Breeding Rabbits

[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/hidde...-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.