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?
Quote:
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/hidde...-breeding.html
Quote:
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.
Quote:
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
Quote:
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.
Quote:
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.
Quote:
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
