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Rabbit Breeding for Profit
10/19/05 04:33 PM
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Hi! This is my first post here. We recently moved to "the country" and have about an acre. (My dad is a member, but I'm not sure what his username is.) I am wanting to start breeding rabbits for pets, or for meat/pelts. I have decided to get a few free rabbits to start with, so that I can learn how to take care of them before buying an expensive breed. That being said, I will need a lot of advice on caring for them. Currently, I am getting a free dwarf lop mix. It's a male and here is it's picture:
The lady that I'm getting him from thinks that his parents were both dwarf lops. I am hoping that she can remember the name of the place that SHE got him from so that I can hopefully trace his pedigree!
Please give me any info that you can on raising rabbits. Also, are there specific breeds that would be best for meet/pelts vs. raising for pets?
~ Raising Show Quality Netherland Dwarfs in Virginia
~ http://thebriarpatch.thestrawbearypatch.net/
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Bird
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Veteran Member
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Reged: 09/12/02
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Posts: 1694
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Loc: Corinth, TX, USA
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Instead of trying to explain a topic as broad as raising rabbits, I'd suggest you join The American Rabbit Breeders Association. When I was raising rabbits, I found their publications very helpful, as well as interesting. I also found a good book on raising rabbits (forgot the title) at Tractor Supply Company. My brother and I built my first 4 cage hutch, but from then on I bought my cages at Tractor Supply Company (some assembly required  ). I tried a couple of other brands, and some may be better, but I settled on Purina Rabbit Chow as the main feed. Of course, I also gave them grass and vegetables from my garden as treats.
And yes, certain breeds are better than others for meat vs. pets. Generally speaking, the larger breeds (I raised New Zealand White) are better for meat while smaller breeds such as your dwarf lop are better for pets. The probability of you making a profit from raising rabbits is very slim. I sold some to individuals for meat, and all my family likes rabbit, so we ate a lot. During the month before Easter, I could sell everything I had to the feed stores, but the rest of the year there wasn't much market. The ARBA magazine regularly lists all the rabbit processing plants in the country and what they are currently paying for rabbits, so you might make a profit if you live close to one of them; I didn't.
One thing I learned, both from the publications, and experience is that rabbits will eat a lot and gain weight and if you're raising them for meat, that's good. But if you let your breeding stock eat all they want, they'll get fat and will not breed. 
One side benefit to raising rabbits is that rabbit manure is quite possibly the world's best fertilizer, so if you have a garden . . .
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Re: Rabbit Breeding for Profit
[re: Bird]
10/19/05 06:22 PM
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In reply to:
One thing I learned, both from the publications, and experience is that rabbits will eat a lot and gain weight and if you're raising them for meat, that's good. But if you let your breeding stock eat all they want, they'll get fat and will not breed.
That's what I understand! I have a book that my mom got at the thrift store called "Rabbits".
In reply to:
One side benefit to raising rabbits is that rabbit manure is quite possibly the world's best fertilizer, so if you have a garden . . .
And we are planning to have a garden!
So far, I've decided that I will start with free or cheap, not pedigreed rabbits so that I can get a feel for what it takes to raise them. I've got a male, now I have to find a female....
~ Raising Show Quality Netherland Dwarfs in Virginia
~ http://thebriarpatch.thestrawbearypatch.net/
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