Hi, new to the fourm here. Wife & I just got into the Rabbit Biz, Standard Rex and CA's. Any way was wondering has anyone ever sold Green Rabbit Pelts to a fur buyer?? You know the type of fur buyer that buys wild animal hides, coyote, raccon, ect. Not sure if they would even buy Domestic Rabbit Pelts?? Just wondering if anyone has any experiance with that? Looking for a few marketing options for our herd.

Hi Pheasant and welcome to RabbitTalk.

Rabbit pelts, unfortunately, are somewhat difficult to market profitably due to the influx of dirt cheap pelts from China. You may be lucky and find a local buyer, so do give it a try. Some people are curing using the pelts themselves and then marketing the finished articles as "handmade" items. If well done, these can bring decent prices, but they are labour intensive.

There is a thread - possibly under the "other ways to profit" forum - that mentions fly-tying enthusiasts being interested in raw pelts. It's an area worth looking into.

You might, once you have hides to sell, put an ad on free sites like Kijiji or Craigs List. Urban hobbyists who cannot raise their own rabbits may be interested.

I would hope we could get something. This year is the year of real fur collars. rosettes, sweater fringe and more. Go into Sax or any high end boutique and it is fur galore! Check out this link: http://venusfur.en.busytrade.com/produc ... Scarf.html
I can't wait to experiment with the rosettes. I found them on sweaters, purses, jackets, and t-shirts. All rabbit fur and all expensive! $60 for a v-neck shirt with 3 rosettes made of what looked like silver fox rabbit fur.

__________ Wed Sep 14, 2011 6:52 pm __________

PS I just purchased a meat pen of blue silver fox rabbits . I hope they reproduce like .....rabbits!
I want to dye my New Zealand fur to resemble the water fall coloring they show in that scarf. Anyone ever dyed fur???

dying fur is pretty easy..rabbit fur take color VERY easily. When it's in the form of a pelt, you need to make sure the pelt is fully cured, and research the various dyes available. I use dylan cold water dye since you only use warm water, instead of HOTHOT water (which can destroy the pelt). Use the "wool" instructions.

Unusual natural colored pelts might sell to a re-enactment group...check to see if you have one in your area. although they tend toward "wild" animals...but many of the players also play in other types of "history plays".

The normal pelt that's required for processing in large quantities is white...then they can dye it to whatever color they need. (kind of like the angora wool industry only buys white). Let's see...who else might buy pelts....extremely interesting colored pelts might be sold to a taxidermist. You'd have to ask what they might need....

As a finished product, there are SOME sales to be had....people use them for quilts/coverlets, purses, mittens and hats. but even the places that sell leather have a hard time peddling rabbit pelts.

good luck! and let us know what you find!

Thank you for the dying information. I will try it when I get enough.