Rabbits are not only valuable fur, but also... 1,000,000 rubles a year. Practical guide to breeding and marketing rabbits

There are probably no farmers, both established and those just beginning their journey in agriculture, who would not pay attention to rabbit breeding. Getting acquainted with business plans for breeding rabbits, the profitability of even small farms is simply amazing.

For example, a farm with 100 female rabbits can bring the owner 100–150 thousand rubles. every 1.5 months, and this, “for a minute,” is about one million a year. Moreover, such a business can be located on its 10 acres, without damage to the garden. By the way, biological waste from the farm is one of the best fertilizers for plants.

Rabbit meat is so valuable in its composition that it is actively used in the preparation of baby food, so it is not a shame to feed your family with such a product, and it is pleasant to sell. Therefore, today’s guest of the magazine Reconomica , considering the possibilities for making money on his farm five years ago, had no doubt at all what he would do.

Requirements

1. We buy rabbits by live weight - there is no need to slaughter rabbits. Our veterinarian must examine the rabbits and make sure that they are healthy and that the meat is not dangerous to health. We are strict
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2. Rabbits weigh from 2.8 kilograms live weight. A little less is possible, no big deal.
3. Breed, gender and age do not matter. Rabbits are needed for meat, not for breeding.
4. Rabbits should not be pregnant. Not only is it unethical to slaughter pregnant rabbits, but pregnancy also gives them extra weight, which we end up paying for.
5. Rabbits must be healthy . No ulcers, wet noses, lichens, etc. The rabbits are examined by a veterinarian.
6. Minor physical injuries that do not affect the quality of the meat (for example, half an ear missing or a broken leg) do not matter.

Our farm complies with all veterinary standards and regulations. Each batch of rabbits is checked by veterinarians within 3-7 days.

Don’t even think about deceiving us and assuring us that the rabbits are healthy!

Firstly, our rabbit farm has existed for 12 years - we know how to determine whether a rabbit is healthy. Secondly, traces of treatment and vaccination (marks) remain on the body for up to six months - we can recognize them. Thirdly, even if you trick us, you won’t fool the veterinarians for sure.

Sale

Friends, having learned about our farm, asked to try pure rabbit meat. And then they started buying. So we decided to sell the surplus, because long-eared pets reproduce quickly, and space in the freezer is limited.

In our region they sell rabbit meat for 330-400 rubles per kg. We raised the price tag for our meat to 500 rubles per kg, since we don’t even use compound feed to eliminate hormones in the diet. One rabbit costs about 1000 rubles.

By selling 10 carcasses a month, you can provide your family with significant additional income. 12 females and a couple of males are enough to support such production volumes.

It is possible to expand the business, but the question is implementation. The demand for rabbit meat is not particularly high, since the meat is expensive, although dietary.

Keeping pets vertically saves space on the property

Stores offer cheap chicken, loaded with antibiotics and hormones. It is soft and cooks quickly. And rabbit meat needs to be simmered. Therefore, consumer preference comes down to cheap meat in the store.

We found buyers among people interested in health and provided with the means to do so. They learn about us through word of mouth - from acquaintance to acquaintance, we did not give any advertisements.

We also sell rabbits. Month-old babies cost 100 rubles. a piece. An adult sexually mature individual is sold at a price of 1200-1500 rubles. More often, females are taken for brood, and males remain for fattening.

This year we decided to legalize relations with the tax authorities. I registered as self-employed and pay 6% of my income.

Number and regions

1. We are ready to buy up to 200 rabbits at a time, but there are a number of exceptions to this rule.
2. We have our own farm and our own rabbits. We buy rabbits from the population because we do not have enough of our own resources to service stores, restaurants and individuals. If we have our own rabbits and there is a sufficient number of them, then we first of all sell our rabbits, and only then buy them from third parties.
3. Our farm is not rubber - there is limited space for rabbits and we will not buy rabbits if our farm is currently completely full.
4. We buy rabbits from everyone, but first of all we buy rabbits from those who gave us rabbits before. We can say that we have a “queue for change.”
5. We accept rabbits from all over Russia, but we give preference to the regions closest to Nizhny Novgorod (Tatarstan, Ivanovo, Mordovia, etc.).

