I have given a few select friends some of the rabbit I harvest for myself. (I say “select” only because some people just do not understand why you would eat rabbit.) I was asked today about the cost of raising a rabbit. Apparently, the person asking was impressed with the quality and taste of the rabbit I had given them to try, and they were wondering if it were feasible for them to do it themselves.

Cost is always something I look at, if for no other reason than I can use it as a bargaining chip when trying to do “something else” that Liz will resist. She may not understand why, for instance, I would want a barrel with fish in the back yard, but she understands saving money (more shoes for her!)

Like any question, there is a long answer and a short answer.

The short answer is about $5 per animal, depending on harvest age. The breakdown:

• 50 lbs of feed is $18.
• Cost per daily serving of 5 ounces is about $0.12
• Figuring about six weeks of feed per animal gives $5.04

The long answer is $26.40+ per animal. The breakdown:

• $5.04 in feed. (50 lbs of feed is $18. 95% yield on each bag, as feed dust is not consumable by rabbits. Daily serving of 5 ounces is about $0.12. Each animals takes about 6 weeks of feed over an 8 week lifespan, less initially while nursing, but more when they are older and fully weaned)
• $8.30 in labor. (Labor rate is $25 per hour. Birth to harvest is 8 weeks. 10 minutes per day gives 9.3 hours. Current harvestable rabbit count is 28. Therefore, each harvestable rabbit requires .33 hours of my labor over its lifespan.)
• $0.56 in cage space. (Cages have a 1-2 year lifespan. Each costs about $45. Assuming a 2 year life, each weeks costs $0.43, divided by an average litter size of 6 gives $0.07 per week per harvestable animal. Multiplied by an 8 week lifespan.)
• $12.50 in labor for end of cycle processing. (Factoring in the 30 minutes of time it takes me to dispatch, dress, chill, quarter and package each animal)
• This does not factor in the cost for purchasing the buck and doe, housing and feeding each, or any general maintenance for the rabbitry, the animals health, electricity for water, gas and time for purchasing rabbitry items, or research time for any issues that I may have.

So why do I do it? Given that a dress-out weight is around 3 pounds of meat, this makes rabbit cost about $8.80 per pound. More, if all other factors get figured in. But how can I put a price on the quality of the end product, or the knowledge that I had control over the entire process, so I know where my food originates. This has been a major question all farmers that do not use mass-production methods have to ask themselves.

Realistically, I don’t count my labor. Start-up costs are also not factored in. In truth, I figure each rabbit costs about $5 to raise, and that’s a pretty good price for the end product, in my opinion.

Another factor not mentioned yet is that in times of trouble, should we need more food, I have a high quality source of animal protein from conception to table in about 12 weeks. Since I’m already in production, I have a steady supply that can be ramped up with little notice, and should there be too much, I simply harvest the excess. Canning rabbit is on my to-do list (after the mullet, of course), and I’ve already made lots of rabbit jerky. Part of my preparations for bad times is not only storing food, but producing my own. No work? No problem! Rabbit, it’s what’s for dinner!                (Yes, again!)

Ultimately, someone tried one of my rabbits and enjoyed it so much that they wanted to know not only if it were possible to get more, but if it were cost effective for them to do it themselves vs paying me for more. This tells me that it is worth it. So here is my entire article spun MasterCard style:

Cage space – $0.56
Feed for 8 weeks – $5.04
8 weeks of labor to raise each – $8.30
Labor to harvest and process –  $12.50
Having someone ask me how they can get more – Priceless

 Notes:

• I borrowed the picture from Hank Shaw’s post on “How to Cut Up a Rabbit” – a very informative article on the process. Thanks to Hank for putting the effort in. Photo by Holly A. Heyser

• While on the subject of dressing a rabbit, this video is a remarkable feat of knife work. I tried it once, and not only did it take me 45 minutes vs his 5, mine was far less pretty when done. Craziness! This is a video I’ve sent to some of my friends, and when I started thinking about this blog, I KNEW  that I’d be posting this video.