goto bunnyrabbit.com news 2002 issue
1
I Can Only Get $2.00 For a Rabbit!
Dear BUNNYRABBIT.com,
I don't know how you can charge the prices that you do for your rabbits. I
raise rex and lop rabbits and sell them to the pet store in town. They
sell them for $19.95. They call me to say they need more of my rabbis but
say they can only pay me $2.00 each. I don’t know what else to do
with them because I have too many rabbits already. I have sold some for
$5.00 when people come to our house. I love my rabbits and would never be
able to hurt or kill them. I spend a lot of money on feed and hay.
The money I get from the pet store helps pay for the rabbit food. I wouldn't be
able to keep my rabbits without that money. But if I tried to sell them
for the prices you charge, the buyers would never go for that.
What is your secret? Thanks, Marge
Dear Marge,
Raising any animal in a good, clean, safe and healthy environment can be an
expensive business. It is a business if you are breeding to sell the
rabbits for money. The amount of time used to build a barn and cages plus
the time invested in feeding cleaning, breeding, medicating, grooming, checking
the babies and selling rabbits is endless.
The money used to build a barn, build cages, for bowls, water bottles,
feed and the cost of a good pair of breeding rabbits can be enormous.
We have been raising rabbits for over 20 years. We have raised them for several different purposes. Rabbits can be raised for medical research, 4H & FFA projects, food for other animals or humans, pets and for Rabbit Shows. We are now breeding only for shows. We do sell some of our bunnies for pets that may not be the best show quality animals. We sell our pet rabbits for $35. The current price for 5-6 week old meat-pen rabbits is $30. We do have a lot of time and money invested in this business. We hope that if someone pays that much for a pet, it will have a better chance of survival. Hopefully the new owner intends to take care of their new rabbit.
Go to a sanctioned rabbit show; ask a few of the exhibitors
what they charge for their rabbits, especially the ones that win Best of Breed
and Best in Show. The price for any
of our show quality rabbits is based on what we think it would cost to replace
that animal. Some rabbits are very
unique and special to us. We are
sure many other exhibitors we meet feel the same way. Talk to as many other people as you can about what they do
with their rabbits. Ask how much they sell them for to give yourself a good
idea of what the general market is charging.
Since you are doing all the work by housing, breeding and raising your bunnies,
you should be getting at least half of what the feed or pet stores are selling
them for.