Process of delivery/acceptance of rabbits

We do not slaughter some rabbits, but keep them for ourselves, especially if they are from another region. This female Giant was brought to us from Chuvashia. Next to her are not her own children, but foundlings from another female, but she accepted them as family.

1. You bring us rabbits.
2. We weigh the rabbits with electronic scales in front of you, in groups of 3-4 rabbits.
3. We calculate the total weight of the entire batch of rabbits.
4. We multiply the total weight by our purchase price.
5. At your request, we will issue you an invoice.
6. We issue payment in cash.
7. We say goodbye.
8. In terms of time, this entire procedure takes, on average, 15-20 minutes for 30 rabbits.

Why is Petrovskoe private household plot better than other rabbit buyers?

• Payment for accepting live weight rabbits is issued immediately.

We pay for the rabbits on the spot, without any “for sale” or “the accountant is on vacation, wait a couple of days and we will pay” - NO, you handed over the rabbits, we weighed them in front of you, paid for them, you went home.

The only exception is when you supply a large batch of rabbits - in this case we pay part of the cost in cash, and part by transfer to a card (this may lead to slight delays of up to 2-3 days). We understand that this is not convenient, but shops and restaurants pay us by transfers to a bank account. Sorry.

• We do not require veterinary certificates.

It is enough for the rabbits to look healthy in appearance: without lichen, ulcers, wet noses, ticks and the like. A local veterinarian will personally examine the rabbits and take any necessary samples.

We have already encountered the fact that veterinary certificates can be easily purchased and therefore do not trust any paper documents - it is easier for us to look at the rabbits on our own.

• In the Nizhny Novgorod region, we are the largest buyer of rabbits by live weight.

LPH Petrovskoe buys rabbits not only in the Nizhny Novgorod region, but also from neighboring regions, territories and cities, for example, Moscow and the Moscow region, the Tatar Republic and Kazan, Ivanovo, Sverdlov, Tyumen, Kemerovo, Krasnodar.

We have a reputation and we don’t want to spoil it. We do not deceive, unlike other buyers.

Livestock

Acceptance points, the number of rabbits and the timing of their purchase are determined by contract agreements. Rabbits are delivered to slaughter in special cages, boxes or containers. For individual housing and transportation of rabbits, lattice cages are recommended, divided by light wooden or mesh partitions into several sections along the length and two sections in width. The hinged doors are made of metal mesh. When transporting by road, cages with rabbits are installed in 4-5 tiers and covered with a tarpaulin on top and on the leeward side. During long-term transportation (over 6 hours), animals are fed 2-3 times a day and given water to drink. The daily feeding requirement is 50 g of oats or 60 g of bran per rabbit.

Rabbits submitted for slaughter must be healthy, have finished molting and have no traumatic injuries. At meat and poultry processing plants, when accepting rabbits, they make a 3% discount on the actual live weight for the contents of the gastrointestinal tract, and when accepting animals delivered by road at a distance of 50-100 km - in the amount of 1.5%.

Rabbits delivered by road over a distance of over 100 km, as well as by rail, are accepted without a discount. For each hour of delay in administration over 2 hours and in connection with re-weighing, the 3% discount is reduced. At procurement points, meat processing plants and poultry processing plants, a special room must be allocated for the reception of rabbits, equipped with a receiving table, two shelves on either side of the receiving person, designed to accommodate cages with animals sorted by fatness, dial and decimal scales for individual and group weighing of animals , cages and boxes for group weighing of rabbits sorted by fatness.

Rabbits delivered by rail are accepted within 24 hours; by road and horse-drawn transport on the day of arrival, if they arrived no later than 1 hour before the end of the working day.

At meat processing plants, poultry processing plants and receiving points, rabbits are examined by veterinarians, sorted by fatness, weighed and sent for slaughter. According to the degree of fatness, they are divided into two categories. The fatness category of rabbits is determined in accordance with the following requirements: Category I - the muscles are well developed to the touch, the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae are weakly palpable and do not protrude, the hindquarters and hips are well formed and rounded at the withers; on the abdomen and in the groin area, subcutaneous fat deposits in the form of thickened stripes located along the length of the body can be easily felt; Category II - the muscles are well developed to the touch, the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae can be easily felt and protrude slightly; the hips are toned, flat, the butt is insufficiently formed; fat deposits may not be palpable.

