryDaydreamer said:


> Has anyone tried the movable hutch that Saladin talks about. According to the hype they reduce feed intake by 70% during the warm months. They basically set up a semi free range situation.


Management intensive rotational grazing, not quite the same as "free range" which would entail giving your animals free access to a large yard or area over a longer period of time. Salatin's fully enclosed "rabbit tractors" are moved daily, so that the rabbits have constant access to fresh, ungrazed pasture, and are immediately moved off of the area after they graze it down, which keeps them away from their feces (and parasites) and fertilizes the pastures evenly, never allowing them to be overgrazed or damaged. The health of your pasture will actually IMPROVE over time, rather than degrading, as it would if you allowed your animals to truly free range.

Yes, I did this last year on a very small scale, and was very happy with how my rabbits (and my feed bill) did with it. I am building more structures to try it on a slightly larger scale this year, with breeding does and litters of fryers. Will keep you all posted and get photos. Hopefully by next year I will have some numbers to post here for everyone


----------



## Rabbit Man (Apr 8, 2013)

jrthom said:


> Is there a profit to be made from meat rabbits? Those I ask on the show side say there is little to non with show rabbits.


How big do you want to get & where are you located at?
A lot of factors to consider if you are serious. I can not keep up with the demand for my product, I have to expand my rabbitry again. 
E-mail me at [email protected], if you want more details. Give me some background on your proposed operation.
Bill At Water Crest Rabbitry.


----------



## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

SilverFlame819 said:


> I've been to a LOT of shows, and I've never heard of anyone bringing mites or diseases to one... :shrug:
> 
> And... Did you just say that 24 was "kind of" young?! *lol*
> 
> ...


SilverFlame....I have been to many shows and I can tell you from experience that there are breeders who have no problem bringing sick rabbits or ones with mites to a show. Had one breeder at a show get her rabbit sent off the table for a runny nose and ear mites...she wiped the animals nose, cleaned his ears and put him up on the next table. Unfortunately stuff like this happens more often than you think.


----------



## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

I would think a small operation, 1m2f having 1 litter every 3 weeks(every 6 weeks per female)( around here I don't see regular rabbits lower then 10$) 

so if you wean them at 4 weeks, offer them for sale for 10$ until they turn 8weeks, then butcher what you don't sell to eat. I think I would make a profit. this is my game plan

excluding cage/start up costs


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

theemon said:


> I would think a small operation, 1m2f having 1 litter every 3 weeks(every 6 weeks per female)( around here I don't see regular rabbits lower then 10$)
> 
> so if you wean them at 4 weeks, offer them for sale for 10$ until they turn 8weeks, then butcher what you don't sell to eat. I think I would make a profit. this is my game plan
> 
> excluding cage/start up costs


this would work well, always have rabbits!
another thing is advertise at 7 weeks, it takes 2-4 days normally to get my first call so advertising early gets more business. Another thing is strategically placing your ads, put them up mon or tues to catch peoples attention/get calls and then renew your ad thurs night or first thing fri morning for people doing their "shopping" on the weekend.


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

theemon said:


> so if you wean them at 4 weeks, offer them for sale for 10$ until they turn 8weeks, then butcher what you don't sell to eat. I think I would make a profit. this is my game plan
> 
> excluding cage/start up costs


Ahhhh... better check your state laws on the age for selling rabbits! Most states say either 6 weeks or 8 weeks for selling to the general public and/or to pet stores. The only exceptions would be selling to laboratories, which are most often weaned and sold at 4 weeks of age *if requested.*

Pat Lamar


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

ah, yes, now that I reread it I realized I missed that part. Most places are 8 weeks, hence I said start advertising at 7 weeks, usually the youngest I will sell is 6 weeks anyway, and technically that is breaking the law, besides the law 4 weeks is still just a tad bit to young. Even though they are weaned they are really sensitive and your mortality rate will probably increase.


----------



## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

You have to check out your local laws if you're planning on butchering and selling them for meat. Some of them, as PP have mentioned, say that you can sell the animal live then provide a free butchering service...however some states won't even let you sell butchered rabbits as dog food without the appropriate permits/properly licensed kitchen.

The last thing you want to do is get caught selling meat from your home that's not "legal", so make sure you check all your local and state laws before you sell anything that isn't going to remain alive and hopping until it gets off your property.


----------



## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

ok well I didn't know that im new  well advertise a week early, maybe keep um two weeks then eat them.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

that works for sure!


----------



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Here we have a law saying buns must be 8wks old to sell... no one appears to listen as many kits can be got at 6 and 7 weeks of age. Lots of kits that age range sold at shows etc.

Also here, rabbits fall under the same section of meat sales as poultry. You can sell up to 1,000 ready to eat birds or rabbits per year without doing anything else. You cannot sell at farmers markets etc, must be direct pickup by customer.


----------



## Rabbit Man (Apr 8, 2013)

Can you make money raising rabbits? That depends on how & what you raise!
There are several separate areas connected with rabbit raising. Show rabbits, breeding stock (show & or meat production), wholesale & retail sales, pet sales, rabbits for feed for other animals, just to name a few.
Do you want to do this as a hobby, part time or full time?
Do you have the facilities, to raise & handle 3,10,40,100 does?
Do you have an outlet for all the rabbits you produce?
Ask yourself these questions & let me know your thoughts & we can continue this discussion. Lets get a good open forum going. P.S. I live in Michigan, let us know where you live. You can always contact me at [email protected]


----------



## countrytime (Sep 23, 2012)

A short scenario for me is:
Meat rabbits to pay for the feed for my daughters show rabbits. We have been doing pretty good until rabbits got ill last week--really costs us in time and loss.
But--quickly
We do not sell private pet animals---all cull breeding stock goes to auction--I have no desire to eat old rabbits, only fryers. 
Cull adults at auction go from between $5.00-$12.00 depending on time of year. 
Only sell breeding stock once a year, usually in July, weaned kits (Mini Lop) are $30.00 each, with pedigree.
I do not sell pedigreed Cals--even though I have the pedigrees for mine, and they are very nice animals--I sell as meat animals only. My daughters do show the nicer ones though.
Before I switched feeds due to rabbits getting sick, my feed costs were as follows:
I raise meat rabbits to 4.8-5 lbs. (Cals).
Feed costs were approx. $2.80 per fryer.
I sell the fryers for $1.50 a lb live weight--off the farm.
Most of my cages and supplies are in very good condition and bought used--huge savings there...10 foot rows of cages = $40.00---in very good condition (almost new) 24 x 24
Bass stackables-like new--(2) 3 hole Huge (36 x 30)--all for $100.00 including urine guards, automatic water system, and feeders--all in excellent condition (like new). 
We feed our own hay (it is free to me)
We supplement with greens from the garden
We try and Never waste feed---watch your feeders for rabbits that dig feed out and adjust accordingly--we have a few that require cup feeders.


----------

