Allen
Member
For me success would be growing/raising food for lower cost than buying it in the store and/or being less dependent and more self-sustaining. Please review below my calculated cost for raising rabbits on purchased pellets from what info I have read, I have no experience in raising rabbits.
Pregnant or nursing doe eats 6.7% of body weight or 10.7 oz pellets/day
Mature rabbit not nursing eats 3.8% of body weight or 6.1 oz pellets/day
So one buck and two pregnant/nursing does consume 10.7 x 2 + 6.1 = 27.5 oz pellets/day = 1.72 lb./day
If everything goes like clockwork you can raise one litter every 10 weeks for each doe. Using 5lb as the rabbit weight at 10 weeks and two litters of 8 kits you should have 80 lb of live rabbits and 40 lb of meat at 10 weeks.
Feed for the buck and two does for 10 weeks is:
70 days x 1.72 = 120.4 lb.
Feed for the litters:
Feed conversion efficiency 3.5:1 so 40 lb of meat x 3.5 lb of feed/lb of meat = 140 lb of feed
Total feed for 10 week period:
120.4 + 140 = 260.4 lb.
Cost for feed:
Purina rabbit chow $18 + tax = $19.80/50 lb bag (Tractor Supply cost)
260.4 lb feed x $19.80/50lb. = $103.12
Cost of meat per pound:
$103.12/40lb. = $2.58/lb.
This cost of $2.58 lb. assumes everything goes perfectly which I assume will not happen.
You can buy chicken in the store for $.88 per pound when it is on sale or about twice that normally.
So it looks like you cannot win using pellets. I would be happy if someone can point out how I am wrong because I would like to make this work.
Thanks,
Allen
Pregnant or nursing doe eats 6.7% of body weight or 10.7 oz pellets/day
Mature rabbit not nursing eats 3.8% of body weight or 6.1 oz pellets/day
So one buck and two pregnant/nursing does consume 10.7 x 2 + 6.1 = 27.5 oz pellets/day = 1.72 lb./day
If everything goes like clockwork you can raise one litter every 10 weeks for each doe. Using 5lb as the rabbit weight at 10 weeks and two litters of 8 kits you should have 80 lb of live rabbits and 40 lb of meat at 10 weeks.
Feed for the buck and two does for 10 weeks is:
70 days x 1.72 = 120.4 lb.
Feed for the litters:
Feed conversion efficiency 3.5:1 so 40 lb of meat x 3.5 lb of feed/lb of meat = 140 lb of feed
Total feed for 10 week period:
120.4 + 140 = 260.4 lb.
Cost for feed:
Purina rabbit chow $18 + tax = $19.80/50 lb bag (Tractor Supply cost)
260.4 lb feed x $19.80/50lb. = $103.12
Cost of meat per pound:
$103.12/40lb. = $2.58/lb.
This cost of $2.58 lb. assumes everything goes perfectly which I assume will not happen.
You can buy chicken in the store for $.88 per pound when it is on sale or about twice that normally.
So it looks like you cannot win using pellets. I would be happy if someone can point out how I am wrong because I would like to make this work.
Thanks,
Allen