Rabbits that do not meet the requirements of fatness category II are classified as skinny.

Disagreements in determining the fatness of rabbits are resolved by control slaughter of controversial rabbits, and when delivering large quantities - 10% of the controversial livestock. In this case, fatness categories are established depending on the quality of meat of control animals, which must meet the following requirements: meat of category I - carcasses with well-developed muscles, fat deposits are present on the withers and in the groin cavity in the form of thick stripes; the kidneys are half covered with fat; meat of category II - carcasses with satisfactorily developed muscles, the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae slightly protrude; minor fat deposits may be on the withers, groin cavity and near the kidneys. This category also includes rabbits with satisfactorily developed muscles, but without fat deposits. Rabbits accepted at a discount on the contents of the gastrointestinal tract in the amount of 1.5% are slaughtered no later than 5 hours, in the amount of 3% - no later than 8 hours after intake.

12 hours before slaughter, feeding the rabbits is stopped. During pre-slaughter holding, rabbits are provided with free watering. Sick animals are slaughtered separately from healthy ones.

Rabbits that are not slaughtered at the specified time are given food and water, and before slaughter they are kept for 12 hours without food to empty the gastrointestinal tract. In some cases, rabbits are kept at processing plants, but not more than 1-2 days. To avoid snacking, which reduces the value of the skins, the rabbits are placed one at a time in special cages. When keeping rabbits in groups, males are separated from females. When overexposed, rabbits are fed 3 times a day, using concentrates, root vegetables and roughage. The diet of rabbits weighing 2 kg should contain 80 feed units, weighing 3 kg - 110, weighing 4 kg - 120 and weighing 5 kg - 140 feed units. The rabbits are given water during feeding, and water is poured into the troughs 15-20 minutes before the food is distributed.

| Industrial processing of poultry and rabbits |

About the farm Petrovskoye

LPH Petrovskoye was founded in 2007 and continues to actively exist to this day. It's been 12 years now!

We deal with large breeds: White Giant, Gray Giant, German Riesen, Obers, Californians.

Our main specialization is the supply of rabbit meat to shops, restaurants, cafes and catering establishments. In addition, we sell rabbits by breed, but this is not our main profile. You can read more here.

Our rabbit breeding farm began purchasing rabbits around 2012, when the number of wholesale buyers and clients reached such a quantity that we no longer had enough of our own rabbits, in other words, when the demand for rabbits became excessively large.

About purchasing rabbits live weight in bulk

We are ready to purchase live weight rabbits from any supplier and private individual at a reasonable price.

We buy both large quantities of rabbits (up to 200 rabbits) and small quantities (5-15 rabbits).

If you have ever thought about whether it is worth starting your own rabbit breeding business, then know that it is very profitable and brings a very good income, and don’t worry about sales and sales - we are always ready to purchase your rabbits for subsequent resale to stores, restaurants and private persons. So don't worry about implementation.

Of course, you can sell rabbit meat yourself, without us as resellers, and then you will earn even more money, but we believe that selling rabbits by live weight in bulk is more profitable in terms of time spent for the following reasons:

• You don't have to slaughter large numbers of rabbits yourself . If you have 100 rabbits and you spend 15 minutes cutting each one, then you will spend more than a day without a break on slaughtering this entire herd! It’s much easier to just put them all in a truck and bring them to us. As a result, you save your time.
• You don't need to look for clients and spend money on advertising . You called us, agreed on a time and brought the rabbits. We are ALWAYS in need of rabbits and have hungry customers. As a result, you don’t have a headache about where to get clients, but at the same time you have a stable buyer for all your rabbits - us.
• You don't need to sort things out with customers . Either one client doesn’t like the smell of a rabbit, then another client’s rabbit died, then they forgot to vaccinate it, and you are to blame because you didn’t tell about it - in short, a bunch of problems that you don’t need at all. And so, you hand over your live weight rabbits to us - and that’s all - no problem, because we are rabbit breeders ourselves and know how to raise and look after rabbits

We have already written about these and many other advantages earlier, you can read it if you are interested. Let us repeat once again, there is no need to worry about demand . We buy rabbits all the time and there are always not enough of them.

