Bottom Line

[Saxon Violence]

I am carefully considering raising meat Rabbits.

{How are they coming with the new egg-laying Rabbits? Might also give them a try...}

I assume that you feed commercial Rabbit Food--and presumably, one can get it somewhat cheaper in bulk.

I'd like to at least try to stick to Purina. I am very impressed with both the nutrition of their food and the way they conducted themselves during the Dog Food Poisoning Scare.....

But there is a limit to how far my brand loyalty will stretch--if it should prove too far over-priced compared to generic.

I assume that you supplement the Rabbits feed with a non-trivial amount of hay--Probably a prime hay like Alfalfa or Timothy.
Since Rabbits are not Ruminants--at least not yet {Genetic Engineering, Don't ya know.....}. Rough Hays like Fescue or Bagasse-- Are Unpalatable and not terribly nourishing anyway.

I'm sure the Data is around--if you'll point me at it--

But I'd like to see what Breeders cost--on average. How many pounds of Hay (and Approximate Dollar value) and how many pounds of feed (and cost of said food) Plus how many dollars worth of necessary supplements and owner applied antibiotic/vaccines.....

What do we presume that a pound of dressed Rabbits market value is? {Hypothetical--Since I plan to eat all product on site.}

And how many dollars will I have invested in that pound of Dressed Rabbit? :?:

Also, how many hours per week, per Rabbit will I generally need to invest?

Not trying to be all business, numbers--but I kinda need to look ahead a bit, before I start trying to figure out how to jump-in with both feet.

Thank whoever took the time to read this.

Saxon Violence

 

[ladysown]

how many hours per week? depends on your set up and management.

I have between 20-30 rabbits. takes me one hour in the morning (give or take a bit) and 5-30 minutes in the evening.

I DO NOT vet my stock. I'm a firm believer in get better or be culled. Healthy, strong rabbits are easier to care for then those you need to medicate. The most I will do is probiotics to youngsters/new stock and coccidia meds if I have a coccidia problem (but good management tends to negate that issue). I've given worm meds in the past but ONLY when I knew I had a parasite issue. Any medication issued tends to mean holding that animal for an extra month to get the meds completely out of their systems.

HAY: your choice. many people raise rabbits without giving hay. IF giving hay, go for a decent quality grass hay. I find mine eat a mix grass hay better than pure timothy.

Breeders: depends on the quality of stock and the area you live in. You can find good meat mutts generally for less than pedigreed. Meat mutts will give you want you want as well just look for rabbits that have the qualities you want. Around here meat mutts range in the $5-30 range, purebreds from $20-70.

Read your labels to find out if they have in it what you want. Some feeds contain corn which is not so easy for rabbits to digest, others want to avoid soy products, so read your labels. Generally you want to feed a 16% or up protein ration.

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't think we can give you figures or amounts... so much varies with location.

Most people feed commercial pellets, but an increasing number of us supplement with hay and other natural foods. Some of us have quit using pellets at all. You can read all about alternate feeding for rabbits in the Natural Feeding for Rabbits forum.

natural-feeding-for-rabbits-f11.html

If you are new to rabbits, it is best to start small. Two does and a buck make a good start for most people. The investment is modest this way and you will gain experience without worrying about losing your shirt. It's easy to increase your herd later on.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

Hey, did my post get deleted?

 

[hoodat]

Most of us have to depend at least partly on pellets but every pound of wild greens you can gather is that much less you have to spend on pellets and I'm convinced the more greens they get the healthier and better tasting the meat is.

 

[MaggieJ]

Hey, did my post get deleted?

You know I wouldn't do that, Iggysbabysitter!

Did you perhaps forget to click on the "submit" button? I've done that so many times and lost the whole post.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

nope. I saw it as the only reply... and later saw yours and Ladysown... oh well.

 

[Saxon Violence]

Thanks friends.

I don't mean to sound Obsessive-Compulsive.....

Your strategy of starting small was a good one, that I wouldn't have thought of off hand.

I've had several spells of Long unemployment in my life--and then I had to wait almost three years to get my disability approved.....

And my tendency, is to want to try to get me enough of something, when I'm flush--to last me for life--or at least for a Long Time.

