Rabbits, which one turns a profit?

[September]

Hello everyone,

So I'm interested in getting into rabbits, but im not sure which direction to go. I've seen live rabbits go for about 15$ at auction and have had a lady tell me her Tennessee Red backs are her cash crop. I don't think i'm overly interested in raising rabbits for meat, unless there is good evidence I should. So my question is what is peoples experience with rabbits not used for meat but other areas like pets, and in the case of TN reds training rabbits for dogs.

Thank you!
S.

 

[CrissyCriss]

Hello everyone,

So I'm interested in getting into rabbits, but im not sure which direction to go. I've seen live rabbits go for about 15$ at auction and have had a lady tell me her Tennessee Red backs are her cash crop. I don't think i'm overly interested in raising rabbits for meat, unless there is good evidence I should. So my question is what is peoples experience with rabbits not used for meat but other areas like pets, and in the case of TN reds training rabbits for dogs.

Thank you!
S.

I have raised rabbits for a couple years now and do not make any profit in it. I raise them for pets and also have some for meat. I raise English Lops, Holland Lop and Netherland Dwarf. I raise New Zealand and New Zealand mixes for meat. I get 65 a rabbit for my English Lop and Holland Lops. My Holland’s are difficult to get babies from along with my English Lops. I have only gotten 1 live litter in a year. My Netherland Dwarfs go for 20 each. But only have 2/3 babies a litter. If and when I make a sale the money goes back into buying feed for my rabbits.

 

[promiseacres]

Pretty much raising any type of livestock or animal is hard to truly profit from. The pet market in rabbits changes and yes in some breeds you may be getting more $ but you'll also need to be willing to invest more $ in the breeding stock. Good cages are $$, and frankly pet people can be offended with "proper" set ups... letting people come to your place can bring diseases to your farm. And then you need a plan for any bunnies that don't sell in the 8-12 week window.... we do have a few cull buyers around here for $1 per pound average prices. Then those cull bunnies go to everything from a pet store to snake or dog food. Rabbits are sensitive to temperature changes and can die from fright. Why do people raise them? The two best reasons in my opinion is they 1. Love them and want to improve upon a breed or/and 2. Want to provide a good meat for families. Breeding for pets in my opinion can be lucrative for a season but... then usually fizzles out. Hope this makes sense... I know it's a bit all over and just my opinion.

 

[AmberLops]

I have been raising Holland Lops for 4 years now and I would say they go for good money They are easier to care for than meat rabbits; they take up less feed and less room and they are easier to house.
They are friendly and most make great pets. My rabbits have around 6-7 babies per litter. I've never had a bad mother and I've never met anyone else (including rabbit show-goers) that have. They are very good mothers. When you get into the show-stock, really small Hollands...the females can have what are called 'peanuts' and they have more issues with their litters. I have does that are slightly larger to prevent issues. They're all around 3.8 to 4.2 lbs but I have a really small buck.
I sell mine (with pedigrees) for 70$ each. People buy them for pets and for show.
I breed for color, type and personality. If you were breeding just for pet with no pedigrees you could still easily get what i'm asking! I know other people who sell un-pedigreed Hollands for more than 70.
I recommend Hollands. They're a great breed

 

[September]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions.
I guess the question is could you break even, or go at a loss generally. I doubt i'd ever get a ton of money off them, but i was hoping enough to pay for them, and maybe a few extra bucks as a whole. I'm planning on collecting their poop and selling it as fertilizer along with chicken poop as fertilizer to help offset the cost of them.

Could you offset feed costs some by cutting long strips of grass by hand and giving it to them? Or maybe a type of cover crop? I was thinking about giving cover crop for the chickens anyways.

 

[AmberLops]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions.
I guess the question is could you break even, or go at a loss generally. I doubt i'd ever get a ton of money off them, but i was hoping enough to pay for them, and maybe a few extra bucks as a whole. I'm planning on collecting their poop and selling it as fertilizer along with chicken poop as fertilizer to help offset the cost of them.

Could you offset feed costs some by cutting long strips of grass by hand and giving it to them? Or maybe a type of cover crop? I was thinking about giving cover crop for the chickens anyways.

You could definitely have some extra money from your rabbits after feed costs etc. if you do things right the first time...which is rough. There are a million opinions and ways people do things. You just have to do what works for you and stick with it...change it if you think a new idea is more efficient.
I wouldn't feed them grass strips. But you can feed them hay. All rabbits need hay to keep them from becoming 'blocked' because they clean themselves like cats do but they can't produce hairballs so the hay strips it out of their system. What I do is give my pregnant/nursing females their complete pellets with hay and I give my juniors and my bucks a mix of half timothy pellets and half complete pellets. It makes the feed last longer and timothy is good for them. Rabbit feed is not very expensive. I feed mine Kalmbach feed. I get a 50lb bag of the non-GMO version (for better health) and I pay $40 for it. It lasts almost a month for my rabbits. That is expensive feed but I prefer all my breeders eat GMO-free feed. It helps with a lot of things and produces healthier rabbits/kits.
But I've seen 50lb bags of regular rabbit feed for $10. So it can be cheaper, just depends on what you want to feed them
If you have any questions I'd be happy to help if I can!