We keep all purchased rabbits in isolated cages, separate from the main herd, and do not slaughter them earlier than two weeks after delivery. During this time, the veterinarian informs us of the test results and we understand whether the meat of these rabbits can be sold to people or not.

Where to raise rabbits?

You can raise rabbits not only if you live in a private house, but also if you have a summer cottage, since rabbits are one of the fastest-maturing animal species. Rabbits are slaughtered for meat from the 70th day of life, when the weight of the carcass is about 1400 grams, some keep rabbits for up to 3 months - the weight of the rabbit carcass is about 1700 grams with liver. It should also be remembered that at 3.5-4 months rabbits begin to molt and it will be impossible to sell the skin of a rabbit slaughtered at this age. In addition, animals weighing from 3.5 to 5 kg are in less demand than rabbits weighing up to 2.5 kg.

From one female rabbit, with 4-6 litters per year, up to 35 rabbits are produced. After fattening the rabbits, the meat yield is approximately 50 to 70 kg.

Rabbits are kept in cages with a mesh floor; you can put a cage on top of a cage, but there must be an easily removable tray. This is done so that the rabbits’ hay does not rot from urine and they do not get sick. Rabbits are fed hay and vegetables. The most easily digestible and beneficial are alfalfa and clover. There are also herbs that are poisonous and should be avoided, such as celandine, buttercups, aconites, etc. You should also not get carried away with cabbage, which is considered the favorite food of rabbits; its excessive consumption can cause loose stools and the subsequent death of the animal.

Where did I start

I live in the north of the Krasnodar Territory - warm climate, 300 km to the nearest coast of the Black Sea, 60 km to the Sea of ​​Azov, abundant food supply, developed agricultural infrastructure, distance from Krasnodar - 120 km.

Cells of our own production

I decided to keep the rabbits in cages of my own making. I made the frame of the cage from wooden beams, used mesh for the floor and walls, and built a wooden canopy with a profile roof. We have almost no cold weather; winter is like a long autumn with rare frosts. The canopy was necessary for protection from rain and sun; its size was 8x9 m.

Since I was going to start with 30 queen rabbits, the total number of cages was 60: 30 cages for females with offspring, 30 for young animals from 1.5–3 months. If you raise rabbits longer, problems arise.

1. It is not economically feasible - rabbits begin to eat a lot and grow little.
2. Males reach sexual maturity, battles for females inevitably occur, and inbreeding results.

Breeding rabbits in cages.

Where to buy and where to sell rabbits

I decided to purchase breeding stock from amateur rabbit breeders. It is best to purchase females at the age of two months - it is cheaper and there is a guarantee that the animal has not yet been used for reproduction. It is better to take males when they are sexually mature to see them at work.

The most important thing in any production is sales. There is no point in producing something in large quantities if no one will buy it.

The calculation was as follows: acquaintances, the market, buyers of live weight. I agree, it’s a shame to give it to buyers at a bargain price, but to find a good buyer, you need a stable volume. And if you start from scratch and without experience, then you will have to rely on buyers.

It took three weeks to build the shed and I had to do most of the work myself. Relatives and friends, of course, helped whenever possible. It took much longer to manufacture the cells. Initially, three cages for young animals were made in order to place 30 females there for additional feeding. And two months later, I put the females in new cages with houses, having previously introduced them to the males, and continued collecting cages for the young.

Let's start breeding eared ones

My husband and I moved to the private sector of a million-plus city three years ago.

It seemed stupid to us to live on the land and not have a farm, so the first thing we did was buy three rabbits: one male and two females, in case one did not feed the offspring, which is what happened in the end.

We took the babies in the summer at the age of 3 months, paying 1000 rubles for them - a minimal investment.

We built a cage for our animals using technology we read from the Internet. But each breeder does what seems most convenient to him.

Someone builds enclosures, someone digs holes, and we make cages, since our plot is limited to six acres. The cage consists of 2 compartments: for boys and girls, so that they do not start mating ahead of time.

