The Cost of Mr. BunBuns

After talking with Crustal and discovering the average cost of an angora rabbit, I needed to know if there were any financial benefits of having an angora rabbit. To determine this, I needed to know the average cost of wool per ounce. Compare that with the total cost of purchasing, housing, and caring for the rabbit – i.e. feeding and housing for Mr. BunBuns. Plus the cost of purchasing the drop spindle, for I need to acquire those skills to utilize the wool it yields.
So how much would my rabbit be worth?

According to Crystal and the sales info on Aundi’s Angora website, the average cost of one Angora rabbit is $100 without a pedigree. (I wouldn’t need a pedigree because I don’t plan on showing my rabbit. If I did plan on doing that, you would slap another $50 to the fee.)

Here is the list of everything else needed for a rabbit:

Outdoor Hutch: $85 - $120, according to Craigslist listing
Housebreaking tools:
- Critter Litter: $7
- Litter Pan: $15
Food: $10 (on average)
Feeders: ~ $10
Grooming Brushes: ~ $30 (includes steel-toothed comb, bulb-tipped brush, etc.)
Drop Spindle: $30

With the above items in mind, I calculated the initial cost of having a rabbit would be around $287 – the total cost of every item listed above. However, after this, the monthly cost for the Angora would include the critter litter and a one-month supply of food, excluding vitamins and supplements. This, according to my list above, would be less than $20 a month.

But the question remains: would the value of the wool acquired eventually pay for itself? After browsing through websites, I discovered the average cost per ounce of angora wool to be $10 to $16. In another website, it stated the total annual yield for one single Angora rabbit ranges from seven to fourteen ounces. That would mean, the lowest yearly cost of the wool my rabbit would produce would be $70. If the table above is accurate, that would mean it would take, at the most, four years before my rabbit could pay for itself.

It is safe to say, that my rabbit may not be a great financial investment than I initially thought. But then again, did I truly desire a rabbit for its financial benefit? Not really. Once I saw how cute they were, I knew I disregarded any logistics in the matter. To me, an angora rabbit would provide endless hours of doing something I enjoyed – spinning and knitting. It was the joy and pride of one day being able to say, “Yes, I did knit this hat. It was made with yarn that I spun myself from my rabbit that I have in the backyard. Would you like to see it?” I wanted self-sustainability, even if it was in the smallest sense of the word.