Breeding Rabbits

[crazzy4lops]

I need help big time! How often can u breed your rabbits apart? My rabbit gave birth to 5 rabbits on Monday April 11, but lost 3 of them today. I may lose the last 2 babies. When can I breed her again? Please help!!!!!!:confused:

[LKPike]

Its not really safe to breed *any* animal within a few months of them delivering babies. They need enough time to rest, or you risk losing the next litter and possibly the momma.

[crazzy4lops]

Ok Thanks. I guess I will wait for about 4 weeks from the day she delivered and then try again.

[wolfsoul]

I've read that you should wait six weeks before re-breeding.

[ashleycat]

may i ask why you want to breed? is it for you or you sell them? cus you can spay her, and just adopt some homeless bunnies.. thers tons that need homes. AND you dont risk loosing your bun to breeding'

[crazzy4lops]

I am breeding my rabbit for a profit. I have 2 females that I'm going to use for breeding. I have one male in which I'm going to use for the breeding.

Ok I will wait until 6 weeks from the date she delivered and then breed her again. Thanks.:)

[Suki Wingy]

Breeding animals for a profit is NEVER a good idea. Most city shelters euthenize (sp?) on averege 15 dogs a day, 20 cats, and I'm not sure the exact number of small pets, but there are a lot of homeless rabbits out there too, not just dogs and cats. The only reson to buy is if you are showing them, like me. That is why I bought mine from a breeder instead of rescuing him. Oh, and my breeder has been doing it over 10 years. I sure hope your rabbit is ok.

[wolfsoul]

I don't believe in breeding unless it is for the better of the breed. Most animal shelters are up to their knees in rabbits. My local animal shelter usually had 15-20 rabbits at a time. Only reputable breeders should be breeding.

Remember, when breeding, that you should have hundreds of dollars on hand incase your rabbit needs an emergency C-section or she dies unexpectedly and leaves you to care for her babies. Breeding can be very expensive.

[jodi]

crazy4lops,
good luck in breeding! I love Holand lops. What kind of lops do you have? I'm trying to get my Holands to breed successfuly. Mine will be sold to kids in 4-H or at an ARBA show if they breed this time.

There isn't much of a problem in rabbits ending up at the shelter where I live. I work w/ a rescue group and they get alot of the animals from the shelter and I believe in the last 2 years only 5 or 6 rabbits have shown up.

[crazzy4lops]

I'm not too sure what kind of Lops I have. I think they are called Neverland lops, but I could be wrong. I'll find out for you though and then I'll post it here.

Well I may be able to breed my rabbits but for some reason my female won't feed her babies. I just lost the last 2 babies today(Apr 17). Maybe next litter will be better.

[LKPike]

Originally posted by crazzy4lops
I'm not too sure what kind of Lops I have. I think they are called Neverland lops, but I could be wrong. I'll find out for you though and then I'll post it here.

Well I may be able to breed my rabbits but for some reason my female won't feed her babies. I just lost the last 2 babies today(Apr 17). Maybe next litter will be better.


:rolleyes: :rolleyes: you can't breed them too often, thats why they need times to rest. imagine how you'd feel to be pregnant 3-4 times immediatly after giving birth to the last. I don't think you'd feel much like feeding them either, then.

[Desert Arabian]

If you don't even know what type of rabbit you are breeding you shouldn't be breeding them in the first place. Lord only knows what flaws are being created and what is happening to the babies. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Backyard breeders are the best! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :mad:

[jackie]

I'm not too sure what kind of Lops I have. I think they are called Neverland lops, but I could be wrong. I'll find out for you though and then I'll post it here

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Time to find a new hobby/job. If you don't even know what kind of rabbits you have, you should NOT be breeding.

[Pygmybabe]

Just be careful when breeding your rabbits, because you never know!Well I know I am not t alking about advice in what I will say next so is ther anyone near Beloit, Wisconsin want to use my blue rex buck for breeding?I am not sure how much yet but I will TRY to get pictures up as soon as possibale or else I will try and get pics up on my website!!Just let me know!

