Who do you sell your meat to?

I'm thinking of starting a small meat rabbitry. Before I jump into anything I need to have several potential customers lined up so I don't end up with too many buns that I can't get rid of. As much as I want to butcher and process them myself, my mother would never let me do that (I asked) and since I am living under her roof, the rabbits will need to be sold live.

I was thinking of the following:
Craigslist
Reptile Clubs
Local meat markets
Pet raw food suppliers

I plan on calling around to ask if they will buy rabbits but I thought I'd ask here to see what you guys have the most luck with. The main concern here is if there is a market for live rabbits. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

ehh.. If you can't butcher them for yourself in the event a sale falls through, maybe it's not such a great idea? It wouldn't be hard to end up with a few dozen rabbits and no outlet - and believe me, they can eat a TON and bucks in particular will need to be kept in individual cages if they get too old. Unless you really enjoy rabbits, you're not likely to get much of anything out of it either...besides the enjoyment of BUNNIES!! of course. lol

Truthfully, I haven't really sold live rabbits...my mum had tried and managed a couple, but most that left here were in bags...also under the table because apparently I'd need to fork up several hundred just to process and sell for PET food in my state! :? They mainly went to a guy who'd get a few now and then; he was a real social guy with a lot of friends, so he'd buy some from me and make a little profit too. Getting praised for how well I butcher was awful nice... :'D

well, craigslist is a good place to start.

Some people would rather do their own butchering, but many of them don't want to see their food still alive.

I have a gentlemen that comes for live rabbits and butchers them himself; then I have a vet that would like to have meat but doesn't want to butcher himself and it's a good arrangement for me.

If you are going to get into rabbits there will come a time where you HAVE to cull. it could be because of sickness or other issues like temperament, it's a lot easier to do it yourself then pay for a vet to put the rabbits down.

Celice":39pqntfs said:

If you are going to get into rabbits there will come a time where you HAVE to cull. it could be because of sickness or other issues like temperament, it's a lot easier to do it yourself then pay for a vet to put the rabbits down.

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:yeahthat:

Many people have found the live market to be tiny and/or unpredictable. These are the people I see with NZ/FG cross fryers for $5.

Because those sellers will not process themselves, they get stuck lowering the price further and further in hopes of finding someone who will.

yep, I sale my mutt fryers for $5.

But in my defense the buyer gives me the pelt back and I can sell that for $10-12 or make a blanket that's worth $200.

Celice":1twypj2m said:

yep, I sale my mutt fryers for $5.

But in my defense the buyer gives me the pelt back and I can sell that for $10-12 or make a blanket that's worth $200.

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You can process your own if you want to though, so you don't HAVE to sell them that low just to get rid of them quickly before they start mating and fighting... AND you get to keep those tasty livers too.

If you process on-site like last time, you probably even get to keep heads, heart, lungs, and kidneys for the dogs. (do you feed those to your dogs? )

I'd be taking a huge loss if I sold mine that low. The purina feed I buy is too expensive. They actually charge $18.99 for a 50 lb bag here. :evil:

not sure how to advertise that though. It's one of the reasons I started to make cards for my rabbitry.

this coming year I'm going to try and replace all my NZ mutts with Palominos or AM. Chin. I was doing a little digging and found that Pal have smaller bone structure then other meat rabbits and have much better shoulders (personality is a win on them too) slower to grow but well worth the wait. I then can charge by the lb rather then just $5 + pelt.

my boyfriend was in liver heaven when we butchered those 4. there is still some in the fridge but it's will be gone by tomorrow.

I give just about everything else to the dogs and they pick at what they want if thee is any left overs it goes to the chickens.

Rabbit is lumped into poultry laws here, so I'm required to sell by live weight and can process as a free service if I wish. My "friends and family" rate is $4/lb live. That gives me around $10 + pelt, liver, head and organs for dog chow.

I can't seem to find the laws for colorado. I think I'd have to have a licence for selling to stores but not personal buyers since I see buying and butchering cattle, sheep, and other livestock all the time for other people.

As far as my understanding goes, In colorado any meat that is sold after it is processed must go through a USDA plant. If you buy the animal first, it is legally yours and you can take it to whichever butcher you please. (Hence if you buy a share of an animal while they are alive the farmer can use a non USDA plant because you already own that animal, and just pay the butcher directly for their fees rather than the farmer paying them.)

However, if there is any money exchanged for the butchering of the animal, the butcher must at least be state certified. if no money is exchanged than your just helping a friend butcher their animal. (I've heard of many people simply raising the cost of the animal to cover their time butchering and just helping for 'free', and just dropping the cost of the buyer wants to do it themselves.)

__________ Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:00 am __________

Zass":7ohlbw4b said:

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I'd be taking a huge loss if I sold mine that low. The purina feed I buy is too expensive. They actually charge $18.99 for a 50 lb bag here. :evil:

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I completely understand where your coming from.

I drive 40 miles one way and pay $35 a bag just to get organic feed. I only sell my pure breds any more, so I feel that a minimum of $40 is not too much to ask. My theory is that if you can't pay for a bag of feed plus some gas, the rabbit is better off in my freezer. Many buyers find this harsh since they're buying for live animals, but between myself, DH, and two 50 plus pound dogs that all love rabbit and any part of it we can use, we can barely keep the freezer stocked.

I have lowered prices to help friends out before, and will most likely continue to do so occasionally, but for the general public, not a chance. Their the price of a bag of food, or their my food!

