Cyndi, quarantine is a requirement for all animals entering and leaving a property, even for pets IMO. When we get a new puppy, we keep them separated for a week or two, and those are vaccinated pets. Farm animals go into a quarantine pen for one month any time they leave my property... Even if it's just for a day or two. It's a lot of extra effort that many breeders won't risk, but I also sell to the pet market and youths on occasion and don't want to be responsible for people putting rabbits in shelters... Especially since most shelter rabbits are rabbit breeds meant for meat/furs like mine. They are big, standoffish, boring white bunnies with creepy red eyes that hit the shelters and get spayed/neutered so they're useless as pets or production. Nobody wants them. They never see another home again. I still buy from people who don't offer returns because rabbit diseases that can wipe out your whole herd are very real and therefore returns are risky, but I trust people who do offer returns more. All this stuff should be common sense, but I don't know how many people I've met who don't do any of it. Some of the "breeders" I've met couldn't even sex their rabbits they were asking $75 each for. Some people are just in it to be a rabbit mill and make a quick buck. Lots of ignorant people buy rabbits, especially near a big city like where I live. It can be a lucrative market fed by ignorance, so I try to combat it where I can. I think education is key to responsible animal ownership and husbandry...
As for litter sizes, if you want meat, furs or even babies to sell as pets your bottom line is based on how many babies your rabbits can produce. Rabbits can have litter ranging from 3 to 14 kits in a single litter. And while a doe's milk production scales a little based on the number of kits, it's only a loose correlation and the fewer kits there are the more milk they get per kit. That means that if you wanted to get a small number of extremely high quality rabbits you would want smaller litters. The kits would drink more milk, grow faster, have nicer fur, be healthier, etc. This is how most show rabbits are born. They're exceptional examples of the breed because they have no competition and they're selected for carefully, etc. But you still end up with fewer rabbits. Rabbits have 8 nipples and feed twice a day and so a good production rabbit can raise 8-12 kits, but they won't be as high of quality in the show ring.
An example is if you're looking at production numbers for two does of the same breed and weight. One doe is a show quality rabbit from show lines with a pedigree, and the other is a 4H rabbit from market lines with no history. Both rabbits cost the same amount of money to feed, treat health problems, and hours of time to care for each year.
The show doe has an average litter size of 4. From a show perspective, if those rabbits win shows they could be worth money and increase your rabbitry's reputation as a producer of show winning rabbits and would maybe let you sell show rabbits at a premium. From any other standpoint, that translates into 4 hides and 4 carcasses, or 4 pet sales all of above average quality. So, you might be able to value the hides at $5 instead of $3 ($20 for all 4) and you might get 12lbs of meat (4, 3lb carcasses), or you might be able to ask for $30 per kit instead of $25 as pets so you'd get $120.
Compare to a rabbit that produces an average 9 kit litters. The rabbits are slightly smaller, there is probably a runt in the litter that is worth nothing for any meat/hide purpose. These rabbits are healthy, but they have flaws in a show ring (stray mis-colored hairs or nails, they aren't as round as they should be, their face is too long, they grow a bit slower, whatever) and showing these rabbits probably won't do much for your rabbitry. But you have EIGHT of them. That means $24 in hides (8x$3) and 20lbs (8, 2.5lb rabbits) of meat. For pets, you have 8-9, $25 rabbits to sell for $200-$225.
In both situations, you have spent the same amount of money on taking care of the doe. But if you don't intend to show your rabbits (because you want to raise for meat or furs) the second option is always the best because each litter gets you 20lbs of meat instead of 12. And in reality? The show quality doe with the small litters probably cost you $100 to buy, while the meat production rabbit will cost you $30. Start looking at those numbers on a yearly basis and if you're not showing then over the course of 6 litters the "low quality" production doe will give you 120lbs of meat a year, while the show rabbit will only give you 72lbs. If you have two does you get 144lbs from the show does and 240lbs from the production does. It just get more staggering from there.