Female rabbits who become pregnant at the age of 4 months will, of course, give birth safely, but they are unlikely to be able to feed and warm their offspring. They can give birth, but not always feed them.

Our first cage for rabbits with a hay barn in the middle

Material for construction was taken from what was available, without thinking about durability. But in vain - they began to quickly fall apart. Subsequently, boards 170-180 cm long and 5 cm wide were taken.

With the onset of cold weather, the big-eared household moved from the street under a roof to a warm barn, where they all lived together. Rabbits do not mate in the cold. But it’s warm in the barn.

After 1.5 months, taking into account adaptation of 2 weeks and a gestation period of 1 month, one rabbit gave birth! But our inexperience was fatal.

We did not prepare the queen cell, did not move her separately, so we lost all the babies - the mother did not feed them and ignored them altogether, eating them partially.

Quickly realizing her mistake, the second rabbit was moved to a separate cage with a queen cell, where a week later she safely gave birth to our first successful litter!

We rejoiced like children that the rabbits were alive and well, with full, round bellies, and all were in the downy nest that their mother had prepared for them.

The first unfortunate mother was left with the male, but again they did not keep track of the timing, so she also lost the second offspring.

The only mistake here was ours - after giving birth, the rabbit drinks a lot, and our pets spilled the water, since the drinking bowls were ordinary bowls and were not attached either to the floor or to the nets.

Yes, and rabbits have this manner - the female gets used to giving birth and not nursing if the first time was unsuccessful. Therefore, rabbit breeders, if a female has lost her offspring, rarely abandon her.

So I got rabbits

A month has passed. The females began to fussily gather hay into their mouths and pave a nest for lambing. I first cleaned the houses and put clean shavings and straw on the bottom. Most females kitten at night, but they can kitten at any time of the day.

After long weeks of work, it was extremely pleasant to watch the lumps appear in the morning, swarming in the rabbit fluff.

It is extremely undesirable to touch baby rabbits with your hands in the first week (the mother rabbit can wean the baby rabbit from milk), but you can lift the fluff to look and count the offspring.

Newly born rabbits should not be touched with your hands.

Underwater rocks

A week later, it turned out that only 16 rabbits had lambed. In general, the percentage of successful inseminations averages 50-60%; to increase it, palpation is performed on the 14th day. In a pregnant female, you can feel balls the size of nuts; if not, then we inseminate again. But even artificial insemination does not give more than 80%, so this must be taken into account when calculating.

So, instead of the expected 150 bunnies, I received 89 and, of course, I was upset.

The growth vigor of rabbits is the most important characteristic that makes rabbit farming an attractive business. Two weeks later, the rabbits were already actively running around the house, it was time to inseminate the female, and the pregnant female fed the babies for another month.

Then, a few days before the planned lambing, I transplanted the rabbits into a fattening cage, cleaned the house, treated it with an antibacterial drug, and lambed again. The wheel started spinning.

With such active use, the female needs to be changed every 2 years, but more often.

Vaccinations

When transplanting rabbits, the first vaccination against myxomatosis and VGBV is given (vaccinations can be separate or complex) - this is convenient and minimizes the amount of stress for the animals. Rabbits also need to be vaccinated twice a year.

Gaining valuable experience

Difficulties of rabbit breeding:

• illnesses
• inept animal keeping
• case
• non-feeding of offspring
• can eat each other
• injuries

All of them are overcome with experience and knowledge. Diseases usually occur in the off-season, when the weather is unstable, and in the summer, when the heat causes a lot of insects that are carriers of diseases.

Some rabbit breeders vaccinate their pets against the most common diseases. But they are not a guarantee of immunity, and rabbits can still die, so vaccination is not advisable.

Vitamins are desirable, but not required for good food.

Rabbits reproduce quickly and in large batches of 5-12 babies, so with a mortality rate of 30%, the loss is easily compensated by the number of newborns.

A good female, who has shown all her maternal qualities brilliantly, can stay for several seasons. From one female you can get no more than 3-4 offspring, then the number of babies decreases due to wear and tear on the body.

