Breeding rabbits is a good venture. Aside from being able to breed your pets on your own, you can also offer your expertise and service to others and make money.
Becoming a rabbit breeder is not easy as you have a lot of things to consider before you can get started. Success is difficult to attain, except when you define your concept of success.
To help you get started, here are the things you need to consider and the steps you need to take to become an efficient and successful rabbit breeder:
Your Potential Profit in Breeding Rabbits
Breeding rabbits is more of a passion instead of a source of income. Most of the money that you can make in breeding rabbits will go to the necessary equipment, food, cage, medicines, veterinary bills, and other things you require to become a successful breeder. It may be difficult, but you will eventually learn how to maximize your income while you’re gaining more experience and knowledge in breeding rabbits.
Breeding Different Breeds of Rabbits
How many breeds should you raise? The answer will depend on you. Most breeders specialize in some breeds of rabbits while others focus on some special breeds only for their personal preferences. As you pursue this new passion, you have to acquire more and more healthy adult rabbits.
However, be extra careful when crossing different breeds of rabbits unless one of those breeds has traits that can help improve the traits of the other breed. Take the lion heads as an example. This is a developing breed as of the moment. Breeders mix it with some breeds like the Netherland Dwarfs to get stockier bodies, shorter ears, and other prominent physical traits. Lionheads are not a perfect match for other established breeds.
In breeding different rabbit breeds, you have to learn more about each breed before you move forward. Enrich your mind with more knowledge and in-depth understanding.
Registering Your Rabbitry
Visit the official website of ARBA and secure a form. You may also fill the provided online form to begin. Registering your rabbitry is not a requirement, but your name will be included in the list of the national breeders that will be shown to people who need help in breeding rabbits. This may help you gain better exposure, which means more clients to come.
Also, you don’t have to register your rabbitry with the state. As of now, the state governments don’t require the rabbit breeders to register their business and get a license. However, it may change based on the result of the planned congress PAWS bill.
Costs Associated in Running a Rabbitry
The costs associated with starting and running this kind of business may differ depending on the size and your location. If you want to register your rabbitry to ARBA, then you may get it done for just $10-20.
Aside from the registration, you also need to spend money for the shelter of your rabbits. You may keep them inside your home, but this will no longer be a great decision in the long run as their population increases. Buy two or more cages for the rabbits. Each cage may cost anywhere between $15-70, depending on the size and newness. A cage can be more expensive if it comes with solid sides or a drop fan.
Your expenses for your rabbitry also cover the food of your pets and their bedding. The rabbits won’t need bedding if you have a flushkeen waste system or anything else that is easy to clean.
Of course, you need to be sure of your rabbits’ health where the veterinary bills come in. Not only that. You will be spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on medicines and other special care products.
Naming the Prices of Your Rabbits
In most cases, rabbit breeders offer their rabbits at a lower price compared to pet stores. Also, the rabbits produced by breeders are much healthier than the ones sold by the pet stores. If you own special or rare breeds, then you may offer them at more expensive rates.
A lot of breeders adjust the pricing of their rabbits depending on the overall quality of the animals. They even make the prices more reasonable to 4-Hers or FFA members by giving them discounts.
Discounts for breedables and discounts for the broods are no longer necessary. As said before, most rabbit breeders are just hobbyists who entered this field not to make money but to offer quality rabbits to other people who are passionate about these clever creatures, too.
Steps to Get Started in Breeding Rabbits
#1. Do Your Homework
Rabbit raisers who dedicate their time to research carefully about rabbits are more likely to succeed than those who don’t. You are lucky if you have a friend who has been breeding rabbits as you can get tips from him or her. Don’t fret if you do not have one.
You may learn more about breeding rabbits by exploring the available resources on the web. Read and read to learn and enrich your mind with the basics of breeding rabbits. This will help you a lot in getting started.
#2. Choose Your Rabbit Breed
When you’re done with your research and learned how to get started, your next move is to buy a rabbit breed that will match your needs and the purpose of your rabbitry. Look for the top-rated and most recommended rabbit breeds depending on your breeding purpose.
#3. Purchase the Necessary Rabbit Breeding Supplies
After choosing a breed of rabbit, you must give enough time to buy and gather all the necessary materials and supplies in breeding rabbits. These products are widely available on the web, so you should not struggle to find the right breeding supplies. But before you buy, consider first the size of your rabbits. For example, some rabbit breeds are bigger than others, which means they need a larger cage.
#4. Look for a Rabbit Breeder
Get your first pair of rabbits from a reliable breeder, not from a pet store. As said before, you can be more certain of the overall quality of the rabbits if you get them from a breeder. You may use the online directory websites to make it easier. These websites aim to help people in searching for the local rabbit breeders near them. You can also search for a reputable breeder by breed.
#5. Buy Your Rabbits and Begin
You’re now ready. Get your first pair of healthy adult rabbits and start breeding them!
Breeding Rabbits
Don’t force the rabbits to breed as often as they can. These animals may get pregnant on the day they got their litters. So, you have to buy a separate cage for the bucks. If the females are weaning their litter, then you should not try to rebreed them unless they are already done with their babies. You may get another female to be a foster parent for the litters, though.
You can breed your female rabbits for as long as they stay healthy and in good weight. The frequency of breeding will always depend on the mothers and their condition. Prioritize the comfort and safety of your pets. As far as the bucks are eager to mate, you may continue breeding them to different females per day. Ideally, the bucks can mate with up to 3 females in a day.
