# Fair price for rabbit meat??



## steve-in-kville (Nov 12, 2005)

There is a few guys I work with that would like to buy some slaughtered rabbits from me. I am having a tough time coming up with a fair price. I leave all meat on the bone. I was doing some comparisions to whole chickens, but I feel I should be getting a little more since it is rabbit.

Thoughts??


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## cnvh (Jun 11, 2008)

I don't know where you live in PA, but IF you can find commercially-available rabbit, you can expect to pay up to $8/lb for it... or at least that's what I paid at Wegmans, and I had to have them special-order it!

Hubby and I are just getting into raising rabbits-- in fact, we just butchered our first two this very morning! Anyway, we're a very small operation-- one buck and two does-- but we have half a dozen people who have told us that they'll buy as much rabbit meat as we're willing to sell. Once we get to the point of having enough TO sell, I doubt I'm going to part with it for less than $5 or $6 per pound-- less than that, and I'd just as soon keep it and eat it MYSELF, you know? (It's just sooo gooood...)

Mind you, this is "dressed" price, not live weight... I'd part with a live rabbit for less than that, but if I have to go through the displeasure of slaughtering and dressing, then I intend to charge accordingly.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I agree with cnvh -- welcome to the forum, btw!  -- that you should expect a decent price for your rabbit meat. I don't know the laws in PA, but here I am not allowed to sell table ready rabbit meat unless it is butchered at an approved facility. I sell my fryers "on the hoof" for $10 each. Less than that and I'd rather eat them myself. Occasionally I process a rabbit as a favour for someone, but usually I just offer to show them how it is done. Most people lose interest at that point. Actually, I've sold more rabbits to people wanting to raise their own than I have for the table. 

A fryer rabbit in the supermarket sells for about $24 when you can find it... and that tallies with cnvh's $8 a pound. My costs are low because of the natural feeding, but I think this year I will be raising the price to $12. They are still getting a bargain.
Think of your set-up costs, your feed costs and your time... and don't undervalue the meat.


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## -MCrew- (Jun 21, 2008)

By on the hoof do you mean 'whole'/not dressed? 

I am totally new and trying to learn all the lingo


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

-MCrew- said:


> By on the hoof do you mean 'whole'/not dressed?
> 
> I am totally new and trying to learn all the lingo


I'm not sure my "lingo" is standard in this case anyway. I meant that they buy a live rabbit. If they want their "live rabbit" dead, I would shoot it and bleed it out as a free service.


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## gerald77 (Aug 2, 2007)

i've seen it sell for as little as six bucks for the whole thing to 5 bucks a pound.


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

MaggieJ said:


> If they want their "live rabbit" dead, I would shoot it and bleed it out as a free service.


 Is that all you would do for free???
They would do the skinning,, gutting,, etc?
If I were to sell Live (because of license problems) and they still wanted me to process to the freezer bag..
I would sell them live wt. at 10.00,, then if they wanted me to process, I would think an hourly wage at 10.00 to 15.00 an hour (farm wages)comes in to play..
But,, an under the table agreement (among friends) would have to be made for the processing..
Gary H.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I've done entire processing for one customer. But since the previous year he had bought five live geese that were the offspring of a very nasty gander (he didn't mind processing _them_:shrug: ) I felt I owed him a favour. Not sure I would do it again though, unless I had a real surplus of rabbit.

There are ways of working around. Another customer wanted our nasty rooster -- "real chicken". He also begged me to sell him a package of rabbit out of the freezer. I _gave_ him the rabbit meat but charged him $15 for the rooster, which he dispatched in my back yard with one swipe of his knife.


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

MaggieJ said:


> Thread drift,, or,, Rabbit trails again...
> My boy's would love the opportunity to use the Machetti on something besides the bark on our firewood...
> I have 2 little pre-teenage ninja turtles.. LOL..
> Gary H.


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

We sell our "live weight" rabbits for 1.65 a pound (and I so need to raise that, since that is what the local processor is now paying!) and 2.25 a pound "dressed" For the cheaper price, they just get it dead (I do express the bladder though) For the more expensive one, I dress it as if I was going to eat it, even though these are for raw feeding for pets. In our state you need to have a licensed facility to sell for human consumption.

My Mom said someone at her local farmers market is selling rabbit meat (that she has processed) 2-3 pound rabbits are selling for $22! OMG... Can you believe that? I know there was an article in our paper about a resturant who was buying it for $14 a pound! I wanted to call and say I know where you can get great rabbits and I'll only charge 7 bucks a pound!


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## cnvh (Jun 11, 2008)

Beaniemom said:


> My Mom said someone at her local farmers market is selling rabbit meat (that she has processed) 2-3 pound rabbits are selling for $22! OMG... Can you believe that? I know there was an article in our paper about a resturant who was buying it for $14 a pound!


That's why I wouldn't consider parting with it for less than $5/lb. Anyone who's eaten rabbit and knows how good it is, also knows how hard it generally is to FIND it, and what you have to pay for it when you can get it. At least that's how it is in our part of the country... it used to be that you could find it at the local farmers markets, but not anymore-- you can GET it, but the butchers at the farmers markets (or my favorite Wegmans) have to special-order it, and you pay dearly.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Does anyone else feel as though we are missing something in the way we market rabbit meat? 

