06/22/2026
Let’s talk about costs of Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarfs specifically.
You may wonder why a particular rabbits costs so much. The reality is different for each breed, and even from breeder to breeder, but the basic facts are usually similar.
The initial investment in a solid proven herd animal, is usually high. And even then, you are never guaranteed that animal will produce for you. We’re talking an average of three hundred for a herd sire.
In my opinion, a nice starter herd will include a minimum of two herd bucks and three brood does. That gives you a few generations of offspring before you’ll need to acquire more stock for your herd.
An initial investment for a herd of that size and of good genetics will likely average around twelve hundred dollars (or more).
If you’re buying from a reliable and proven breeder who only offers what they deem as good brood and/or show prospects, expect to pay more.
I recommend to avoid breeders that sell everything their barn produces (if you want to show and breed to ARBA standards). In my experience those breeders are selling animals that should be culled from a breeding program and don’t help the breed long term. There are a lot of red flags to avoid when buying from someone, but I’ll save that for another post.
Equipment costs probably varies by region and whether you make your own habitats, buy used, or buy them premade. I’d expect to invest more than a hundred dollars per a single habitat. So for five animals you’ll have an initial investment of maybe six hundred dollars. Plus add in your feed bowls, water bottles and other accessories.
Next is feed. An average bag of rabbit feed probably costs about thirty dollars. Some breeders go through a lot each month. But you can do math based on how much you feed. You’ll also want to include the cost of treats, supplements and hay.
Breeding supplies also costs money. You’ll need nest boxes and nest box materials. Costs vary.
Add in Rabbitry cleaning supplies, medication (fist aid kit too), grooming supplies, enrichment toys, tattooing, carriers, and more.
Now time. Time is intangible as it varies per rabbitry. But it exists. Breeders must dedicate time every day to their rabbits to feed, groom, clean, and evaluate health of the animals. It’s a must.
Finally, there is the cost of showing. It’s expensive, I’m not going to lie.
An average of 4.50 (or higher) per rabbit per show.
If you enter a triple show, expect to pay fifteen dollars per rabbit at that show. Take ten rabbits and your entry fees can easily top one fifty. Add in travel and lodging expenses and you can see that shows can become expensive.
But if you want to sell your animals as show prospects, or even animals that are “purebred” it is advantageous to enter shows.
At shows you will get feedback to help you on your journey (take one judge’s comments as one opinion). Also, it demonstrates that you are knowledgeable if you are a show attendee whose animals are doing well at shows. Doing well at shows, in my opinion, means your animals are placing in the top of their class with other competitive animals. You don’t need to take home a best of breed to show well. Now if you are the only exhibitor of your breed at that show and your animal goes on to win a best in show, reserve best in show, or an honorable mention, I’d consider that placing at the top of your class.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! But we still need to cover breeding. That’s probably the hardest part.
Rabbits rarely breed like rabbits (as the saying goes). If you’re successful in breeding your rabbits, having your doe kindle live and healthy kits, raising them until weaning—chances are it wasn’t all butterflies and unicorns. Rabbits die. Your momma rabbit may die on you, babies often die, or your entire litter just isn’t what you hoped for. After investing all that time, energy and resources, you may be left with a litter of “undesirable“ animals (meaning progeny that won’t contribute to the betterment of the breed). Please do NOT sell these undesirables to unsuspecting newbies looking to get started in raising rabbits that are meeting or exceeding ARBA standards. Instead have a plan to cull these animals from breeding programs.
Culling. That word triggers all sorts of reactions from people. But culling just means to remove from the herd. I beg you not to cull sub standard rabbits by selling them to 4-H youth or new breeders. Please Don’t be that person. Instead, have a plan to cull animals who shouldn’t be part of a breeding program either by petting them out to pet homes, selling them to a reptile owner/breeder, donating them to a raptor rescue program, etc. There are a lot of different outlets available that are valuable and make the life you helped create and raise purposeful. If you can’t cull, please reconsider breeding.
That’s it-I think.
For us, if we’re offering a rabbit as available, I hope you now know that we are doing our best to be transparent about each animal we have available. But Most of our rabbits are donated to the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins, Colorado. They rescue raptors of all sizes and ages and aim to rehabilitate and release. We donate, so we’re not making money off these culls.
As far as price, we start our pricing at 1️⃣2️⃣5️⃣. Once that animal starts to develop more the price will go up to reflect their development. You are taking chance at acquiring young animals, even if they look amazing at a young age that could change as they grow older so the price always starts low in our rabbitry. But if I deem an animal worthy of selling and holding on to, It’s because it is an animal I’d personally keep myself for showing or breeding. But we can’t and shouldn’t keep them all.
Do NOT hoard.
😊
