How many of you have bred rabbits and how much would you sell baby rabbits for?

Question

My husband is going to let me breed rabbits. I've had 6 rabbits of my own before and am just wondering what type is the best to breed.

Answer 1

Twenty-five dollars seems to be the going price for decent young purebreds, but pay attention to the market. You'll have to market your rabbits well. If you start with good stock, make good breeding choices, and your rabbits do well on the show table, you might be able to command higher prices, to the right buyers. People probably won't be willing to pay as much for pets. It might help to sort the kittens into show and pet grades before you meet a buyer. Be sure to contact pet stores and 4-H groups, and look for local advertising opportunities. Advertising is critical.
As for which breed, go to a rabbit show and ask. You'll get to make contacts with breeders you'll buy your breeding stock from, get advice, and get to research which breeds interest you.
Of course, most rabbit breeders will advise you to go with their own breed, but you could ask them for their second choice.
If you're breeding for pets, you're looking for a smallish, attractive rabbit that comes in lovely colors. Mini lops, mini rexes, and dutches spring to mind.
Avoid dwarf breeds. Because of the way dwarfing is inherited, only half of each litter will be showable dwarfs. The others will be normal-sized babies, which put the mother under great strain during delivery, and "peanuts," which are tiny rabbits that emerge stillborn or die quickly. Furthermore, dwarf breeds, like other small rabbits, have small litters. Breeding them is slow and dangerous, unless you plan to use one of those normal babies as a breeding doe. Then it's just slow, since half the offspring will be dwarf and the other half normal, but the doe will be large enough to deliver the normal babies without trouble.
Large breeds eat more and need larger hutches, so they're more expensive to keep. They also have larger litters: seven to nine, sometimes more. You'll want a large breed if you plan to raise them for meat or fur: New Zealand White, Satin, Standard Rex, or Californian. For meat, choose a breed with a round teardrop shape when they sit crouched down. Other breeds are too bony to be worthwhile.
Giant breeds eat a ton. Unless you're breeding for very large furs, you'd only want one of them, for a pet.
For show, choose a breed with a medium-small following in your area. It's a strategy: you don't want to see each of your rabbits competing against fifty others of their breed in every show, but you don't want them to be all alone on the table. For sanity's sake, don't pick a large breed, which needs a lot of food and space, or one with special needs like an angora, which needs frequent brushing---for the whole rabbitry.
Good luck!
I've always wanted to breed Silver Martens.

Answer 2

The best type to breed would definately be the ones that are more friendly in nature and docile, not the bad tempered ones. Breed healthy rabbits to prevent bad genes down to the offspring.

I would suggest breeding from this list:

Mini Rex, Mini Lop, Holland Lop, English Spot, Rex, Dutch

Of course there are more rabbits you can breed.. I only gave you a few examples..

I would suggest selling rabbits at 8 weeks old for a price of $15-$50. The average price of a rabbit is $25-$30.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I would never breed rabbits. There are too many in shelters or sitting in cold outside hutches at some feed store, awaiting an unknown fate should they not be purchased quickly enough. Go to www.petfinder.com and look for rabbits in your area. After seeing how many homeless ones there are... you will hopefully reconsider.

Answer 4

I breed, and I sell for $12 a pound.

Answer 5

I have only had experience with mini-lops. Of course, it wasnt planned... Smokey suddenly became "Smokette". HA HA
You can get them in the store for around $15. In newspapers, they can go for $5.00.
Good luck!

Answer 6

20$ a bunny.. but thats soo sad you are going to break mom bunny's heart by selling her children