The breed of the animal also matters a lot:

• Flanders The weight of an adult is 8 kg, but the meat yield is only 50%. Of the minuses: it does not tolerate frost well, is prone to bloating, females mature only at 8 months.
• French Ram. At the age of 3 months the weight is 2 kg, by 6 months - 5 kg. Meat yield 62%. These cute animals have unusually long ears, so they can step on them and cling to protruding objects. They need special spacious cages.
• Californian. Cute face and very good quality. The weight of adult rabbits is 4-5 kg. 60% meat yield. The breed has one of the best indicators of specific feed consumption per kg of weight gain. The downside is that it is difficult to find purebred individuals. But buying at exhibitions is a bit expensive.
• Rex. They have valuable plush fur up to 2 cm. By 4 months they gain weight up to 3 kg. They do not tolerate heat well. The offspring are very weak, since the breed was obtained from intraspecific crossing.

Rabbit breed "Grey Giant"
There are many breeds, and rabbit breeders do their own breeding. We chose the local breed “Grey Giant”. They were bred in the USSR based on Flandres.

These rabbits have low quality fur, but are easy to care for. Since within the region all the rabbits are related to each other in one way or another, the weight has decreased. By the age of 6 months, our adult specimens show a clean meat yield of 2 kg - carcass.

This suits us quite well. We started breeding rabbits for pure meat, without the impurities of hormones and antibiotics. For a family of 4 people, 40 kg of rabbit meat per year is enough.

This is about 20 carcasses. Two females can produce this amount, giving birth twice a year, as recommended.

The farm will not produce meat right away, but the rabbits produce manure with enviable regularity. And this is something that needs to be taken care of right away.

Rabbit manure is second in quality after horse manure, so it can be sold at the agricultural market for 100 rubles per bag. Rabbit cages need to be cleaned at least once a week, and in the summer every other day or every day.

The long-awaited autumn

I no longer inseminated females. Despite the vaccination, an epidemic of myxomatosis hit the farm; 20 of them had to be slaughtered.

The long-awaited autumn came, I released the females, almost despairing. After the summer, the number of rabbits was increased to 60 heads.

This time I took into account everything I could and got 260 rabbits. I admittedly fed them with all my might, because the unsuccessful summer left a strong mark on my budget.

In December, buyers themselves started calling me. Of the 260 rabbits, about 250 rabbits reached slaughter age, each weighing an average of 3.5 kg. We bought animals for 120 rubles per kilogram.

Let's calculate the profit

The total sale amount was 105,000 rubles.

Of these, 25,000 rubles. - this is the amount spent on feeding the raised batch, the amount is approximate and on average is 100 rubles per rabbit. In the end, I finally earned something.

The profit amounted to about 80,000 rubles. But from this profit it is necessary to deduct the feeding of the breeding stock: 60 nursing rabbits, 3 males, as well as the next batch of 250 heads.

Total: 55–60 thousand rubles of net profit.

Weaknesses in business

Feeling the profit in my hands, I realized that you can really make money on this, but you need to solve several important problems.

1. Unstable sales. It is impossible to plan business development with such unpredictable income.
2. Microclimate on the farm. The optimal temperature for raising rabbits is 24 degrees. At this temperature, animals eat well, grow well and thrive. Also, a mosquito and, in general, no disease will be able to enter a closed room if sanitary standards are observed.
3. Stop losing live weight. The difference in price is 100 rubles per head, which is at least 25,000 rubles per litter. I lose 200,000 rubles a year. It's scary to think about.

Since I am a veterinarian by training, the idea of ​​opening my own slaughterhouse for my rabbits quickly interested me.

And then, if sales appear, you can gain volume with the help of animals purchased from the population, everyone will benefit.

Californian rabbits.

New level

After reviewing all the requirements for the slaughter of farm animals and talking with colleagues from the veterinary department, I realized that there was simply no official slaughterhouse for rabbits within a radius of 120 km, but organizing it would not be so easy. I had to run.

It is simply unrealistic for an amateur without money to organize such a facility from scratch - it is very expensive, but renting an existing slaughterhouse is quite possible.

The only obstacle was that not all owners were ready to accept the increased attention of officials to their property. At that time, active motivation of the population began to engage in alternative livestock farming, since pig farming was in decline after the plague epidemic, and keeping pigs at home was prohibited. And each object of alternative livestock farming immediately attracted attention.

