I read with interest the comments on Rex rabbit pelts on the PMRA site. A lot of dog breeders/owners are switching to a raw food diet for their dogs. I wondered if this could help provide a market for the bigger, roaster-sized rabbits that resulted from raising a Rex to produce a prime pelt. Do you know of any reason dogs could not be fed raw rabbit meat/bones? Many raw food feeders give chicken parts to their dogs, so the small size of the bones should not be any more of an issue with rabbits than with chickens. Are there any diseases dogs might get from healthy, domestic rabbits?

I do not have any rabbits right now, but have been considering them for a way to make some income from my homestead.

-- Deb Foster (DFoster987@aol.com), January 27, 2002

Answers

If anyone finds a BARF list please post this site. Maybe we can get a BARF Supplier list going on here.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), January 27, 2002.

Boy, how to win friends and influence people.....NOT!!! Sorry, Pat. The site where I read the info on Rex rabbits was YOURS, not the PMRA site. Try not to hold it against me.

-- Deb Foster (DFoster987@aol.com), January 27, 2002.

Rabbit is great for dogs. We feed the BARF diet to our dog, and he does get rabbit parts occassionally. You might try checking out some of the BARF groups on Yahoo Groups (There are a BUNCH of them) and seeing if anyone is interested in buying, and you could get more info about the diet as well.

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), January 27, 2002.

Sorry for the delay in answering... seems I couldn't pull up this web site earlier, today.

Anyhoo... yes, BARFing (the feeding of Bones And Raw Food) has gained considerable popularity, and there is, indeed, a demand for rabbit meat. In fact, dog show breeders claim that the best coats come from feeding rabbit meat to their dogs. But, just as with most markets, there are drawbacks, and with the BARF market, that drawback is the fact that most don't want to pay more than 39 cents per pound for rabbit, which is what they are accustomed to paying for chicken backs and necks. Sometimes, however, you can locate a BARFer who is willing to pay more, and this is where the Rex can play a part.

As you learned on my web site, the main market for Rex pelts is for "prime" pelts, meaning that the pelt was taken when the rabbit was around 7 months of age after it's first adult molt. This, then, leaves a carcass that cannot qualify as a "fryer," but is a "stewer." Therefore, you can sell the carcass much cheaper than you would a fryer. 50 cents per lb. (the going price for stewers) would be quite adequate and would place it closer to the budget for the BARFer.

You might want to do a search on Yahoo for BARF clubs or listserves... I'm sure you find one.

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), January 27, 2002.

Where would I find info on markets for the pelts? I did order Dean Goforth's manual on raising rabbits yesterday, but, of course, its not here yet.

-- Deb Foster (DFoster987@aol.com), January 28, 2002.

I used to have some contacts for Rex pelts, but that was awhile ago and they may not be available, anymore. The processor in Ohio (Briarwood Valley Farms) will buy pelts, and there's one in Alaska, but I no longer have her contact information. There was a major Rex breeder, Stan Kener, who may be able to help you in locating Rex pelt markets... contact me privately for his e-mail address, please.

Most of the markets require the pelts to be already tanned. Likewise, they can also be quite specific about what colors they want. There was a gal in California who was buying Rex pelts a couple years ago, but again, I no longer have her contact information. You need to get into some Rex breeder circles for more information. You might want to contact the National Rex Club for more information. Contact information is on the ARBA web site at: http://www.arba.net/ .

The rabbit fur industry in the U.S. is almost non-existent due to the low cost of the imported pelts. Most simply develop their own markets for the pelts, or make them into craft items for resale purposes.

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), January 28, 2002.