rabbit meat prices

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$5.00/ pound dressed is a fair price, I have seen it advertised at $6 or more. I sell my rabbits as "Meat rabbit Live or Dressed" $10 live, $15 dressed (in tophats and tails, of course!) (dodging rotten tomatos)

I advertise on CL and am considering running an ad in the county circular classified paper. As long as the product is picked up by the end consumer at my farm, I can legally sell butchered rabbit. Live rabbits can be transported.

I am still in the 'starting out' phase. With 2 litters a month at best. Don't plan on going big time but would like to recoup my startup costs and then be able to pay the entire farm's feed bill off of rabbits, poultry and swine. Feed bill includes six equines that are recreational livestock. Plus the rabbits fill the dinner table. Would like to get some more regular customers and maybe catch a part of the pet food market, too. Need to knock on a few more doors for that. Have also thought about raising some to breeding age nad selling them for a higher price (most reproductive-age breeding stock go for about $30 on the local CL market)

I really love the rabbitry and rabbits. Of all the small livestock I have raised they are the most addictive. I have some very nice NZ bloodlines now and am considering making it a registered rabbitry.
 
I found this at Publix (our mid-range grocery store) last night. Half a rabbit, approx 22 ounces, for $16.99. That's over $12 a lb! Makes me think that asking $15 a head isn't out of the range for the local market. The $8 rabbits I found on cl are a good 45 minute drive out of town.

I guess the big thing is trying to setup a client base and then quit advertising in order to stay under the radar.

image.php
 
Check out this site! "Our rabbits are a mix of Californian White and New Zealand White breeds and are humanely raised by a cooperative of small family farms. The rabbits are fed a diet of sweet alfalfa, oats, wheat and barley with no antibiotics or hormones ever used." :shock: What, no BOSS??? :lol: Fryers between 2.75 and 3.25lbs are $29.74 if fresh, $25.49 frozen.

http://www.dartagnan.com/51337/565691/F ... Fryer.html

Here is another one:

http://www.marxfoods.com/products/rabbit

I have done the math on my feed costs based on 4lbs feed = 1lb meat. 20lbs of my grain mix is $7.20, but since Rex mature more slowly and I also feed hay, I am adding another 3.60 for an additional 10lbs of feed. So $10.80 for 5lb live weight. Based on a dressout of 2.75 lbs, my cost would be $3.93 per lb.

So I am considering selling either at $7, $8, or $9 per lb. For a 2.75lb fryer, that works out to $19.25, $22, or $24.75. Anything over the 3.25lb mark would be more per pound.

I feed heads, feet, and guts to our dogs, but I figure I could sell the extra to raw feeders for a couple dollars a pound also.

So... should I start advertising on the high or the low end of the price range? :thinking: I don't know if it would be best to develop a market with a low price, or advertise at the higher rates and drop the price if there isn't a good response.

I called the Kern County Extension Office today and spoke to a very nice lady that is going to find out if there are any county laws that apply.
 
Would pick somewhere above low but not high.... if that makes sense. Instead of $15 / rabbit or $30/ rabbit ask $20.


I just thought about business cards today. Was checking out at the local grocery, talking with the clerk about gardening. I mentioned that my horses and rabbits fertilize the garden. He asked about rabbits, I told them I raise them for meat, and that the meat is like the most moist and tender turkey breast you can imagine. He said he only eats white meat and would like to try rabbit.

So there's people in line behind me and it wouldn't be professional to give him my number while he is working; I told him I have ads on CraigsList - but if I'd had a business card I could have just handed it to him!

So next thing to do is to make up some business cards.
 
I'm planning on advertising on cl around 11.5 weeks until about 12.5/ 13 weeks and then off to freezer camp. I'm doing it mostly for the meat, but I wouldn't mind selling a few to offset the cost.
 
MamaSheepdog":33gfyzcd said:
So... should I start advertising on the high or the low end of the price range? :thinking: I don't know if it would be best to develop a market with a low price, or advertise at the higher rates and drop the price if there isn't a good response.
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It's very hard to raise your price once you start -- but you can *always* lower it or give a discount.

Start high and advertise an "introductory discount" for a few weeks.

When the 'introductory' thing gets old... call it something else, but always put a time limit on it. People *love* discounts, and the time limit gives them an incentive to act now. Which is important given that you only have a short time to sell the rabbits at around 5 lbs. (Well, unless you're selling them frozen -- I was thinking fresh processed.)

-Wendy
 
I've been selling my 5# live weight fryers at $20 butchered, $35/pair. These are meat mutts that reach 5# at 16 weeks. When the Silver Fox start producing where I have fryer, roaster and stewers, then I will go with a straight $20 for 5# live weight, $30 for 8# live weight, and $40 for 10# live weight and I butcher.

I also sell off the meat mutts at 8 weeks for $20 as pets too :D
 
Did ya'll scroll through the photos added? :p

Man, I would love to get those prices here!
 
Reviving a dead topic for the sake of curiosity.

What's the going rate per/lb now?
 
I sell 5 lb fryers at $20, live or dressed, because that's how much they are worth in my freezer. Somehow, I've been selling them well enough that my freezer is kinda low on rabbit...
 
If I remember right, and I can check the next time I'm in town; commercial rabbits from France or Belgium sell for around $7/lb CDN at one of our grocery stores. With our lower dollar I'm sure the price will be going up.

I haven't tried selling any of our rabbits but I would look at a minimum of $25, since that seems to be what meat breeds go for around here.
 
I've sold 5 so far @ $4/Lb. But after running the results of the survey I did, the national average for the United States is $17/Lb. That's just what I have found. I know at $4/Lb I have had no shortage of customers, and that's with only word of mouth advertisement. Have 2 that are growing 2 weeks a part and both are all ready called for.
 
In BC it's illegal to sell meat of any kind that is not processed by a govt inspected facility. That means no home processing for a side profit. You can sell dog food and label 'not got human consumption' but it's a grey area and I'd hate to get shut down/lose my rabbits/fine-jail. :S
 
I get $25 for a 3-3.5lb carcass freshly butchered .... Have a couple chefs here in Houston who buy them for personal use every time I have them available and beg for more.
 
Ramjet":297er7bc said:
I get $25 for a 3-3.5lb carcass freshly butchered .... Have a couple chefs here in Houston who buy them for personal use every time I have them available and beg for more.
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That's awesome!!
 
EnglishSpot":qgampew7 said:
I have friends and coworkers who snap it up right quick for $5lb but I'm gonna raise to $6 since rabbit is not common here.
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I could probably go to $12lb and still sell all I can produce.
 

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