I get lucky

In a neighboring village, one businessman, no longer young, came to meet me and allocated a free room on the territory of his slaughterhouse on quite satisfactory conditions: 10 rubles for each head slaughtered on his territory.

At the same time, I could draw up a formal lease agreement and promote my brand. Plus an official document of slaughter after examination by a staff veterinarian.

Of course, I had to register as an individual entrepreneur (most suitable for livestock farming, peasant farm) and spend a little money: I needed a refrigerator, a car trailer with a thermal booth and other equipment for work.

Everything came out to 100,000 rubles; of course, we couldn’t do it without a loan. We also needed money to purchase animals from the population - that’s another 100,000 rubles to increase the volume of supplies.

Now I have a carnage

So, I have an official slaughterhouse. First of all, I enlisted the support of the veterinary department. This was not difficult, since they simply had nowhere to send amateur rabbit breeders for slaughter and had to turn a blind eye to backyard slaughter for trade. Now I turned out to be a “bone in the throat” of rabbit breeders.

How I started purchasing rabbits from the public

I had my last litter on my farm in May and haven’t started any rabbits yet to avoid last year’s problems. I decided that I needed to first conduct a full market research on purchased animals.

And it's summer again

The situation was the same as last summer. The population has a lot of rabbits; they can be bought cheaply, but sales are very poor.

Even with documents for meat in hand, finding a buyer in the summer turned out to be very difficult. Krasnodar shops and the resort coast were taken with pleasure, but with delivery and at a minimal price.

By and large, it was completely unprofitable for me, but I had to establish sales and didn’t want to lose a client. Considering that the rabbit cost me 20 rubles more (rent and veterinary certificate), I was losing the competition.

I urgently needed sales.

Large sales to Moscow

I needed big sales in Moscow. I talked a lot on the phone, looking for access to large metropolitan processing plants, talked with market suppliers, large farms in the Krasnodar Territory, which already have contracts with processing companies.

I even found a farm that agreed to take my volume for resale, but the price was extremely uninteresting to me and yet, closer to August, I had to cooperate with them to help local rabbit breeders.

Later, Moscow offered to take my products, but with one condition: from 10 tons per week.

I couldn’t physically make more than 2 tons, either due to money or the availability of animals among the population. There was even an idea to create centralized sales for the Krasnodar region, but no one wanted to get involved.

Foreign rabbits

Rabbits from Hungary, Belarus, China, etc. also greatly spoiled sales. The fact is that the state, for example Hungary, actively subsidizes rabbit farms and not only directly into the accounts of producers.

Working practically at a loss, the farm receives compensation for every kilogram of products sold - a very smart scheme, but I’m afraid it won’t take root here: officials will start starving.

Therefore, the price of a Hungarian rabbit is 260 rubles per kilogram, while ours is below 300 rubles, and in general it is not profitable to sell. Well, I’m generally silent about China.

And autumn has come again

Things got better with the first cold weather. I started my females again. As winter approached, calls began asking for meat to be sold. The population began to make a profit from rabbits, and when the young animals on my farm grew up, the profit became even more noticeable. Although the volume was sold out in 3 days, they called constantly.

When demand emerged, local rabbit breeders began selling rabbits to anyone who would give the most money. Considering that I incurred additional expenses during slaughter, purchasing at an inflated price turned out to be completely unprofitable for me, and I was simply tired of working at a loss.

As sad as it is to realize, the idea of ​​a slaughterhouse turned out to be a failure, at least in the form in which I saw it. In the summer there is no sale, in the winter there are no rabbits.

But selling meat from rabbits raised on your own farm, with veterinary documents and stable agreements, even in small quantities, is great.

Sales

By this time, summer had begun outside the window. First of all, I sold 10 carcasses to my friends for about 5,000 rubles and, after waiting for Saturday, I went to the market.

In two market days I sold 3 more carcasses for 1,500 rubles, the work week began and trade stopped.

Buyers

It's time to call the buyers. We have large processing plants in the region. But in order to cooperate with them, you must have slaughter documents, respectively, you must have a slaughterhouse or slaughter in a slaughterhouse, and also have a stable volume of at least 500 kg.

