I'm thinking about trying it. Is it a good idea or a waste of time?

Love rabbit meat. Wish I had a source of that near here too.

" Then I shall live in Montana. And drive a pickup truck....and raise rabbits"....

Grew up eating rabbit. Can't say what crunching the numbers are today.

As for the care and processing much less trouble than chickens. Heat is an issue as they don't breed in high temps. Feet and ears need to be watched. Care care and clean up on a regular basis. But no more than you'd do for chickens.

Up front costs are going to be the cages but you can always build your hutches. Should be similar to cost of a good coop.

I like rabbit meat a lot but like the poop for my garden even more. Rabbit pellets are 17.00 a bag here. Sure cost a lot more than it used to but so does everything else these days. I've heard of some people just feeding them hay but I haven't tried it.

I raise New Zealands, Californians, Florida Whites and Flemish Giants. Flemish Giants are more like a large pet breed than a meat breed. The meat to bone ratio is not as good.

Once you have the set up, you can produce meat with rabbits cheaper than you can buy comparable meat, like chicken, from a grocery store. New Zealand and Californian rabbits have an average feed conversion rate of 3.5 pounds of feed to 1 pound of rabbit meat produced. At $14.00 per 50 pounds, that comes to 98 cents per pound of rabbit meat produced.

Keith

At $17.00 per 50 pounds, like Turkey Wrangler is paying, the cost of feed per pound of rabbit meat produced is $1.19 a pound.

Keith

I enjoy raising my rabbits. We have raised New Zealand White, Californians, Champaigne D'Argent, Rex, and several crosses of these. Initial set up is costly. I always advise to buy the best breeding stock you can afford; this is the building block of your whole heard. During Covid, we were cranking out 400-600 bunnies a year. Things have settled down since, but we still produce 200+ rabbits annually. Buy from reputable breeders but always remember that pedigrees can be faked. Don't hesitate to ask a lot of questions to the breeder. We used to show rabbits and made some good connections that way.

Strickly talking about meat rabbits, I prefer Rex. Let me explain: all the literature will tell you NZW or Californians will reach butcher weight 5lbs at 8 weeks. As someone that has raised 1000's of rabbits and as a 3rd generation rabbit raiser (my dad and Grandpa had 500 breeding does along with mink and chinchillas) I can tell you that 5lb at 8 weeks is exceptional but will typically happen under lab like conditions where everything is strictly controlled. My NZW would hit butcher weight at 9 weeks 3 days consistently. Could have been the breeding stock, could be the weather, the food, the hay, stress, etc. Rex will hit butcher weight between 11-12 weeks. They produce the same size carcass as the NZW, with the added pelt for sale. Not to mention, they do well as pets too. Our conversion rate fluctuates throughout the year. Typically around 3-3.5 to 1. When its hot as heck, they don't eat much so take a while to gain weight. I feed a 18% protein feed that cost $20/50lbs (as high as $24/50 in recent years) and free choice clover hay. We don't breed here from May until the end of September because it is too hot. Bucks will go sterile over 80* and can take several weeks to become potent again. The high heat and humidity here is also taxing on the pregnant does and kits.

Pelts ready for sale


We like consistent weights


More Pelts

PD, what gorgeous furs, and great looking meat.

Rex are my favorites, for their fur texture. The things you can make out of those lovely furs !

Did years ago when the kids were in 4H. Figured cost $5.00 feed per rabbit. Sold them processed by myself for $5.00 each.
When the kids were done so was I.
just

Still have the cages.LOL

Has anyone raised them free range on small fenced pasture? I figure they'll dig but would have access to clovers and grasses which would cut the feed bill... just curious,

do you guys keep them indoors in order to breed them in winter. I'm working on a heated yard barn foe my daughter now. She gave up breeding in winter in cold Temps years ago.

gcs - that is wat I am thinking of doing. Basically a modified version of a chicken tractor. I think I could do it on a really small scale pretty cheap.

Pintail - is there really a viable market for the pelts? I have never seen anyone looking to buy them.

We used to eat rabbits when I was a kid, but I don't remember what it tastes like. I remember liking it though.

I am also considering buying a group of young bunnies this fall yet to raise up and see how I like it before getting any breeding stock. There is a auction about a hour from me that sells rabbits of all kinds and sizes every week.

Ate a lot of Checkered Giant meat growing up. Brothers raised them for 4-H and other shows...lots of rabbits to eat that didnt make the 'show muster'. Didnt care for wild rabbit meat for years after eating the domestic rabbits....

There is so much you can do with a rabbit, eat it of course but I’m sure you could use the bones and maybe some fur for a coyote set or use the pelt for a wall hanger or make something out of it

Mama would use rabbit in ost any chicken recipe. She made a mean rabbit tetrazini.

There are a couple models of tractors I’ve seen for rabbits. One is like a roll cage for coon. The idea being that the rabbits eat an area and then roll themselves forward. Also some small tractors with wood slats for the bottom. I’ve wanted to get into rabbits, but don’t think my wife would like the meat as much as she does chicken breasts

As kids we free ranged them, worked well. They just lived in the yard and we whacked all the predators and occasionally shot rabbits for meat. Owls are the worst, you'll have find a way to deter owls if you free range them.

Hunt for Red October right? Ahhh I used to fish with my grandfather as a young boy.