Wow, thanks for the insight ........... makes it sound like a pretty expensive option.

... and that's not including the start up costs (buying the breeding rabbits, cages, dishes, hutches, nestbox...) .. plus your time of caring for and feeding them (I always factor my time into the financials.

I'm so glad this topic has been raised. I'm currently raising rabbits to supplement the raw diet. I've got 3 does and one buck (and 2 dogs). So far, the costs don't seem to be too bad at all...although I admit I've only being doing it for a few months now.

I'm lucky in that I have a husband who can build and weld the cages and racks so our start up costs haven't been very significant. The rabbits cost no more than $10 each. So far I'm finding it cheaper to feed rabbits than it was to feed dogs the non-rabbit meat diet.

I didn't want to start out with too many rabbits until I could get a feel for the whole process and I don't think I'm experienced enough to go exclusive with them yet. But I'm actually enjoying raising the rabbits and I feel good about how they're being treated, raised and euthanized. And I feel great about feeding such a high quality diet for the dogs.

I have been told by a few people that rabbits are TOO lean to feed exclusively, and that fat needs to be added if that's their main food source. I'm not quite sure I buy that, but if anyone has any opinions on that I'd love to hear them.

So, if it's $8.15/rabbit, @ 5lbs /ea, you're looking at around $1.60/pnd? That can't be right. I can get chicken thighs cheaper and I dont' have to kill anything

Do you know anything about zoning laws as far as raising rabbits? I can't imagine they're particularly loud animals, but would they count as 'livestock' ?

Having skinned rabbits a time or two, there is a definitely a degree of fat on under the skin. It doesn't seem to be a summarily fatty skin, like chicken though.

I would hazard a guess that the proportion of fat would be just a bit too low.

Since I don't raise them, I don't know, however, how much control YOU'd have over how much fat they put on, or how much food that would take. Might make the feed conversion kinda crappy.

WOW, Melissa, thank you so much for the overview and analysis (however general) of raising rabbits for food! And Amber, congrats on taking the task on for yourself as well - Carbon and Farley must be in heaven!

Even if the cost doesn't bottom out lower than what I could buy through a supplier, the idea of feeding such a clean, healthy meat - and knowing how the animal lived and died - is extremely attractive to me and I'm definitely going to consider raising my own animals once I have a house and yard. I've thought about raising chickens as well, though they're not nearly as adorable as bunnies. Either way, I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding rabbit or chicken exclusively, as protein variety is pretty important to me.

What a great thread...

~Natalya

 Quote: david eagle

So, if it's $8.15/rabbit, @ 5lbs /ea, you're looking at around $1.60/pnd? That can't be right. I can get chicken thighs cheaper and I dont' have to kill anything

Do you know anything about zoning laws as far as raising rabbits? I can't imagine they're particularly loud animals, but would they count as 'livestock' ?

David, I haven't found it to be anywhere near that expensive. Maybe it's just that I'm not doing it that large-scale just yet, or maybe I'm just lucky in keeping start-up costs down. I haven't been really zealous about keeping track of the costs, so I can't give you an exact figure but I'll start keeping better track so that we can get a range of different people's experiences.

In many states, rabbits are actually listed as "poultry" as far as regulations go. Weird, but true. I'm not required to notify anyone about my bunny breeding, but I live in a rural area, so I don't know how that applies to cities.

And Natalya, I am really happy with how it's going so far! I don't feed bunnies exclusively yet, but my goal is to have them as the main base. Prior to this, my dog's "base" food was chicken, but I think rabbit is much more of a natural food base (as are mice) with occassional large game thrown in, and some occassional fowl and eggs, etc. Luckily, I don't have to raise the chicken as some people in my area do that for me! At any rate, I do have a MUCH higher level of confidence in the meat my dogs are eating...and I just feel better about it on an ethical level, too, because I know how the animals live and die. I really wanted to get away from all the weird things that can go along with factory farming. Also, you can't get much fresher than a bunny that you raise yourself!

Also, rabbit poo is a great fertilizer and people actually beg me to take it! Some other people grow fishing worms in it. I thought that would be a big issue, but it's really not. Also, we have a barn that we keep the bunnies in, so coyotes and such aren't as big of a worry as they are for some people.

this may sound odd, but my dogs LOVE to eat our bunnies droppings and Ive let them because I assume its a source of fiber and such, like greens.

so, how are the rabbits butchered? (or euthinized...) sounds morbid I suppose but thats the only thing really keeping me from starting breeding them; dont know if I could make myself.