[crazzy4lops]

Ok everyone sounds like they mad at me or something. I have Loped Eared Rabbits. I don't know if they are Holland Lops or Netherland Lops. All 3 of my Lops are from the same breeder. Just different parents. The way I look at it the Pet Stop I deal with needs more rabbits. I am helping him out with breeding my rabbits. There is alot of people in my town who want a Lop rabbit. The way I looked at it they are my rabbits and if I want to breed them to help out people in my town then I'll do it. The vet told me that with a first litter it sometimes happen. Well this was my first litter. I'll know what to look for the next time. People need to stop worrying about how often I breed my rabbits. I just asked a question about how far apart I should wait before I breed her again since she lost the litter. It was my first time I ever bread her. I'm sorry if I pissed any body off.

[Karen]

Netherland Dwarfs are a breed. They do not have lop ears, though. Contact their breeder to find out what kind of bunny you have at least. Poor bun, losing her babies. How old is she? Thank you for agreeing to let her rest for at least 6 weeks before attempting to breed her again.

[crazzy4lops]

Yes I am glad that I am waiting 6 weeks too. I don't want anything to happen to my baby. I am talking to my friend from the pet store that I bought my rabbits from tomorrow so I'll ask him what type of Lops I have. I didn't reliaze there were more than one type of Lops. My baby is almost a year old. I got her in July of 2004. She was 5 weeks old. My male,Cuddles,was 5 weeks when I got him in Oct.Smokey,my other female,was 5weeks old when I got her in Dec 2004.Snuggles is my rabbit. Cuddles is my oldest daughters rabbit.Smokey is my youngest daughters rabbit. I'll keep you posted on what type I have.Ok,Karen? Again thanks for replying to my post.

[jackie]

I am breeding my rabbit for a profit. I have 2 females that I'm going to use for breeding. I have one male in which I'm going to use for the breeding.


if I want to breed them to help out people in my town then I'll do it.


ok.
:rolleyes:

[Daisylover]

You and that pet store are EXACTLY the reason why there are so many homeless rabbits!

Do you have any idea how many impulse buyers take a baby rabbit home then don't know what to do with it? So it dies or is neglected, gets mishandled/injured or killed by children or bored teenage boys, or when the kids will no longer care for the rabbit because it's "boring" the parents decide they can't be bothered to care for it either so they dump it in a field or park to take care of itself?????????? !!!!!!

Do you realize that people will buy or take "free" baby rabbits to feed to their snakes?????

Or how many of your baby rabbits will become some person's dinner?

You obviously do not have any idea of the heartbreak and bad endings for most rabbits because of ignorance. Rabbits are considered a disposable pet and get no respect....not even from the humane societies and animal shelters....they are the first to be put down....some shelters and hum soc won't even accept rabbits, or they do and then put them down without trying to adopt them out.

Do you ahve any idea how many breeders put down their females once they get worn out and exhausted??? Say around the age of 3 - 4 years, depending on the mom bunny? Do you have any idea how many breeders will purposefully destroy the imprefect babies who are not quite show quality. And what do you think pet stores to to rabbits they can't sell? Some will send them back to the breeder who may put them down. And here you go, just adding to the suffering of these gentle animals.....the world needs less rabbits, not more.

I hope the cash makes you happy, because you sure aren't doing the rabbits any favors.

[jodi]

crazy4lops,

The way I looked at it they are my rabbits

I agree with you. It is no ones business but yours why you breed them. It sounds like you have 2 good reasons for breeding them, one being for profit although you would need a lot more than what you have to make any money or atleast to break even and I also thought the other reason of demand in your town was also a good reason. I'm 100% with you.

When my doe had her first litter we lost all but 1 and I was told that was unusual because they do usualy lose all of them.

Next time will be better.
Jodi

[Daisylover]

You know Jodi, you are right up to a point.... it may be no one's business what Crazzy does with her rabbits, but it becomes everyone's business when something like this is published on a public forum.

