If you own rabbits then you need to know the ways to make money from meat rabbits! We have made quite a bit of money from each of these ways, and I know you can too.
And, be sure you read all the way through because I am guessing you haven’t heard of number 5!
On our homestead, we raise pure New Zealand and pure Californian meat rabbits. And in fact, we don’t just produce meat for our family. We also operate our rabbitry as a business.
We actually make enough money to cover the cost of keeping the rabbits, breaking even, but we also almost always make a profit! All it takes is the ways to make money from your meat rabbits listed below.
Not only is rabbit meat extremely healthy for you but it also is so easy and simple to raise in your backyard. I cover the topic in more detail in this blog post.
If you have chickens in your backyard, then rabbits should be your next step.
We advertise the rabbits and rabbit products on Craiglist and by hanging flyers around town. And, I’m sure word of mouth helps tremendously too.
Let’s check it out…
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Rabbit Meat
The first and most obvious way to earn money and make a profit on your meat rabbits is to sell the rabbit meat.
Rabbit meat often sells for our $10 a pound. It is quite expensive because it is difficult to scale rabbit farming. It is much easier to commercially raise poultry, beef, lamb, and pork so that is what you find the most of in the grocery store. Rabbit meat is considered a delicacy.
Don’t be afraid to charge an adequate amount for your rabbit meat. People are willing to pay for better, more high-quality meat for their diet although sometimes it does take educating the market.
You can butcher on your own property or you bring it to a USDA processing facility. You should test local farmer’s markets and restaurants to see how interested they are in a supply of rabbit meat.
Related Post: How To Buy Meat Rabbit Breeders That Are Healthy And Productive
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Rabbit Hides
Rabbit hides definitely have their own market as well. We often keep these for ourselves but do sell them from time to time.
Etsy.com is a great place to list your rabbit meat but also consider local craft fairs and trade shows as well. They can be used for a variety of purposes and kept in the freezer until you or the customer is ready to tan them.
If you tan the hides yourself, you can charge more per pelt. Test your market locally and research the market online to see what people are expecting for your breed and the color of the hide.
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Rabbit Manure
Rabbit poop is gardener’s gold, as they say! While most manure is considered “hot,” meaning that it will burn your plants if you put fresh manure directly on your garden, rabbit manure is not.
Rabbit manure can be placed straight on a garden and the benefits from it are amazing. There is no need to let it compost overtime before you put it to use.
If you have your own rabbitry then I am guessing that you have a constant supply of rabbit manure, just like we do! We collect the manure from our rabbits very easily. It falls through the wire bottoms of their housing and funnels straight into white pails.
We currently sell our manure for $10 per 5-gallon pail. We could charge more but our rabbits are messy eaters and often a third of the bucket ends up being hay. While that is also great for a garden, it is not what the customer is paying for. So far it has worked out quite well and we have made a huge profit this spring.
Start with setting up a system to collect the manure, snap a picture and list it on craigslist, talk to local gardeners or let the local nurseries know that you have a constant supply, then invite your customers to see your rabbits and win them over!
I’m not sure, but where else can you make a profit on the poop with no little work?! This is one of the best ways to make money from your meat rabbits!
Related Post: 2 Easy Animals Every Homesteader Should Own For Self-Sufficiency
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Baby Rabbits / Kits
Typically, as I describe in this post, you can break even by selling just one kit from each litter. The $40 you sell the kit for covers the cost of feed for the whole litter.
If you sell two kits, then you’ve just made a profit! We have sold so many baby kits for $40 each and it adds up. It makes running a rabbitry completely worth it.
However, most of our customers are looking to start their own rabbitry of meat rabbits themselves. You can’t rely on this to be a stable income unless more and more people are constantly looking to start their own rabbitry, which isn’t always the case.
But, 4-H students and also children love getting little kits as pets. Try advertising it in different ways each time you list your new rabbits for sale to try to touch a new market.
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Rabbit Bones
To our surprise, we have had an interest in artists purchasing our rabbit bones from us. I’m sure you haven’t heard about this money maker before because we certainly hadn’t until recently.
A local artist texted me that they saw my flyer hanging up in the local coffee shop. They asked if they could purchase our rabbit bones after we were done processing them to make artwork. It blew me away.
Here we were just giving these bones to our dogs or throwing them out when there was actually a potential market. We had no idea but are so glad for another stream of income from our meat rabbits.
Be sure to try out this as one of the ways to make money from your meat rabbits!
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Retired Rabbits
Lastly, if you have retired breeders from your rabbitry, then why not find them a good home?
We will probably process our breeders but I know sometimes it’s easy to get attached to them. You’ve had these rabbits for likely two to four years and they have served you well. If you’re like us, then you have named them to tell them apart and even noticed their personality a bit.
If processing your breeders is too hard for you, then have no fear. Often you can sell your breeders to students, children, or even adults as loyal companions. You can share great detail about the rabbit with them and give the rabbit a glorious new life in retirement.
Don’t charge too much for retired meat rabbit breeders. Yes, you have fed them for years and have take care of them, but they have served their purpose. Now, it is simply time to find them a good, loving home.
Well, there you have it! The very best ways to make money from your meat rabbits. Let me know in the comments below, which way will you be trying first?
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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I had no idea artists were using rabbit bones for artwork! That’s super interesting and really shows how creative people are.
I agree – I want to learn more about it!
I have never heard of using rabbit poo for gardens! That is a fabulous idea!!
Very good article, thank you for sharing important informations
You’re welcome!
Yes, it is one of the best fertilizers!
These are some really interesting ideas! I had no clue there could be so many uses.
Yes!