You should see how many art supplies that I have stashed away. Books--The house is filled with bookshelves on every wall--practically--Or one of my sister's Christian Abstract Paintings. Tables covered in Books; four foot stacks of books on the floor.....

(My own stuff alternates between, Realism, Magic Realism, Impressionist and Psychedelic...but then, its her house, so not much of mine gets hung.....)

Did I tell you that my Bloodhound Hermione weighs over 200 pounds? She will even drink Cokes or Pepsies with me.

O wait.....yeah, savin' too much stuff.....

Saxon Violence

 

[SterlingSatin]

if you want some satins to develop meat mutts or as a meat breed alone, let me know, you're in my state mine have nice growth rates so i could definitely see them being used to produce, right now i'm mostly selling them as breeder animals.

as for questions:
most people do feed commerical pellets, but a few on this site feed natural. i feed commercial pellets with hay. my brand runs about 8.50 a bag, but i've had to pay 10 a bag before (40 lb bag). i also feed alfalfa hay (mostly to nursing does, growing rabbits, and conditioning rabbits for shows) runs me 5 dollars a bale and i have to stock up in the fall so it will last me over the winter. if you have a dark, dry place to store it it can last 6 months. feed only lasts about a month and a half so don't buy more than your rabbits will eat in that time.

Bob Bennet's "storey's guide to raising rabbits' has average prices for all breeds in it and i've found it to be pretty acurate but it depends on your area. purebred showable commercial stock can run $30-$50 each. meat-mutts or non showables may be only $10-$15 or even $2-$5. best going for the slightly high priced ones, they are probably better quality. buy from a breeder with a good growth rate or another meat breeder.

on ARBA.com their is a list of processors and their prices. no listed processors in indiana if you talk to some other raisers you can find a few though. sometimes white rabbits go for more than colored, so if you are going to be selling your meat, white rabbits are a good idea. prices range widely, but the closest processors (in ohio) pay 1.00 to 1.20 a lb. not the best... collect a few names and you might be able to find a better price.

you shouldn't need any supplements unless you want to feed grains or give vitamins. i do both (vitamins to mostly the show rabbits). i don't give medication (unless you consider vitamins such) and you shouldn't. if a rabbit is sick, CULL IT! grain is easy to get by the bag as "racehorse oats" but is best reserved for nursing does and conditioning show rabbits. your breeders will get too fat. i get vitamins from a company here in Indiana called KD cage. they sell a product called aqua-vite that dissolves in water. again, this is mostly for show rabbits. i haven't given it to food animals or nursing does.

i spend at least 45 minutes a day on my rabbits, i currently have 11. then between 1-3 on the weekends to clean.

you won't be able to work out how much it costs to raise a lb of meat until you know how much your feed, hay, and animals will cost.

 

[HendricksHearth]

Like others have said, you will probably find there to be quite a bit of variation in the cost from place to place. Last I checked I had to pay $14.50 per 50lb bag of Purina Complete and the price of the bag varies throughout the year. I've noticed in summer it tends to cost more in my area. I think the lowest I've paid was around $12/bag, but that was a while ago. If you sign up on the Purina site they will send you a coupon for a discount on your purchase every quarter or so.

I also feed good quality seasonal grass hay. Right now it is straight timothy. 1 large bale cost me ~$10 and lasts me between 1-2 months I believe. I give bits from the kitchen and garden as treats on occasion, but I don't factor that into the numbers.

I also use wood pellets for horse stalls or wood stoves and those generally run between $4-6/bag. 1 bag lasts me around a month or two also. I use additional products like Sweet PDZ for bedding, but those are optional for you depending on what you find useful.

I spend probably 1-2 hours each day working on the rabbit area at the moment depending on what they need. I try to stay on top of trays and I have a system for trays so they don't get heavy and it keeps smells down to keep em' clean. I also spend additional time usually once or twice a week to sweep the floors, burn any hair of cages, general stuff like that. I do nail trims every 2-4 weeks and I do a big seasonal cleaning where I haul everything out and spend an entire day or two working. You won't really know how much time you need to spend until you figure out your own personal way of doing things with them.

I run my hands over my rabbits at least once a day to check their condition and I try to give them exercise as often as possible. I've found it is good overall for their minds and bodies both.