Homeless rabbits have reached an all time high and there are not enough sanctuaries to take them in. The purpose of this forum is to help educate people about pets. Most people only consider pets to be bird, cats and dogs. Well, I've been involved in the rescue of domestic rabbits for 7 years, which by the way don't survive on their own when dumped. I have seen and participated in rescues that would break your heart, make you cry and toss up your cookies. The world is not a kind place to animals and those of us here love all animals, be they wild or domesticated, or even "pets". It is not appropriate to heedless have animals reproduce when there is no guarantee of a safe and loving home for them. I think what's going on here is that Crazzy loves her rabbit and wants everyone else to realize what great pets rabbits can be, but breeding them is not the way to go about it, educating the public is.

Before you go off angry crying because I'm picking on Crazzy and to some extent you, you go to www.rabbit.org and read up of the problems of homeless rabbits. Hopefully you will become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by jodi
It sounds like you have 2 good reasons for breeding them

The only good reason to breed anything is to better the breed or species. You can't take rabbits whose bakgrounds are unknown (may not be purebred, may carry genetic faults or diseases like cancer), who've never participated in any shows to make sure they match the standard, who were bought at a petshop of ALL places, and who are being bred to the maximum for profit, and expect anything good to come out of it. The female will surely die, the babies will be sold at a pet store to likely live the same life as the female, be eaten by a snake, or be bought my someone who has no clue what they are doing (as the majority goes, atleast). That is not breeding for the better of anything. That is taking sh$t and throwing it at rabbits altogether. If someone really cared about rabbits, they wouldn't breed them for profit. A pet rabbit should be worth more than that to you.

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by jodi
It sounds like you have 2 good reasons for breeding them, one being for profit...

What? :eek: You want profit? Get a job. Don't bring more animals into a world that has too many already.


I also thought the other reason of demand in your town was also a good reason.

If the demand is so high, perhaps advertising for a bunny rescue would help those who want bunnies to get one.

Neither of these are good enough reasons to breed bunnies.

[Suki Wingy]

If you want profit from working with rabbits, then work at an animal shelter!:eek:

[jodi]

I'm sorry, I thought this site was to help answer questions not judge people just because their agenda doesn't match yours.

[Kfamr]

No one's judging anyone. They're stating FACTS.
There are far too many homeless pets in this world, breeding your pet soley for profit is irresponsible and selfish.

[PJ's Mom]

Thanks Kay. Well said. I couldn't find the words to say what you did. ;)

[jodi]

curious, where did you get your pets from?

[Kfamr]

I adopted one of my dogs from the SPCA of St. Petersburg, and the other two of them from the Humane Society of North Pinellas.

If you're going to try and turn this onto a different subject as to where people got their animals - Shelter VS Breeder, DON'T.

Something that has already happened is done and over with.

There ARE responsible breeders out there, in which they are not at fault for the overpopulation of animals we face today. However, people such as the original poster ARE the problem.

[Karen]

We do not presume to know the particulars of her situation, either financially, or of the availability of rabbits in her area for rescue, or lack thereof.

Please remember that this is Pet Talk, and we should be polite to people even when we disagree with them.

I definitely think that people should go to shelters and rescues, and even petfinder.org to try to find a rabbit that needs a good home before they go to a pet store.

The original poster should go to http://rabbit.org for all sorts of rabbit information, and for rabbit rescue as well. It is the website of the House Rabbit Society, and has been very helpful to us as bunny owners.

More information, instead of getting angry at someone, is more likely to help in any situation.

[crazzy4lops]

Thank you very much Karen. I'm really glad to know you are on my side about this.

I am not breeding my rabbits to make a profit. If anyone thinks that $12 a baby bunny is a profit then they need to go back to school and learn math again. I paid alot more for my rabbits then $12.

The way I look at it if I want to breed my rabbits then it's my choice. I started this posting to ask a simple damn question and now everyone is attacking me. People need to think about how their words affect other people.

