Rabbit Breeding

[animalgirl12]

Is it pretty easy to sell baby rabbit or is there kind that are easier to sell?

 

[Fly 2006]

Are you wanting to breed rabbits then? My answer would be.... Don't.... there are too many already, I am in the UK and there are loads of bunnies in rescues needing homes, also many bunnies that are bought for kids who then neglect them.
Your choice of course but please think carefully first

 

[aprille218]

If you do decide to raise rabbits to sell. I would recommend a small breed if you are going to sell pets (Netherland Dwarf, Polish, Mini Rex, Dwarf Hotot) and if you're selling for meat New Zealands are one of the best. Stick to purebreds, mutt bunnies can be cute but aren't worth as much. Do lots of research! You will not likely make much money in the long run so raise rabbits for the enjoyment you get from them and make sure you have a humane outlet for the ones you can't sell.
Aprille

 

[animalgirl12]

Thank you! i just had one for a pet. Before i got my first rabbit i did tons of research. I never get a animal with out doing research.

I just asked because this is the first time im thinking about more than one and i just wanted to make sure i didn't get some and could not sell the babies.

 

[Bunnylady]

If you do decide to raise rabbits to sell. I would recommend a small breed if you are going to sell pets (Netherland Dwarf, Polish, Mini Rex, Dwarf Hotot) and if you're selling for meat New Zealands are one of the best. Stick to purebreds, mutt bunnies can be cute but aren't worth as much. Do lots of research! You will not likely make much money in the long run so raise rabbits for the enjoyment you get from them and make sure you have a humane outlet for the ones you can't sell.
Aprille

This, x2. Even if you work with show rabbits, not everything you produce will be show quality. Some won't even be pet quality, having bad teeth or other issues that make them the sort of thing that you really don't want to sell; what will you do with those?

Make sure you actually have a market for whatever breed you are interested in. Right now, everybody and their best friend is jumping on the Lionhead bandwagon, but a lot of what is being sold isn't anywhere near the breed standard. I know some people who have no trouble selling cute little longhairs like Jersey Woolies or Fuzzy Lops, and others who can't even give them away. I would take it one further than "You will not likely make much money" - I will say that you most likely won't even make back what you spend on feed and other supplies. I would guess that for 90% of rabbit breeders, it's a hobby, not a business, so it needs to be something you enjoy.

 

[animalgirl12]

Im just getting like 3 rabbits and im going to try to make my own rabbit food.

 

[animalgirl12]

im doing colony raised rabbits. Iv been reading a lot about it

 

[Bunnylady]

You are going for meat rabbits, then?

 

[Celie]

Im just getting like 3 rabbits and im going to try to make my own rabbit food.

3 rabbits can turn into 90 overnight. If you like to eat rabbit meat and are not too squeamish about harvesting your livestock, I suggest meat rabbits. If you want a pet rabbit, just get one. First you have to decide what you want the rabbits for? If you want to sell them for pets, try to find a very small breed that no one else and their brother are selling and good luck with that. Everyone wants one kind or another, so next thing everyone has them, then it's on to another favorite. Everyone thinks their bunnies are worth so much that they price themselves out of business. Remember if you don't breed your rabbit periodically, she will be harder to breed, and if you do, you will have a lot of rabbits needing a god home. I raise pure New Zealand White meat rabbits and had to drive over 2 hours away to a reputable rabbit breeder to get good quality pure breeding stock. I eat rabbit meat, so I breed them every 2 months, except during the hottest months during the summer. It gets very hot in Southeast Louisiana and I would not want to stress my breeding stock, or loose rabbits due to the heat. It's not a pretty sight. Each doe will produce from 8 to 14 bunnies in a litter. I usually get 12 to 13. If you have just 3 does, that's about 360 bunnies a year to sell if you are not going to eat them. Around here a 6 to 8 week old meat rabbit brings $8.00 if you can find a market for them. If you don't sell them, you can eat them. Tiny pure bred rabbits sell for $10.00 to $50.00, if they are of good quality. What will you do with the ones you do not sell? The tinier the rabbits, the fewer there are in the litters, but I know a breeder who gets 10 to a litter with Mini Rex ! Only 2 of her last litter were of good quality, and one of those, might be of show quality! What will she do with the rest? If you sell them to a pet shop, if you can find one that will buy them, how much will they give you for the bunnies, they will have to cage and feed and hope to sell and still make a profit? Tiny rabbits are not so good for meat and the 3rd most common pets abandoned, after dogs and cats. I am not trying to rain on your parade! I just hope you think about what you want to raise the rabbits for, before you put out upwards of $300.00, and not know what you are going to do with all those rabbits. If you know what breed you want and can find a market for them, by all means go for it. Rabbits do not eat much and can be raised on not much more than grass and hay. For the meat they produce they have the best meat for feed ratio I know of. They are an excellent protein source and take up very little room. They are quiet and will provide you with a lot of bunnies very fast. Just don't name your food, or you probably won't be able to eat it. Most breeders I know, name their breeding stock to keep records, but not the bunnies. I just call them doe A, doe B,,doe C, buck A, buck and so on. Hope this helps you and that I did not discourage you too much if you really have your heart set on raising rabbits. It's a nice hobby.
Good luck

 

[Bunnylady]

If you are thinking about a pet-type breed, you might be interested in the experience of a friend of mine. She tried colony-raising Holland Lops, Mini Rex, and Netherland Dwarfs in large pens on her farm. She was feeding pelleted feed, because the rabbits quickly eliminated all of the plant material in the pens. Her rabbits dug out on a regular basis, and predators like foxes and dogs (including her own) dug in. She lost rabbits to hawks, owls, and snakes, and had more than a few litters drown in the tunnels during summer downpours. Obviously, there are better ways of designing a colony, if you've been reading up on the subject, you know that. The real "kicker", though, was the personalities of the bunnies. People want pet rabbits to be friendly and cuddly, which is achieved by the bunnies getting lots of attention as they are growing up. Colony raised rabbits tend to be skittish, both because they are harder to get close to, and because they are exposed to more things that can be seen as scary by the rabbit. My friend's bunnies were very wild, and she had a hard time selling them because of that.