Meat breeds in my area tends to run between $20-$65 each depending on breed, whether they are pedigreed/proven/etc., and it of course fluctuates with demand.

I agree that illnesses or health concerns need to be generally culled from the herd (not medicated) unless it is something simple like parasites. If you are feeding pellets and hay then you shouldn't need supplements/salt blocks or anything like that.

I hope this helps,

Lauren

 

[ottersatin]

SV,
I think you'll do best by starting with two Does and a Buck.
I suggest that you purchase a Bred Senior Doe , a Junior Doe and a Junior Buck.
This way you will grow with your rabbits. Purchase rabbits that are related,
but not brother and sister. By the time you Senior Doe kindles [gives Birth]
Your juniors should be nearly grown. When the kits are weaned you will soon be able
to breed what was your Junior Buck to the Senior Doe and what was the Junior Doe.
This will give you two litters to wait for while you are growing the first litter.
You can than assess those kits and perhaps retain a few Does and possibly a Buck
as future breeding stock.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Saxon Violence]

Yes. Thank all of you who took the time to answer me.

Land sakes Friends--I can remember when you could buy live meat rabbits--ready to eat or breed--for $5-$10.

I should have bought a few to keep.....

Story of my life.....

Saxon Violence

 

[PulpFaction]

The great thing about rabbits is that when the stars align and all is well and right in the world, they reproduce like....RABBITS!

A pair or Trio, or two pairs just to allow for duds and accidents, should easily be enough to get you through the rest of your life. As you grow your herd from that starting stock, learn to select the best to keep back for breeding stock, learn about line breeding (rabbits tolerate closely related breedings very well for MANY generations if you are careful to cull,) and learn about general care. You will learn SO much valuable information the first year, and most importantly you will learn about YOUR rabbits and YOUR local market for feed and hay and such.

So much of the information you request would be impossible to give anything better than a rough guestimate for because not only will the feed prices vary by location, but your individual rabbits will vary in how much they need to hit butcher age, etc.

Rabbits are one of those things where it helps to read and study, but it helps more to actually HAVE the rabbits when you are reading and studying so you can try things and apply things.

 

[currituckbun]

May I add that you may want to take the time to get pedigree meat rabbits. I bought mixed New Zealand/Californian because that is all I could find when I started. I wish I had waited because if I want to sell the rabbits, most people want purebred and not muts. However, if you are positive you just want to eat them, then a tried an true trio of meat muts will get you started pronto and no worries about selling breeding stock to someone else. May I suggest the Silver Fox breed. They are gentle, great meat to bone ratio, and you can't beat the fur. Beautiful.

 

[ottersatin]

-I can remember when you could buy live meat rabbits--ready to eat or breed--for $5-$10.[SV]

Oh yes, I remember that too!
It was back when I first started 1989-1990,
even I sold my rabbits for $5 to $15.00
at that time it was a good price but Rabbit feed
cost only eight dollars for a Hundred pound bag.
Now it's $15.00 for a 50# bag! Quite a difference
in the expense of raising rabbits. We would all go
belly up if we charged what we did 20 years ago.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[iamdrglass]

For my 2 cents, I have 3 NZW senior does, 2 senior Cali does, 1 Cinnamon intermediate doe, 22 -4.5-5.0 fryers. I feed 1 50lb bag a week at 13.99 plus tax. I figure my meat is costing me close to 2.99-3.99 lb rough estimate. (It was closer to 1.99 5 months ago but feed has went up by 25-30%)I will have a bettor number after a few more litters so I can avg out my weight gains over this last year.

I spend 10 min AM 15 PM and putter around weighing, cleaning up on the weekends. I can butcher one now in less than 15min from cage to fridge.

If you are wanting to do it to save money then it all depends on what type of meat prices you currently are paying and how much you are willing to spend on your own health. ( I am not a health nut foodie snob by the way) I just want more control over my family's meat source. If you are trying to produce it cheaper than WALY-WORLD whole chickens then you will have to spend a lot of time gathering wild urban edibles.

Dan

 

[Miss M]

It is wise to look at the investment before jumping in.

I feed Purina Complete at ~$15 per bag, and Alicia Bermuda grass hay at ~$7 per regular bale. If you feed commercial pellets, 16% protein or a little higher, then that is all the rabbits actually need. Hay would be for enrichment (rabbits like chewing) and for gut health (helps prevent impaction). If you feed natural, hay is essential, and so is the addition of salt.

