Can breeding Rabbits be a good money-maker for kids

[smbrate]

Okay, I know they won't pay any bills, but for a child selling them at $5 a piece, $50 is big bucks my concern? Could we get rid of them? Do they even sell? We would keep them separate, so we could control the breeding...but everthing else? The buck we'd be using is my 9yo pet rabbit that is about the size of a New Zealand...so they wouldn't be the cute little bunnies you see as pets.

Anyways, my 9yo would really like to breed- is it a good investment or should she decide against it? i don't want to purchase a female for a one time deal and we have no extra car, so can't do 4H or anything (dh has it during day). thanx! all help appreciated

 

[mama24]

Non pedigreed meat breed rabbits sell for $15 each at 8 weeks around here. And every time I call someone who listed on CL, they are already almost sold out within a day. It took me a while to find does. I think it must depend on where you live, but they definitely sell well around here.

 

[secuono]

Specific meat rabbits, sure. Cute pets? Possibly not, not even $5 here. Unless you go to a farmer swap or something and a reseller buys them.
Or you can try a very in demand breed and sell pedigreed rabbits, they'd be sure to sell every time.

 

[Bunnylady]

Depending on what feed prices are in your neck of the woods, at $5 each, you may not do much more than break even by the time the kits are of fryer size. Can you sell them? Hard to say. If you advertise rabbits for sale, you will get some responses that are people looking for a pet. Some people just can't get past the idea of rabbits as pets, so you need to be prepared for the occasional odd, negative reaction (I once had a lady call and leave a message on my answering machine. All she said was, "Do you realize some people feed rabbits to snakes?!!"). I mostly do pet rabbits, but I have learned to use the term "commercial rabbits" when referring to the big guys, to avoid offending some folks' delicate sensibilities.

There is, of course, the risk of your daughter getting attached to the babies and finding it too unpleasant to think of them being eaten - you'd have to be sure she'd be ok with that. Can she handle the sight of dead newborns? That happens disgustingly often, even for those of us with lots of experience. I have often said that anyone who believes in the expression, "breeds like rabbits" has never tried it. Rabbits have a surprisingly varied bag of tricks to frustrate the would-be breeder!

Did I misunderstand what you said, or is your buck 9 years old as well? Rabbits of either sex aren't fertile their entire lives. Most does past 3-4 years of age are no longer fertile (I have had the odd doe that was still producing at 6). Bucks usually last a bit longer, but I don't even try with a buck older than 5 or 6.

 

[crazyturkeydesigns]

I think it really does depend on the area you're in. Look and see if you've got any livestock auctions near you, could be a good outlet. The one that we take rabbits to is all meat breeders, so the big rabbits do much better than the dwarf breeds, depending on who is there on that night. Our american sables (about 8.5 to 9 lbs) get anywhere from 5-15 dollars a head, proven does getting more, of course. Could be worth a shot.
In my personal opinion, I think it would be very hard to turn a profit with a small operation. Not sure if you are really looking to turn a profit or not, but just saying. I'm happy if I can cover feed costs with what I sell, with some extras thrown in. If you can find a market, go for it! But do some research first, find out going rates in your area, before you dive in.
I'm thinking you mean your 9 year old child, right? If the buck is 9 you will have a very hard time trying to breed him, because like stated prior, rabbits aren't fertile all their lives.
Much luck!

 

[bluemini]

Where I live the feed store is selling them for $20(mixed breeds) a peice and so is the local pet shop and thats the cheapest I have seen,well I did see some meat ones(a whole litter)that sold for $15 each in less than a week.

After seeing how much people are getting for them here,im def. going to start selling again,if I can find a doe that is .My only problem is around here people mainly just buy them around easter.

When I sold mine,the females were $10 each and males $8 but the parents were papered.I should have asked way more

 

[SmallFarmGirl]

If you have the market for it I say yah! They sell mixes for 11- 16 bucks down here!

 

[animalsRawsome]

It also depends on when you breed them. 4-H kids need rabbits. I know for me, if I breed at the correct time for my fair, I literally can sell all I have... probably sold 50 last year, and could have sold more. I got $10 each. If you're selling for 4-H, 90% of people want californians or new Z. whites, however, I sold some crossbred black meat reabbits to people who planned on showing them last year.

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

Well, I don't know if it turns a good profit or not, but my feed store got in a litter of Flemish X Mini lop bunnies, and they sold in about a week and a half (me being one of the buyers! )

ETA: They were selling for $15 a piece!