selling Jersey Woolies....

[tm_bunnyloft]

I have a person interested in buying an adult pair of my Jersey Woolies. The pointed white pair actually. I am only asking $50 for the pair because I just want to get them sold. I wish she would take both pairs and be done with it.

I will probably keep the seal marten buck for a pet because he is super sweet and I am a bit attached to him. And then I am looking to buy a couple English Angoras for show and for pets. Thats it.

No more breeding for me. I don't like trying to sell the kits and I definitely don't like to cull them so its just not working out for me. I am lucky if I can get $10 for an 8 week old bunny and it costs way more than that to keep and breed bunnies. But truthfully its not the cost that is the problem. Its not being able to sell the kits.

I have 9 kits right now that I will probably end up giving away just to move them out.

Nope breeding rabbits is just not for me.

 

[skysthelimit]

That is a big problem for me. It's a pain to sell, very little market, and when I do, it's from some other place, where it cost me to go out and meet the person, basically absorbing what I make. Better for me just to cull what I have for my own purposes.

 

[Duckcomando]

The problem you are having is exactly why I went with meat rabbits as my breed. What you can't sell can be sent to freezer camp and the exceptional ones can be shown. I like some of the other breeds but the problem with finding a buyer was something I wasn't really wanting to deal with. I will list some of the kits on craigslist when we have some but after 10 weeks of age if they are not sold its the freezer camp.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Thats just the thing. I got rid of the meat rabbits because I didn't like doing the butchering. But I am finding I like being stuck with kits even less.

I am selling 4 of them at $10 each just to move them. And hoping to hear back on the pair of french angoras. If I get them I would only breed them to expand my herd for wool. No sell and no cull. Sounds good to me.

 

[Peach]

I normally have a pretty good market. More people have been going for the $10 rabbits recently, but on the flip side, I don't have a problem with putting them in the freezer if they don't sell. Mini Lops have a commercial body style, so they dress out well. It stinks when people go for poor quality over good quality. Though my pet prices are only $5 above the pet store price(Pet store price is $40), I cut out people that want something for nothing for the most part. I recently been noticing "breeders" in my area have started calling what they sell "show quality" after seeing how my ads are set up. They haven't been to a show a day in their lives and wouldn't know what breed they have in front of them. Guess they aren't having good sales either,since they seem to be trying to keep up with me and I haven't sold much recently!

You know what I find really hard to sell? Steels. I don't like them and most pet people don't either!

 

[heb]

The trick is patience. A lot of breeders want to immediately move out their rabbits as soon as they decide to sell them. It doesn't work like that unless you are a well known breeder or the rabbits are just spectacular and in demand. I have found that the inquires come in waves. You won't have any for a while, and then you will get a bunch at one time. I also know that Jersey Woolies are one of the hardest breeds to sell. Everyone is scared of the wool for one reason or another. Maybe try a more in demand breed and having fewer litters? I hate to see you totally get out of breeding if you really love it.

 

[Peach]

I hope you get things on the move,but I agree with Hebs, I know that Woolies don't sell as well as most breeds, but maybe a breed that does? Netherlands? Hollands? Goodness....get so many request for hollands!

 

[Oceanrose]

You can also change how you breed. Breed 1 doe at a time, sell those, then breed another. Yes, there's a chance you'll lose babies but you won't be so overrun. I agree with the bunnies in waves thing. Also, setting up some kind of website is really good. I have a blog, and currently have people emailing me to see if I have rabbits for sale. I've also always had the best luck going to shows to sell. I bred 1 doe for Spring shows, and will see if I can sell the babies at the March show. Anything that is spectacular or that I don't sell, will be taken to NARBC national in Reno in May when they'll be 4 month old Jr's. That is if I get anything, she's due in 5 days. If she doesn't, I'll breed 2 does for the summer, aiming for fiber festivals to sell at.

 

[skysthelimit]

People want hollands around here, they don't want to pay much, but they want them. The trouble is, because they are the hardest to breed, and have the least amount of kits, I want more for them them what they want' I'd rather cull a holland than sell one for $10. not after all of the trouble I went through. If I could get your Woolys here, I'd take them. I wonder how many Woolys I'd need to equal one angora?