Timothy hay is cost-prohibitive here, as is alfalfa hay. If I recall correctly, alfalfa hay should be fed minimally if it is fed with pellets, as it has a high protein content itself. Fescue is actually quite nutritious and a good forage, but is susceptible to fungal infection that can lead to ergot poisoning (there's a theory that ergot poisoning in grain is what led to the freakishness of the Salem witch hunts -- nasty stuff). That's the only real concern about fescue. Bagasse is a poor source of nutrients, but just fine as a fiber for the rabbits to eat to keep their systems moving. The only concern with bagasse seems to be the dust, but it's supposed to make a great litter and nest box material. Fed with good quality pellets, bagasse would be fine.

(for data, just google things like "rabbits fescue hay" or "rabbits bagasse" or "rabbits fescue toxicity"... stuff like that)

Some people save plenty by getting pellets directly from a local mill, but the ones I've seen have to buy a large quantity and split it with other rabbit breeders. They can get it milled to their specs, though. You can't keep pellets for too terribly long, or the nutritional value starts to drop, and the chances of it going bad increases. The conditions in which they are kept determine how long it will last. I rarely buy more than two bags at a time, because it is so humid here. Another thing to think about with pellets is the ratio of pellets to "fines" -- the dust of pellets and small bits of pellets that are in the bag. Rabbits will not eat fines as a rule, though you can make rabbit treats with them. Cheaper pellets often have a higher percentage of fines, increasing the cost of your feed.

I did the math once, and figured it costs between $1.25 and $1.75 per pound of dressed rabbit for us (depending on when we butcher). I can buy a couple of kinds of meat for less, but cost isn't the only reason we're raising rabbits. We're trying to mitigate the effects of hard times that appear to be approaching. If bad comes to worse, or worse to worst, we can still gather grass clippings and weeds, and kitchen waste. People in the Depression raised meat rabbits like that. The rabbits like fresh grass, and they will eat it dried as well, though it isn't their favorite. St. Augustine grass is far from the best forage, but it isn't bad.

Anyway, we spend about 45 minutes to an hour a day (myself, my mom, and my two kids) on the rabbits, split between late morning and night. This does not include cleaning that my daughter and I do.

I have not taken any rabbits to the vet, but I have also not had any issues serious enough to. If I do in the future, I still will not. I don't have the money for vet bills, nor do I have the room for convalescing rabbits. Most vets don't have experience with rabbits, anyway, and don't know how to properly medicate them. I'd feel better off relying on the advice of the people here.

I have medicated rabbits only when necessary. Ivermectin for fur mites, mineral oil for ear mites, generic athlete's foot cream for a baby bunny who had escaped onto the ground a couple of times and picked up some sort of something on his feet. I have had problems with each of these issues only once, in the 2 1/2 years that we've had rabbits.

Like they say, start small. There is a learning curve, and you don't want to learn on a full rabbitry. A buck and two does is plenty to start with, and I would recommend against anything more than a buck and three does. We started with two rabbits -- a rescued ("freed") buck, and a purchased doe. We raised a buck and a doe from the first litter. We didn't intend to keep the buck (he was our son's favorite, and we were going to find a pet home for him), but kept him when it became obvious that the buck we started with was too much of a gentleman (we kept him as a pet -- he's a wonderful lap bun). His son is a barbarian, which is perfect. Then a work acquaintance of my husband's gave us their two pet does, knowing that the NZW would be a breeder for our meat rabbit herd. She and a little black dwarf had pretty much grown up together. They still share a cage, and the little dwarf acts like an aunt to the NZW's babies. They do fight like sisters occasionally.

It would be good to go for actual meat rabbits, whether purebred or not. You're going to get more meat off of a NZ/Californian/Silver Fox mutt than rabbits sired by a minilop (that buck we rescued). We do fine, but our rabbits don't grow out quite to 5 lbs, no matter how long we wait. I can't complain, though, because we've spent only $20 buying rabbits -- that first doe.

If you plan to sell breeders, though, purebred is probably the way to go.

Okay, I think I've been long-winded enough. :lol: