# What do you charge for rabbit meat?



## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

Those of you who market rabbit meat direct to consumers, how much do you charge per pound? 

Anybody wholesale?


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## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

I don't sell rabbit meat as I don't want to deal with inspections and such, but the butcher shop down the road sells it for almost $4 per pound.


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## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

I sell it for 2.25 a pound live weight, They pay for the the rabbits alive and I butcher them for as a free favor


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i believe its legal to sell it here. no inspections necessary. but i havent sold any like that. i believe on line and in stores if you can find it, the price is $6 or more per lb.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

frozen and whole for $6.49 pound


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

We don't advertise but we do have a few people that know we raise rabbits for ourselves that buy from us & I charge $3.00 a pound cut & frozen, unless they want them left whole.


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> frozen and whole for $6.49 pound


Are there any restrictions/regulations in this area? I haven't looked into it yet.


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## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

AprilW said:


> I don't sell rabbit meat as I don't want to deal with inspections and such, but the butcher shop down the road sells it for almost $4 per pound.


Really? Wow, that is cheaper than hamburger here!


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## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

Backfourty said:


> We don't advertise but we do have a few people that know we raise rabbits for ourselves that buy from us & I charge $3.00 a pound cut & frozen, unless they want them left whole.


This is incredible to me! How do you make any money selling it that cheap?


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## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

TroutRiver, I'll admit it has been a while since I priced rabbit meat at the store. It could very well have gone up and likely has with everything else.


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## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

i cant even find rabbit meat in the stores,...


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## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

What does it have to do with what the stores are charging??? Cost of raising is the biggest factor for me....and with feed prices I have stopped selling rabbits for meat.


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## dlbeckwo (Sep 25, 2012)

I've never sold my rabbit meat. I do sell my kits for cash to help with feed cost. I charge $15 a head. So I wouldnt charge less than that for a dressed bun. If I go through the trouble of dressing one I plan on eating it lol.


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## FogCityRabbitry (May 25, 2012)

I charge $9.00/lb processed in the San Francisco Bay Area. In CA you are able to sell up to 20,000 rabbits and process them yourself but you can only send to the end user, no middle men or distributors. I sell breeder quality rabbits for $65.00 each.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

$4 to $9 a pound here, if they are for human consumption, you need to be licensed and inspected.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

dcross, you have to have a retail meat license to sell it. Meaning an inspector must come and inspect where your freezers will be and check that they are the right temperature. Its not too expensive. Maybe 50 a year? I forget.

Rabbit you can butcher and sell yourself off the farm, but it must be frozen. Chickens are ok also as long as its less than 999 a year. Anything else has to be done at a butcher and the right things have to be stamped on the label. The inspector will tell you what they are. 

Just tell them you need a license to sell frozen meats. Don't get into talking about where you will be butchering rabbits. No sense in inviting scrutiny. They have never asked me, but each inspector is different I suppose. 

If you want to deliver or do markets, you have to have a mobile license and thats another set of rules.


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## Fat Man (Mar 9, 2011)

A dressed rabbit goes for $25 around here.


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> Don't get into talking about


Thanks! Reminds me of the milk inspections when I was a kid, don't go volunteering


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Is there any place online where folks can look these laws up on a state by state basis? The 4H folks were asking me if I knew the regulations for processing rabbits and I'm completely clueless since these are angoras. I'd eat them, but they are too expensive so I don't even know what rabbit tastes like, let alone the processing regulations. 

Hmm. Maybe I should get a couple of meat rabbits to go along with the fuzzy rabbits. Folks really seem to like the taste of rabbit so I'm probably missing out on something good.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

hotzcatz said:


> Is there any place online where folks can look these laws up on a state by state basis? The 4H folks were asking me if I knew the regulations for processing rabbits and I'm completely clueless since these are angoras. I'd eat them, but they are too expensive so I don't even know what rabbit tastes like, let alone the processing regulations.
> 
> Hmm. Maybe I should get a couple of meat rabbits to go along with the fuzzy rabbits. Folks really seem to like the taste of rabbit so I'm probably missing out on something good.



butchered couple 2 days ago. she fried up a few pieces last night. i like ketchup with my fried rabbit. 
try it. you'll definitly raise you a few litters each yr.


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## skyviewacres (Feb 13, 2013)

secuono said:


> $4 to $9 a pound here, if they are for human consumption, you need to be licensed and inspected.



Where did you hear that? Rabbits are non-ameanable. In VA that means they do NOT have to be USDA inspected to sell in state. There's no licensing requirements that I've been able to find after many calls with the Depts of Ag and Health.

The only issue is that restaurants and markets are required to show proof of USDA inspection of their meats. Inspectors are aware that there is no way to get USDA inspection of rabbit in VA. The inspectors will either tell the retailer to toss the meat (a known risk) or will ignore it. This information came to me directly from the Department of Agriculture. We openly share this with our wholesale customers. There is not a single processing facility in VA that will process rabbit.

We sell wholesale for $6.50/lb. Restaurants don't blink twice at the price.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

> In VA that means they do NOT have to be USDA inspected to sell in state. There's no licensing requirements that I've been able to find after many calls with the Depts of Ag and Health.


same thing ive been told by ones in the know.


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## Somerhill (Dec 13, 2005)

I sell at a farmers market in Ohio. My rabbits are processed at a state inspected plant. I've been inspected by the state meat inspector at the market, and so I know I'm legal. I sell whole rabbits for $5 per pound. Quarters (2 in a pkg) are $5.99 per pound, and bones meat is $6.99. 
Interestingly, as long as I make sure they package the boned meat so the package costs less that $10, no one pays any attention to the price per pound. 
I also sell lamb, and ground beef.


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