Therefore, the only option is to work with buyers who supply markets and stores.

I called them and they told me that the rabbits need to be grown to 4 kg, since with a large selection at the moment, the buyer prefers large carcasses. Later I learned that it was not a matter of the buyer’s whims.

During slaughter, the ratio of carcass to waste is more favorable for a large rabbit: there is more meat and less waste. But this is beneficial only for the buyer.

Features of sales in summer

They also need to bide their time, since they are calling a lot, and the demand is currently limited. The fact is that covering a female in summer is much more difficult than in winter.

It's very hot here in the summer - even in the shade it's up to 30 degrees Celsius. Female rabbits do not go into hunting well; the percentage of successful inseminations is an order of magnitude lower than in winter.

By summer, the population accumulates a huge amount of rabbit for sale, and since people eat less meat in the spring, demand drops sharply. But my third litter is approaching and everyone needs to be fed, but there is nowhere to sell them. I had to wait my turn for delivery, look for new buyers, go to the market and return with meat. It was a hard summer.

We draw a conclusion

• Your own farm needs a slaughterhouse. Slaughter provides stability in partnerships. Any store needs documents for meat and will not change the supplier without serious reasons. Also, only stores stick to meat raised on private farms and mini-farms, because they look people in the eye when they sell it.
• Seasonality in rabbit breeding is very harmful to the business. Since the meat is a delicacy, it is quite expensive and not for everyone. In the summer and with a lack of funds, the buyer is more likely to buy broiler, pork, beef than rabbit, so large volumes will always be at risk.

So there are two options

1. The Department of Agriculture has developed several proposals to support rabbit farms. At the moment, there are subsidies on a competitive basis for decent amounts, up to 20 million rubles. If you have land, money and a great desire, you can build a large farm with a slaughterhouse and go on the “high road”. The sales issue will most likely be resolved, and supply contracts will provide at least some guarantees during a seasonal decline in demand. I can’t say anything about the risks, since I haven’t been involved in rabbit breeding at this level, I think most likely there will be. Don't forget that these are animals, and there are always risks.
2. Continuing to raise rabbits at home and supply a chain of stores is a small family business. In summer - less, in winter - more.

Don't judge strictly, but I chose the second path. If you feel you can handle it, move on. Wherever you go, there is already someone, at any level. They will always advise and help.

Where to sell meat?

You can sell meat wholesale. Of course, then you will lose 100 rubles from 1 kg and even possibly more, but you will save time by not engaging in retail sales. You can sell meat in bulk by agreeing with buyers in the markets; they always accept meat products from the population. Go to markets in your area and study the demand, talk to sellers whether they accept meat and at what price. Rabbit skins and fluff can also be donated; there are enterprises that accept the skins. Typically, rabbit skins are used to make felt and leather goods. When cutting a rabbit, do not forget that one hind leg must be left, this is how sellers and buyers in markets distinguish a rabbit from a cat. They may simply not buy a carcass without a foot from you.

By the way, the meat productivity of rabbits can be changed in a profitable direction by 15-25% as a result of the use of crossbred animals. Hybrid rabbits are distinguished by exceptionally high average daily gains in live weight.

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Some tips for beginners

1. Try to initially raise rabbits indoors.
2. The room should be divided into several parts. If an epidemic occurs, you will have a chance to save the livestock. Also, the female rabbit and her offspring are very sensitive to noise.
3. Be sure to consider ventilation.
4. Aim for a year-round temperature of 24 degrees. If animals are poorly fed, they grow poorly and do not hunt. Both extreme cold and heat are equally bad.
5. Grow only broiler breeds; others are unprofitable.
6. If possible, feed a pellet containing hay. The finer the food is ground, the less energy the body needs to digest it; if you simply pour it into the feeder, the rabbits will begin to inhale dust and cough, and may get sick. Also, the grass in the granule undergoes heat treatment, so it does not carry pathogenic microflora. And the farm is simply cleaner without hay.
7. Cages are made of stainless steel only. Do not use wood, it rots and collapses. Only wooden houses, they can be easily replaced.

You can make money from rabbit farming if you take into account all the nuances. I hope my article will help someone avoid my mistakes.

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