# Selling Rabbits



## DutchBunny03 (Sep 3, 2018)

I would love to get back into breeding and selling rabbits, but past times when in have had kits for sale it has been extremely difficult to find good buyers. I do not want to carelessly breed rabbits and then have no one to buy them. Any suggestions/advise on advertising and finding good buyers?


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## GypsyG (Nov 23, 2018)

I just have a herd of meat mutts.  I adverise on Craigslist and on bulletin boards at the feedstores in the town I live in and surrounding towns, and I usually have no problem selling them.  On the rare occasion that I have a few left and I am about to need the cage space, I run them to a local small animal livestock auction that happens twice a month.


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## promiseacres (Nov 23, 2018)

Do you show? Shows are a good place to sell. 
I have a Facebook page, which has been my best way of seling. Buying the best stock to start is best and most of the time pedigreed stock you can ask more $$.


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## promiseacres (Nov 23, 2018)

Do you show? Shows are a good place to sell. 
I have a Facebook page, which has been my best way of seling. Buying the best stock to start is best and most of the time pedigreed stock you can ask more $$.


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## greybeard (Nov 23, 2018)

DutchBunny03 said:


> I would love to get back into breeding and selling rabbits, but past times when in have had kits for sale it has been extremely difficult to find good buyers. I do not want to carelessly breed rabbits and then have no one to buy them. Any suggestions/advise on advertising and finding good buyers?


Do you want to breed and sell high ped breeding stock or just butcher for meat rabbits?

Even in my area, there isn't much market for meat rabbits.......too many people raise their own.
The fancy ones tho, the show animals... are a different story.

They bring good $$ if you can get in with the right group, registry,  or association and go to the shows.
I know this couple and they have stopped raising meat rabbits altogether to concentrate on their higher end stock..........doing pretty good with it according to a conversation I had with them yesterday at dinner. I don't know much about rabbits but it does seem around here, people buy them as pets as well as for show.
http://rabbitbreeders.us/american-blues-r-e-w-dayton-tx
 I know they are a member in https://www.arba.net/breeders.htm

https://www.facebook.com/JSRabbitry/

They are not getting rich (that I'm aware of..both have 'real' jobs) but they've got their name out there and said they are happy with how it has come along. I know they did a lot of traveling to get the breeding stock they wanted, 4-5 years back.
Like everything else, you have to have some vision, be able & willing to look down the road to where you want to be, not where you are today, and you have to have a good product to sell. 
I don't know where all they advertise, but evidently, FB is one of their preferred venues.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/JSRabbitry/posts/?ref=page_internal

Their reviews look to be excellent.


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 23, 2018)

I have looked on CL and was shocked to see lop ear bunnies  for $45 and lion heads $60 and up...breeding pairs in the hundred dollar range. Check out CL in your surrounding area and see what they sell for. And if you can get in with a close enough pet co, pet smart, tractor supply...you may get a opportunity  there...best of luck to you !  We are now set up to breed our NZ meat rabbits, will be going to tractor supply and posting on Cl when we are ready to sell, left overs will go in freezer, plus we have a local flea market if we wanted to go that route.


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## GypsyG (Nov 23, 2018)

I also do lots of trading for things that I need.  When I list on Craigslist I offer them for sale or trade.  I have gotten hay, chickens, ducks, rabbit cages, chicken crates, tools, a nice garden cart, a roll of chicken wire... and I always come out better than if I'd sold the rabbit for cash.  Rabbits are great for bartering!


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 23, 2018)

GypsyG said:


> I also do lots of trading for things that I need.  When I list on Craigslist I offer them for sale or trade.  I have gotten hay, chickens, ducks, rabbit cages, chicken crates, tools, a nice garden cart, a roll of chicken wire... and I always come out better than if I'd sold the rabbit for cash.  Rabbits are great for bartering!


May try that, great idea...NZ sell here for $9.00 at eight weeks old...


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## greybeard (Nov 23, 2018)

B&B Happy goats said:


> I have looked on CL and was shocked to see lop ear bunnies for $45 and lion heads $60 and up...breeding pairs in the hundred dollar range.



Not surprised. Pedigree means a lot to a lot of people and they are willing to pay for it. 


> Available now... Trio of Polish. Black jr doe ( almost Sr, chocolate carrier), Chocolate Jr Doe, JR Broken Blue Buck. All are pedigreed. $150.



Good advertising.......... it's how & why they can ask and get better prices:


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## GypsyG (Nov 23, 2018)

B&B Happy goats said:


> May try that, great idea...NZ sell here for $9.00 at eight weeks old...



Mixed breed meat mutts bring $12-15 aroundhere, NZ whites usually will only bring $8-10 though.  Black or red NZs will bring $15-20... It seems that most people around here with backyard meat herds prefer a bit of color.


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 24, 2018)

I haven't  eaten rabbit...yet.... breeding to sell and to eat, i do already have a small list of people who want some . Have a lot to learn about them, but like i said, still working on the goat breeding so we can at least get them
"paying for their feed" ...


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## greybeard (Nov 24, 2018)

B&B Happy goats said:


> I haven't eaten rabbit...yet...



Fried, tastes like chiken..mostly, whatever you bread it in.
I ate 9 gondola carloads of it at one of the military bases I was stationed at. Memphis Naval Air Station I believe...may have been Cherry Pt. Not by choice...it was what they served. 
I haven't eaten it fried since.


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry (Nov 25, 2018)

Much depends on your breed and purpose and area. I raised New Zealand White meat rabbits to start, added Silver Fox to cross and for purebreds, culled out all the NZWs and crosses for Silver Fox only in an eight year time period. Through those years, I sold a few NZW couples and trios to backyard breeders startups as well as single rabbits for brood replacements but mostly we raised rabbits for meat for ourselves and our pets so selling was only to help out someone get started and with reducing our feed costs now and then. 

NZWs sold easily through Craigslist and an advertisement at local feed stores with pricing from $15 to $35 per meat rabbit. Mine were on the higher end because they are fed organic. Crosses only sold when a buyer wanted some "color" in their herd and usually for $15 to $25. Silver Foxes would go from $35 to $65 for just meat breeding quality, just because they were rare in the area. That has changed in just the last year since we now have four active show breeders who are working together to improve the breed locally. The meat quality SF rabbits are now selling for lower prices, closer to the NZWs' prices, and show quality is going for $35 and up. We are educating people on what is a good type of Silver Fox and what is not. So whatever you are selling, you should know that the market can change that quickly. 

Also, time of year makes a difference. Craigslist gets flooded with bunnies for sale in the spring right before Easter, but fall is usually the time when it is harder to find rabbits really to breed and when I would get buyers asking the most. I am in the southeast and not many here breed rabbits in the summer, so fall is the start of our breeding season.

What I have found is that Craigslist and advertisements in local feed stores sells better for lower priced rabbits and that may work well enough for you if you are selling in quantity or there is a market where you are. However, I have found better quality rabbits being sold and bought through Facebook. I resisted FB for years—really hate the drama—but that is what is connecting rabbit breeders with each other and to buyers also and I have made some great friendships through it. 

There is likely a FB group that is specific to your area that does farm sales or even just rabbit and rabbit equipment sales. There are groups specific to your breeds. There are groups that help educate as to genetics and illnesses. I have not been selling any rabbits, but I will be and FB will be the main place I advertise...however, I have been showing and have a few Grand Champions so I am looking to sell to people who want show quality rabbits mostly and I will be placing my culls on the dinner table, as we are just about out of rabbit meat.


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