One one hand, we all know people who say they want it; we know (and so do they) what the supermarket or butcher shop charges  and yet they shy away from paying a reasonable price for the meat. Something doesn't add up here.


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## Skip (Mar 13, 2008)

When I had my hens laying I was nervous to ask $3 for a dozen, yet found that I couldn't get eggs fast enough to sell. So in my opinion I would ask the same price you would find at a local grocer.


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## Skip (Mar 13, 2008)

Maggie I think we need patience to build up our clients. It would be easy to give away everything for free. I'm fortunate to have a licensed abbatoir close by. I'm thinking out loud here, no experience with rabbits; however, perhaps advertising fresh rabbit meat available for the butcher date at local grocer prices. What doesn't sell goes in the freezer for personal consumption and sell frozen at same price, until next fresh date. Should there be any left in the freezer when the next fresh batch is available sell it for say two dollars off, the frozen ones.


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## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

steve-in-kville said:


> I am having a tough time coming up with a fair price. I leave all meat on the bone. I was doing some comparisions to whole chickens, but I feel I should be getting a little more since it is rabbit.
> 
> Thoughts??


In my state, if the meat is destined for human consumption, we are 
not *legally* allowed to sell processed meat (beef, rabbit, poultry, etc.)
_or_ offer it for free unless it is handled in a state or USDA 
licensed facility. 
I have been told by the state oversight agency (Health Dept.) that
they "have no problem with someone selling rabbit otherwise as long 
as the consumer is in attendace at processing". 

With that being said, I do provide processed fryers to a few friends.
:bash: 
My current price is $12/fryer and the product is vacuum sealed. 
The 5 to 5 1/4 # fryers dress to 3 pounds plus with liver included.

Linda Welch


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I wonder what the regulations are for selling rabbit meat for dogs? What the buyer uses it for after he gets home is not our business, after all.


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## emerald_2033 (May 11, 2008)

In NC we can sell rabbit meat (or poultry, but not both from the same farm) without being inspected and licensed so long as we stay below 100 'carcasses' annually. The limit is different for chickens, I forget what it is. We've not sold any rabbit meat yet, but plan to charge $6 per pound for processed whole, $8 if its in pieces or filleted, and $2 /pound slaughtered not skinned then 1.50/pound 'on the hoof'. 
Since we currently have fiber animals, our meat sales are not a major part of the operation. We do plan to expand into some meat animals though later on.


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

emerald_2033 said:


> In NC we can sell rabbit meat (or poultry, but not both from the same farm) without being inspected and licensed so long as we stay below 100 'carcasses' annually. The limit is different for chickens, I forget what it is. We've not sold any rabbit meat yet, but plan to charge $6 per pound for processed whole, $8 if its in pieces or filleted, and $2 /pound slaughtered not skinned then 1.50/pound 'on the hoof'.
> Since we currently have fiber animals, our meat sales are not a major part of the operation. We do plan to expand into some meat animals though later on.


I'm in NC and that is great if we can get a slow start by selling 
less than 100 . I had no idea rabbit meat was so expensive in the stores.
You can't find it where I live at all. 

Skip... I like your idea of freezing then either eating or selling . We have a food saver and deep freezer, so we could dress and freeze and either eat or sell.


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

If I am doing worms couldn't I sell a doz worms for 
say $20 dollars and give them a rabbit.???


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## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

MaggieJ said:


> I wonder what the regulations are for selling rabbit meat for dogs? What the buyer uses it for after he gets home is not our business, after all.


I don't know about Canada but the FDA is the regulatory agency
for pet food sales in the U.S. 

I think Tracy (moderator) posted some regulations in another thread
recently.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Thanks, Linda.  I'll take a look.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

MaggieJ said:


> Does anyone else feel as though we are missing something in the way we market rabbit meat?


I looked into the laws here in WV and if I am to sell rabbit for human consumption, the butchering has to be done at an "approved facility". The catch is, I couldn't find an "approved facility". The laws say that abbatoirs have to do certain cleaning between processing different meats. They can't just process beef and lamb and rabbit and chicken. They have to do one at a time with certain procedures for cleaning done in between the runs. For all I know they have to change out equipment, too. It's not worth it for them to stop and "switch over" to rabbit, so they don't offer rabbit butchering. 

I don't know if it's a lack of demand for rabbit meat, or a lack of supply of rabbits to make it worth their while to switch over and do a run of rabbits, or what. I kind of got dejected and gave up once I hit this point in my reading.

However, I never considered selling rabbits "for dog food". I know it's illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption in WV so lots of folks sell it for, um making milk, or feeding to livestock, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Also Pat mentioned in another thread that sometimes the laws are written for folks that are selling to a retailer, and not for folks selling locally direct to the consumer. I should probably call my ag department and find out from the horse's mouth about that. Supposedly I can't sell uninspected, ungraded eggs, either, but folks do it around here ALL the time.


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