I asked a simple question as to how long I should wait before I try to breed my rabbit again and now everyone is attacking because I want to breed my rabbit.

Some people really need to grow up!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS
The only person that's not attacking me is Karen, least I have someone on my side.

[crazzy4lops]

PS
Sorry Jodi I forgot to put your name in the last post. You are also on my side. But it's really not about whos on whos side, this site is for answers not to judge people by whether they breed for profit or breed to show or what ever else they want to breed for. This site is for answers not for attacking people.

Instead of answering questions for people it seems like people want to attack other people. To me this isn't really a good site to be on because you may get answers to your questions but in the process people judge you and then attack you.

[LKPike]

Originally posted by crazzy4lops
I am breeding my rabbit for a profit.

You SAID earlier you were breeding for a profit!

[jackie]

I hope for the sake of your rabbits you reconsider breeding them.

[bckrazy]

In my opinion and in the opinion of ANY reputable Bunny breeder/rescuer/owner out there, you are not breeding with good intentions. When the main goal is "money", the bunny's well-being and happiness is inevitably the last priority. To me, I do not understand how any conscientious breeder could put their babies out there in a pet store, available to any person regardless of history, intentions, responsibility and education about the animal. It's just sad :(

PLEASE re-think breeding your buns. Do they live inside or outside? Are you willing to aid in bottle-nursing the babies every few hours? Do you have the money to take your bunnys to a vet annually (at LEAST)? Do you have the money to take your pregnant doe to the vet to perform an emergency c-section, or would you rather let her die and buy another bunny? YES, there are thousands of homeless bunnies out there because of people who buy rabbits from pet stores on an impulse. I've fostered (for Sac House Rabbit Society) 2 bunnies from rescue, there was little to no interest and many of the rabbits stayed in rescue for over a year. One of the bunnies, Munch, we ended up adopting because he was the sweetest little guy but no one wanted an adult homeless bun because there are plenty of cute, disposable babies in pet stores. And YES, the fate of bunnies at shelters is FAR more hopeful than a huge number of unwanted pet bunnies, who are left in their hutches outside to die or set free to be eaten by predators or starve. Do you really want to add to this population (inevitably you WILL, because 99% of pet stores don't do anything to screen pet buyers).

If you insist on breeding your bunnies, PLEASE give them long rest periods, keep them inside where they can be socialized and loved, and consider privately selling your babies to screened homes. . your babies could end up in the worst of hands when you sell them to a pet store.

[bckrazy]

Originally posted by crazzy4lops
Some people really need to grow up!!!!!!!!!!!!



hm... T_T now who could that be?

NOT us. we are responsible pet owners, we are grown up because we CARE about these animals, we are the ones who clean up after the messes Pet Store-breeders make! Messes meaning homeless, unwanted, neglected, abused, abandoned animals. . including Rabbits! Rabbits are the 3rd most common pet in shelters. I'm not saying you cannot breed your bunny's, of course thats your choice. But you asked for advice and you are getting that, my advice to you is to re-think breeding your buns. . really, does the good outweigh all of the bad? Have you researched this and educated yourself? Probably not, because you did not know the breed of your bunnies or the period to wait between breedings, etc. PLEASE do as much research as you can, BEFORE breeding again. And if you still want to, please think about adopting them out of your home, where you can interview the new owners and be sure that your babies are going to LOVING, forever homes.

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by crazzy4lops
PS
The only person that's not attacking me is Karen, least I have someone on my side.

She never said she was on your side. She said the rest of us should hear you out and try not to get angry. Remember that.

[wolfsoul]

I'm not saying I disagree with rabbit mills because I'm judging you -- I'm saying it because I disagree with what you are doing to rabbits.

People often associate mills with very dirty places with hundreds of animals placed in small cages breeding constantly --- but you don't need to have that to be a mill. Like a paper mill supplies paper, a rabbit mill supplies rabbits. It doesn't matter if you only breed one litter and sell it to a petshop. It still makes you a rabbit mill.