Of course this wouldn't be as easy to apply to meat sales as no one around here gives two cents worth about organics, but I have seen organic rabbit go for $43 a rabbit online, so I would be about on mark there.

kelikani,

Something else to consider would be raising the buns under contract. Find someone who already has the necessary sales outlets and work an arrangement to sell your output to them. Doing so my obligate you to only raise a particular breed, delivered at a particular weight for sale. You also trade income for the steady outlet for your product but it eliminates risk of no sales.

If you go that way, check your state laws. Some do not allow this type of arrangement.

Honestly, I am not sure if it is reasonable to start a meat rabbitry without being able to butcher/process unwanted stock. I agree with Nyctra that no one can depend on a market for their culls. Here in Georgia purebred rabbits went like hotcakes for a few years until suddenly the supply exceeded the demand. Then people couldn't give them away and it would be terrible for you and the rabbits both to run out of housing/resources without an outlet. Maybe you could start for meat when you are out on your own and just keep a few rabbits for yourself now while under your mom's roof? Best of luck!

:yeahthat:
Raising any animal is a big responsibility...I am glad to see you are researching first. ...While you live with mom it kinda of looks like a no go situation for a meat rabbitry.'cause MOMS HOUSE, MOMS RULES :lol: Sorry I say that, as a mom..maybe if I keep saying it my family will listen... :x
You may want to do different things first maybe a couple for pets, learn to build cages. Keep a sanitary environment...Learn about genetics.ect..There is so much to know.
Then when you are on your own and have room look at the market and see what is viable.....

Celice, I found this concerning rabbit meat sales in CO.

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"You are selling your product from your farm or ranch

By the cut: If you are selling processed and packaged meat from animals you own, to customers coming to your farm or ranch, the animals must be slaughtered in a USDA FSIS inspected facility and you will need a Retail Food Establishment License, issued by your county health department.

By the whole animal or portion (halves or quarters) of the animal: If you are processing an animal for consumption by the owner of the animal, this meat does not require USDA inspection – it is considered custom-exempt, meaning a processor that does not require continuous inspection because they only process meat for the owner of the animal. The meat or poultry cannot be sold and can only be consumed by the following:

The owner of the animal
The owner’s immediate family
Non-paying guests

Custom processed meat and poultry must be labeled with “NOT FOR SALE.”

For more information regarding Custom Processing, visit the Colorado Department of Agriculture Inspection & Consumer Services Division."
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Like PSF said, you sell the live rabbit to a "guest" and show them how to process it. Sometimes you have to show some people several times. (you can't charge for those lessons, just build it into the price) :mrgreen:
There is a ton more information here; http://cofarmtomarket.com/value-added-products/meat-2/

Thanks guys!!!

helps a lot! good thing those guys butchered their own rabbits!

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I called around and figured out the cost for raising rabbits & selling them to make a case to my mom, but she said she refuses to have any part in raising rabbits knowing that they're going to be killed. Oh well, I'm better off having them when I'm on my own and can butcher them if I want to. I guess I'll spend the next few years researching more on this topic.

Although you already got your answer, I just wanted to throw in something. I don't know about butchers in your state, but where I am I've found a state-inspected butcher factility that can do my rabbits for $4 each. I can legally only turn around and sell those rabbits whole and in the original butcher packaging, but I CAN legally sell them. That's the only option in NY, other than selling live (because a USDA inspected processor that can and will do rabbits is impossible to find). Also, selling live is iffy... it's better in my opinion to send the buns right to the butcher and get it over with quickly than send them off to someone, somewhere, who may or may not actually have experience butchering... and take the chance that the bunny will be fed live to a reptile or dog or used as training bait, or whatnot. $4 per rabbit is a lot if I was just going to eat them myself, but I can sell the whole rabbit for $15+ in the packaging, which justifies the $4 loss. Plus, If I wait the 20 minutes it takes at the butcher's shop, I can bring home the pelts at no extra charge. If I wanted to, I could also bring home the heads and feet.

I wish NY treated rabbits as poultry. But our laws specify that rabbits are NOT poultry and cannot be sold already butchered by anyone with less than a state-inspected facility... and can only be sold by weight if butchered and wrapped in a USDA-inspected facility using a USDA approved scale. :roll:

Don't feel too bad...there is a lot of people with that opinion....people are pretty separated from their food source.......most think all meat just grows in a plastic package..My daughter in law is still trying to get up the courage to try rabbit. And she is a meat lover...maybe soon....

I just got some cals I’m gonna breed in April but I have no idea where/who I’m gonna sell ‘em to! I live in CO so I can’t sell pre-butchered

kelikani said:

I'm thinking of starting a small meat rabbitry. Before I jump into anything I need to have several potential customers lined up so I don't end up with too many buns that I can't get rid of. As much as I want to butcher and process them myself, my mother would never let me do that (I asked) and since I am living under her roof, the rabbits will need to be sold live.

I was thinking of the following:
Craigslist
Reptile Clubs
Local meat markets
Pet raw food suppliers

I plan on calling around to ask if they will buy rabbits but I thought I'd ask here to see what you guys have the most luck with. The main concern here is if there is a market for live rabbits. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

I butcher my own. It gives you considerably less profit in my opinion to just sell live rabbits. Most of my sales are in meat that I've butchered and processed by hand. Most, if not all of my customers, are friends or family, and/or people that have heard of my business by word of mouth, only occasionally directed from online ads.