Canyou make a profit raising Californians for meat and fur?
By and large the rabbit fur market is no longer an option for the small producer. The immature fur of 8 week old rabbits may have been satisfactory and in demand years ago when men wore felt hats produced by rabbit fur. However now the large processors satisfy that current market. Most smaller processors simply discard pelts nowadays. You may decide to try your hand at tanning pelts from older rabbits for your own use. Selling your fryer rabbits to a processor may pay you a profit depending on your costs. As I write this, prices paid to rabbit growers for live fryer rabbits is approximately .85 cents a pound. Given that it takes approximately 16 pounds of feed to raise that 4 pound fryer rabbit you’ll need to consider your costs for feed to determine if a profit can be made. Also consider the costs for housing, caging, transportation to the processor, and utilities before you determine the profitability. Usually, it is not profitable for the small breeder with a few cages to attempt to
