Cyndi, the ARBA has a list of all the rabbit breeds and their national breeders clubs. Those clubs have lists of breeders registered with those clubs. You can also find breeders if you look at rabbitbreeders.us or on Cragslist (usually in farm and garden). You could also contact your local 4H groups. The most popular meat rabbits are californians and new zealands (the whites especially) but I have seen Americans, Chinchillas (all sizes), Rex and Silver Fox used with significant success as meat rabbits. Ultimately, all rabbits are made out of meat, so the most important thing is to look for healthy, productive members of that breed. Palominos are probably great meat rabbits... If you can find a breeder who actually has pals that have litters of 6-10 kits that grow fast.
I suggest not specifically looking for certified breeders. Certified breeders means nothing. I am an ARBA registered breeder and half my rabbits don't even have full pedigrees, all I did was pay the fee and I became a member... The certification either means the person shows their rabbits (which isn't necisarially a plus for someone looking for production rabbits) or they were willing to drop the money on making themselves look more official... So take that how you will. The rabbit world is far looser than some other animal worlds. You can show a rabbit without a pedigree and as long as your rabbit's pedigree has three generations of rabbits that meet breed standard in their history they're considered "purebred". And pedigrees are not tracked in any sort of registry, they are filled out and produced by the breeder. You could get a pedigree for a mixed breed rabbit, even. No way to know if they're being up front, honestly. The rabbit world operates on an honor and due diligence system and that means that some people get boned. (Like the people I mentioned from the county fair.) There's no inspections of rabbitries, no rating systems, only reputations within the community.
I would suggest looking for someone who already breeds rabbits the way you want to. You want food and furs, right? So find someone who also mostly breeds for food and furs. 4H groups are great for this because many of them breed market rabbits for fairs and that means they need to have a litter of six big, healthy rabbits every time from moms who produce lots of milk. They also have people who understand the system, and their breeders and suppliers have to be good enough to not have dozens of angry 4H parents breathing down their necks about sick/poor quality rabbits. Know in advance what a healthy rabbit looks like (clear eyes and nose, healthy coat, no sneezing, etc.) and what a rabbit that meets breed standard for the breed you're buying looks like. Ask if they have pictures of the parents they can send you, pictures that are from the side so you can see the body shape and head properly. Ask about average litter sizes for the rabbits, and about parents/grandparents. If they have no idea what the smallest and biggest litters the rabbit (or the rabbits mom if they're young) have thrown, that's a red flag for me. Another red flag is if they don't know how to sex a rabbit. Learn how to sex a rabbit and then ask them to show you the gender on the rabbit. If they don't know how, that's a serious problem. Some people can sex rabbits as young as one day old, any responsible breeder should be able to sex a fryer rabbit (8-12 weeks) with fair accuracy. Don't buy from breeders who sell kits under 6 weeks, and reconsider breeder who sell kits under 8 weeks. But most importantly, buy from a breeder that you feel like you can trust, someone you get good vibes from, and someone who will happily swap emails with you to share info or will spend 10-20 minutes with you answering questions you might have about their operation when you come out to buy the rabbit.
Better yet, find someone who offers long-term support or guarantees their rabbits. This isn't super common, but for example when I sell a rabbit it comes with rabbit food so they can transition without risk of GI stasis, a clear return policy (within 48 hours for a full refund, within 1 week if they are sick or die for a replacement, or I will take any rabbit back any time after that for no refund if they can no longer be cared for), and if anyone ever has any questions about their rabbits or how to care for them I am always available by email or text message for the lifetime of the rabbit. If someone is willing to offer post-purchase support and stand by the quality of their rabbits, I usually take that as a very good sign. If they just want to sell you a rabbit and be like "Sorry, no refunds, can't answer questions, bye" (which is very common, as rabbits are small sensitive animals that can sometimes die easily), then it's a buy at your own risk situation and it's even more important that you get all your info and feel good about the rabbits health before you buy.
Ruby a pound or two, Reesie three or four pounds!
