where do i begin?

[63redtudor]

Start small first. Get a buck & 2 does off of craigslist. At least in my area, New Zealands or Californians go for about $15-25. Some people will sell culls for a reduced price, but go that route if you are only using them for meat (my wife & I have sold a few for that reason). You say you might want to also sell, in that case the rabbits will need to be breed standard. You'll also want to consider showing animals, the market is small & without showing (i.e. getting your name out there), there really isn't a market. Re-purposing is what this site is all about....

 

[Citylife]

I started out with Florida Whites and quickly changed to CA's and NZ's. Then we progressed to American Blues and onto Silver Fox. All are very good meat rabbits.
The FW's were terrible mothers, so I needed to move on. My rabbits sell for $15 for mixed meat mutts and the Americans and SF range from $60-100 each. In my state I can sell butchered rabbit which I do for $7.99 lb. Due to the fact that I have discovered the wonderful "red meat like beef" Muscovy duck, we have downsized our rabbitry to just the SF rabbits. So, now we have more room in our small city barn for the ducks. Get the book "Storey's Guide to raising Meat rabbits" @ TSC or somewhere like that. I do NOT recommend colony raising rabbits as they are quit territorial and hard to manage properly. Good luck and enjoy the great meat down the road.