It is irrelevant how many rabbits are in the shelters in your area. There are never catahoulas in the shelter in my area -- It doesn't mean I'm going to become a puppy mill.

This is not to say I don't agree with reputable breeding. I have my eye on a reputable rabbit breeder right now. Her rabbits are registered and pedigreed. They match the standard, attend shows, and have won many ribbons. They were all bought from reputable breeders. She has a return policy to ensure that her rabbits don't end up in shelters. She breeds only healthy rabbits and knows what she is doing. And she is doing it to better the breed. Of course I will rescue it a friend, and do alot of rescue work. Do you do alot of rescue work?


the statistics tell us that within 2 generations, some of your rabbit's descendants are guaranteed to end up dead at a shelter.
http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/hidden-cost-of-breeding.html

She may be confused, and might not build a nest for her babies, causing them to die of exposure. Her milk might not drop, or she just may not feed them, leaving the human caretaker to hand feed them. Mortality for hand fed babies is extremely high. If the father was larger than the mother, she may have difficulty during delivery and the babies may not survive. If the mother was not particularly healthy, she can become sick from the stress of carrying and delivering the babies.

The best thing that you can do for you bunny, and all rabbits, is spay or neuter. Female rabbits will live longer because you eliminate the possibility of ovarian, uterine, or mammary tumors. Your rabbit will be less aggressive, his or her litterbox habits will be more reliable
http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/why-not-to-breed.html

A LOT of time – and this cannot be under-estimated. You need to be available 24/7 at least during the latter days of pregnancy and during the birth. It is best to have one person as the bunnies’ main carer to provide regular checks and handling of the babies.
You will need to be available to check nests overnight and during the daytime (ie not working away from home). Sometimes employed bunny owners overlook this and find themselves unable to take time off at short notice.
A bunny savvy vet close by to provide any urgent or emergency treatment required.
Complete dedication.
A healthy bank balance to pay for the inevitable extra vet bills.


You might be required to obtain a Licence in order to breed your rabbits if ANY of the babies are to be either sold or given away, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for them.
If the babies are to be sold then this might be considered a business and this could attract Business Rating of part of your home and/or garden – even though you won’t be making any profit.
Appropriate insurance and public liability insurance if any bunny adopters are to visit your home.
Compliance with Fire Regulation and any local bylaws. Please note – these requirements are applicable to ‘back garden’ breeders and not just commercial breeders selling rabbits for profit.


Ideally, you should be aiming to improve the breed in some way - such as by working on a colour to increase its strength, improve markings, improve head shape or some other feature.

Any bunnies to be bred must be of breeding quality in addition to being in peak health and fitness.

It is vital that their line free of any genetic defects which might be passed on otherwise they could produce babies who are going to suffer from problems, most commonly teeth problems which means they, and their owners, undergo considerable stress (and expense) from the regular surgery needed to treat problems as they arise. This is neither fair to the bunny - nor their owner.

So, for this reason, it is best to breed only from rabbits with a good pedigree and whose previous generations are known and can be confirmed to be free of faults or problems. Bunnies bought from a reputable breeder should have some background information and a dedicated pet bunny owner/breeder will usually have maintained the same lines for decades and this is the best way to be certain as possible that their are no defects lurking.

If you have bought your rabbits from a pet shop then they are very unlikely to have any pedigree or background information relating to their line so it is not usually advisable to consider breeding these.

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/breedingrabbits.asp

[jackie]

Thank you for the great information wolfsoul.

[PayItForward]

Responsible breeders don't breed for profit, they breed to improve the breed.

Only back yard breeders can make a profit as they cut so many corners when it comes to breeding.

Here is some research I have pulled together to write a couple of articles. Although it refers to breeding cats many points also apply to breeding rabbits.

http://www.whyneuter.com/breeders.html

PS. Only back yard breeders would consider selling babies (rabbits, kittens or puppies) to be sold via a petshop to anyone without considering whether or not they will be good forever homes. :(