6 Keys To Find The Most Profitable Rabbit Breed To Raise On Your Backyard Farm

You want to know what is the most profitable rabbit breed. The answer is you are going to have to do some research. Now don’t freak out on me here.

I will walk you through how to do the research and look up what the most profitable rabbit breeds will cost, how to figure out how much you can charge, and how to grow your rabbitry business.

The main reason I can’t give you a “buy this breed and charge this much” answer is that prices and what you’re going to have to pay to buy your breeding stock it’s going to vary depending on your location.

As you’ve probably figured out by now I raise French Lops. And while here in Ohio, the average price is $150. I have been told on my YouTube channel that in this person’s location out west French Lops are nearly $600.  I would be laughed out of town if I tried to charge that much. The main reason for French Lops being that much out west is there are hardly any French lops out there at all. I get emails and DMs from people ALL THE TIME looking to find or get a French Lop that is closer.

So you see even rabbits have a supply and demand affecting the cost that you are going to pay as well as how much you can make.

This post is all about how to choose the most profitable rabbit breed.

Perceived Value Of The Most Profitable Rabbit Breed

I am giving you this info before I tell you this list of rabbit breeds I think you should check out because it’s important you realize this rabbitry business info before running out and making a purchase. So don’t skip these steps.

I want to talk to you about something that goes along with anything in business. And that is the perceived value. (Which I teach you how to increase in the profitable rabbitry playbook.)

What does that person think they’re getting? How are you going to present your rabbit to a potential buyer so they can see the value they are getting giving them a reason to hand you their cash?

There are different ways that people look at rabbits. They either want a pet, a show rabbit, or something to provide meat for their family. Then there are also the next level pet owners who are someone who wants a pet but like the idea of having a better quality animal and not just a mixed breed.

And then there are also those who do 4-H projects who are a little bit more budget-conscious but are still willing to pay a little bit more to get a rabbit with good confirmation.

Put Yourself In Multiple Buckets For The Most Profit

You have heard the phrase don’t put your eggs into one basket right. Well, the same goes for your rabbitry business.

When you are choosing what breed you want to raise for profit as well as how much you can afford to pay. I want you to think about trying to get your rabbitry to be able to serve multiple buckets of buyers. 

When you are shopping for livestock I want you to ask yourself can this animal help me serve multiple types of buyers.

• Is it good enough to give someone a show-quality rabbit?
• Does it have a good enough temperament to possibly produce pet rabbits that are friendly?
• Could it also work as a 4-H project if you live in the area where that is popular?

You may not be able to reach all of them but I don’t want you to back yourself into one corner either.

A perfect example is a fellow French lop breeder who tends to breed for specific colors instead of choosing the animals she raises based on their confirmation. This causes the people that show French lops to not buy from them because we know that the chances of getting good confirmation from the animals are very slim. So so that person has backed themselves in the corner of appealing only to people who want pets.

Make sense?

You want to be able to have multiple “income streams” essentially in order to help your rabbitry bring income in the long term if one stream or market slows down. 

How To Research The Most Profitable Rabbit Breed

I want you to get your favorite warm drink, your phone or laptop, a pad of paper, and get comfy. Here is how I want you to look up each breed that piques your interest to see how much they cost in your area as well as the surrounding states.

I want you to look up the breed you’re researching plus your location.

It can be a general area or your state it doesn’t have to be your specific town because very likely you will have trouble finding the information you need.

Look A The Private Breeders’ Site

I want you to go to Google and see what shows up are there any websites that look like a person or private breeder owns them, not some Petfinder website?

Go to this private person’s website and look to see how much they are charging. How are they presenting their animals? Are they presenting them as cute pets with flowers and overly decorated backgrounds in the images? This will indicate that they are trying to reach a pet market.

While this is not a bad thing and their prices tend to be higher you don’t know how quickly or how well they are selling these rabbits.

Lots Of That Breed On A Petfinder Site Is Not A Good Sign

 If there are Petfinder-type websites that show up are they actually showing you the breeds you’re looking for. This could be an indicator that there are a lot of those rabbits around and maybe you need to find something else. 

Because remember if a lot of people have this breed there is a lot of supply and probably not as much demand. Good examples of this are Californians, mini lops, and mini Rex. You will find these all over the rabbit rehoming Facebook groups.

Look Up Facebook Pages And Groups

Again we are doing the same by looking up the breed you are researching alongside the location. 

Are there Facebook pages that come up? Have they been posted to in the last 6-12 months? 

Are there a lot of large Facebook groups (at least 1,000 people and it has had at least one post in the last 7 days) representing this breed? 

Most Profitable Rabbit Breeds

Here are the top breeds that I suggest you start researching to decide which breed to raise. I can’t guarantee they are the most profitable for your area this list is a good start. You ultimately are going to have to be the one to decide which rabbit breed will be the most profitable for you. 

They are not in any particular order.

• Continental Giant ( These are not recognized by the ARBA)
• Holland Lop
• French Lop
• English Lop
• Flemish Giant
• English Angora
• French Angora.
• Specific colors of Mini Rex
• Thrianta
• Harlequin (you want to make sure you purchase good quality animals to do this breed otherwise they don’t sell for much)

While these are the breeds I have had or seen the most representation of you should also keep in mind that if you choose to purchase higher quality rabbits you could charge multiple hundreds of dollars for almost any breed if you look for good quality rabbits.

The thing I love about raising show-quality rabbits is you don’t “have to” show them much or at all in order for them to be show quality. You aren’t losing anything by not going to shows. Each rabbit is judged on its own standing and the way they look that day on the show table. 

However, this does require you to learn that breeds conformation WELL! 

Here is where you can look at all of the recognized rabbit breeds from the American Rabbit Breeders Association and see which ones you like most.

The simplest way to find out how much a breed cost is to join a breed group and simply ask how much you can expect to pay for a nice quality show rabbit.

The Key To Selling The Most Profitable Rabbit Breed

While it might seem that if you buy an expensive rabbit breed you should be able to sell them for just as much, this isn’t always the case.

The key to selling anything is presenting yourself well, looking professional, and being well-educated on the subject.

Also being willing to show yourself online to your potential buyers so they can make a personal connection with you and your rabbits. This doesn’t mean you have to become an Instagram influencer or an online personality. But you are going to see more success if you are not hiding behind a logo or pictures of your rabbits and only post when you have rabbits for sale.

If you want to learn more about starting a rabbitry business make sure to check out my Profitable Rabbitry Playbook to learn everything you need to know about making money in your rabbitry.

Grow Your Rabbitry Slow

Even if you have the cash to buy 5,10, or 15 animals I don’t want you to go out and buy all the rabbits that you can. People don’t know you’re rabbit exists. You have to get them to pay attention to you and learn to trust you before they are willing to pay you money. 

Start a trio (one buck and two does that are not related to the male) and breed those two and keep one doe from each litter. 

Trade out the buck for another and doe the same with the four does you have. Growing your herd to the number you plan on keeping it at. 

A large number of rabbits does not always mean more profits. I have 9-12 rabbits at a time and have a multiple four-figure rabbitry.

So you see the importance of being careful and growing intentionally. 

The next thing you need to think about while choosing the breed of rabbits to raise is the housing. There are some key factors for your herd to remain healthy and producing well. So head on over and check out this post.