Catalaya's Rabbitry has been getting a lot of questions about raising rabbits for meat and wether
or not it's cost effective so I would like to break it down a bit for everyone.
First optimum butcher weight is between 3-5 pound per rabbit so for our purposes we will use 4 pound per rabbit. In our rabbitry we average 8 kits per litter and each doe has 6 litters per year. So if you breed just one doe a year she will produce approx 48 kits with each of those kits giving you 4 pounds of meat that is 192 pounds of meat a year from ONE doe. Two does would give you double that amount (384 pounds). Now consider the fertilizer you get from each of these rabbits come spring people will be knocking down your door to get some if you sell it we personally use it in our own garden and make bricks to burn for heat. Another consideration is tanning the rabbit hides which is a lot easier than you think. These can either be sold or made into hats, mittens, blakets, etc If you have dogs they will love eating the heart, liver kidneys and it will cut back on food cost.
Don't forget to consider the expenses though! The biggest expense you will find is going to be cages at startup. If your handy you can make your own pretty cheap or look at other rabbitry's for some good used cages. The second biggest expense will be in feed costs. We buy in bulk but be careful not to buy
too much ahead just like any food its quality will decline the older it gets.
So far this year we are a few hundred dollars ahead money wise but if we considered the amount of food we've gotten for our family to eat this year we would be around a $1,000 or more ahead. So to us not only is raising rabbits a hobby but also puts good quality food on our table
or not it's cost effective so I would like to break it down a bit for everyone.
First optimum butcher weight is between 3-5 pound per rabbit so for our purposes we will use 4 pound per rabbit. In our rabbitry we average 8 kits per litter and each doe has 6 litters per year. So if you breed just one doe a year she will produce approx 48 kits with each of those kits giving you 4 pounds of meat that is 192 pounds of meat a year from ONE doe. Two does would give you double that amount (384 pounds). Now consider the fertilizer you get from each of these rabbits come spring people will be knocking down your door to get some if you sell it we personally use it in our own garden and make bricks to burn for heat. Another consideration is tanning the rabbit hides which is a lot easier than you think. These can either be sold or made into hats, mittens, blakets, etc If you have dogs they will love eating the heart, liver kidneys and it will cut back on food cost.
Don't forget to consider the expenses though! The biggest expense you will find is going to be cages at startup. If your handy you can make your own pretty cheap or look at other rabbitry's for some good used cages. The second biggest expense will be in feed costs. We buy in bulk but be careful not to buy
too much ahead just like any food its quality will decline the older it gets.
So far this year we are a few hundred dollars ahead money wise but if we considered the amount of food we've gotten for our family to eat this year we would be around a $1,000 or more ahead. So to us not only is raising rabbits a hobby but also puts good quality food on our table