That why finding someone who sells very healthy rabbits that produce an average of 8-9 kits per litter is so important for a homestead or meat production. Show rabbits become almost a waste of space unless you're specifically trying to break into showing. A lot of "production" new zealand whites are too big for showing or their kits aren't nice enough looking, or they are too long or whatever. But if they produce 8 kits in a litter instead of 4, they're going to meet your meat needs WAY better. Which is why I always ask about average litter size, and how big they get by 12 weeks. If the rabbits produce less than 6 kits per litter, or they don't hit 4lbs by 12 weeks, I won't buy them. They don't produce enough fast growing rabbits to justify the doe's feed costs.
As for litter sizes, if you want meat, furs or even babies to sell as pets your bottom line is based on how many babies your rabbits can produce. Rabbits can have litter ranging from 3 to 14 kits in a single litter. And while a doe's milk production scales a little based on the number of kits, it's only a loose correlation and the fewer kits there are the more milk they get per kit. That means that if you wanted to get a small number of extremely high quality rabbits you would want smaller litters. The kits would drink more milk, grow faster, have nicer fur, be healthier, etc. This is how most show rabbits are born. They're exceptional examples of the breed because they have no competition and they're selected for carefully, etc. But you still end up with fewer rabbits. Rabbits have 8 nipples and feed twice a day and so a good production rabbit can raise 8-12 kits, but they won't be as high of quality in the show ring.
An example is if you're looking at production numbers for two does of the same breed and weight. One doe is a show quality rabbit from show lines with a pedigree, and the other is a 4H rabbit from market lines with no history. Both rabbits cost the same amount of money to feed, treat health problems, and hours of time to care for each year.
The show doe has an average litter size of 4. From a show perspective, if those rabbits win shows they could be worth money and increase your rabbitry's reputation as a producer of show winning rabbits and would maybe let you sell show rabbits at a premium. From any other standpoint, that translates into 4 hides and 4 carcasses, or 4 pet sales all of above average quality. So, you might be able to value the hides at $5 instead of $3 ($20 for all 4) and you might get 12lbs of meat (4, 3lb carcasses), or you might be able to ask for $30 per kit instead of $25 as pets so you'd get $120.
Compare to a rabbit that produces an average 9 kit litters. The rabbits are slightly smaller, there is probably a runt in the litter that is worth nothing for any meat/hide purpose. These rabbits are healthy, but they have flaws in a show ring (stray mis-colored hairs or nails, they aren't as round as they should be, their face is too long, they grow a bit slower, whatever) and showing these rabbits probably won't do much for your rabbitry. But you have EIGHT of them. That means $24 in hides (8x$3) and 20lbs (8, 2.5lb rabbits) of meat. For pets, you have 8-9, $25 rabbits to sell for $200-$225.
In both situations, you have spent the same amount of money on taking care of the doe. But if you don't intend to show your rabbits (because you want to raise for meat or furs) the second option is always the best because each litter gets you 20lbs of meat instead of 12. And in reality? The show quality doe with the small litters probably cost you $100 to buy, while the meat production rabbit will cost you $30. Start looking at those numbers on a yearly basis and if you're not showing then over the course of 6 litters the "low quality" production doe will give you 120lbs of meat a year, while the show rabbit will only give you 72lbs. If you have two does you get 144lbs from the show does and 240lbs from the production does. It just get more staggering from there.
That why finding someone who sells very healthy rabbits that produce an average of 8-9 kits per litter is so important for a homestead or meat production. Show rabbits become almost a waste of space unless you're specifically trying to break into showing. A lot of "production" new zealand whites are too big for showing or their kits aren't nice enough looking, or they are too long or whatever. But if they produce 8 kits in a litter instead of 4, they're going to meet your meat needs WAY better. Which is why I always ask about average litter size, and how big they get by 12 weeks. If the rabbits produce less than 6 kits per litter, or they don't hit 4lbs by 12 weeks, I won't buy them. They don't produce enough fast growing rabbits to justify the doe's feed costs.
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