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I found a pair of French Angoras for $20 that I am hoping to get. Will find out tomorrow. I want to learn to hand spin the wool. I love crafts and crochet. Will have to learn to knit too.

Sky If only there was a way......I would consider Holland lops but that's an awful lot of work for $5 per kit.

I wont get out of rabbits completely. I love them too much. Besides the kids still have their FG mutt pets.

It looks like 5 of the wooly bucks are going to a new pet home. That helps allot. The person that was interested in the SR pair happens to be a kid so thats a no sale.<br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:01 am __________<br /><br />Sky I wish you could get both my SR pairs. They are a decent start to a shaded program. And you can feed your culls to your dogs so it would work for you.

 

[Oceanrose]

Whatever angora you get, watch for wool quality. They should have good crimp, and not mat. There are a LOT of bad quality angoras out there. This is a link to one person I know from another site who is somewhere around Indiana. She has a couple older babies available, and if she's too far away, she'd know of others. http://www.heartsongrabbitry.com/rabbits-for-sale.html Fiber is really addicting . I love that my bunnies produce fiber and manure even when I'm not breeding them. Though my personal love is the Satin Angora, just can not beat their fiber!

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I have yet to work with the fiber but I am looking forward to learning. I was under the impression that satin angora fiber was harder to work with. Read it somewhere.... Is that true?
Thank you for the link.

 

[BlueLove16]

I got good quality show bunnies with the plans of selling to show people...4H is big here and if anything the french are good for meat...specially my big brick doe. 7.5 months are 13.04lbs! i dont plan to sell too much into the pet market, but with the tri in my herd, i am hoping for harlis and tris which are rare in fench lops so would be sought after pet wise. hopefully.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I wish you the best of luck with your plans. It works for allot of people, just not for me. I am more switching breeds and focus really. I have some family pets we are keeping and I am getting a few angoras for my own use for fiber. If I breed any that dont sell or we dont want to keep ny husband can send to FC. But I am looking at a pair. Thats it.

5 kits are leaving Monday. Now to find homes for my breeders. <br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 29, 2012 9:27 pm __________<br /><br />I have found 4 French Angora breeders within 2 hours of me. Now to sit and wait for replies to my inquiries. I hope I can find what I am looking for fairly quickly.

 

[Oceanrose]

I have yet to work with the fiber but I am looking forward to learning. I was under the impression that satin angora fiber was harder to work with. Read it somewhere.... Is that true?
Thank you for the link.

Satin Angora is slightly slicker, due to the shine. It has a beautiful feel and drape. French has the most guard hairs, though I've heard some people say germans are worse. When you're learning, it's easier to learn on wool because wool tends to want to be spun. Then you can blend your angora with wool or alpaca. I like spinning it straight though. I'll get some photos of my yarn .

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Thank you. That would be great. I will have to find some wool or alpaca to work with before trying the angora. Have you used a mother Marion kick wheel? It seems like a really neat spinning wheel.<br /><br />__________ Sun Dec 30, 2012 1:43 pm __________<br /><br />How are English Angoras for spinning fiber? It looks like I may have found a pair of REW kits that would be available in February. And at what age are you usually able to start harvesting wool?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good luck with your "large wooly" project!

I can't wait to see your new bunnies!

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Thanks MSD.....The litter was born december 19th so wont be ready till february 20th. I am hoping for a pair or two does. I can always find a buck elsewhere.

 

[owlsfriend]

I only know with the rabbits I have....my rescue SAs seem to have some EA mix...very easily matted. The EA fiber is so fine, like toddler human hair, that it needs more frequent combing. My pedigree SAs are easy care, and I can go a week without grooming and still not notice the difference. Hope the SA breeding on Christmas worked....one was a lightening fast, blink and you missed it twice in two minutes....the other was an hour long hit or miss, with the doe mostly sitting on her tail....

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I would like to get a satin and a french too I think. I am setting up our finished basement for the angoras because there will only be a few and it will be temp controlled.
I heard that crosses mat easily. I hope that every other day blow out works for them.