What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[Bunnylady]

I'm not making assumptions about anything - I am not even assuming that I can take you at your word. I have seen a lot of (particularly young) people who say things like "my animals are my life" or "this animal is my baby; my soul mate," who then, when the animal has some medical condition that clearly needs professional care, "can't afford a vet" or "don't believe in vets" and want advice on stuff they can do at home, for free . . Or like the girl who wants to breed her dog, and a very experienced dog breeder tells her that there is always a risk of the female dying as a result of complications from pregnancy or delivery,who insists that she loves her dog, and would never do anything to hurt her - what part of "you'll be risking her life" gets cancelled out by loving her?

But once an animal leaves your care, that's it - you no longer have control over how it is treated. I don't care how carefully you vet the prospective owner, or how many times you say you want it back, if ever; ultimately, it is their animal now, and they will do as they choose. I was seriously chagrined when I met one of my former breeders in the hands of a local rabbit rescue - I thought surely that family meant to be a "forever home;" that's why I let such a wonderful rabbit leave. I guess I should be glad that they took the trouble to get her to the rescue rather than just turning her loose . . .

I learned a long time ago not to pay a whole lot of attention to what people say, because however much they might mean it now, things change. Not even suggesting that they weren't telling me the truth at the time, just that watching what they ultimately do is a lot more informative.

 

[AmandaVirginia]

Make sure they go to a GOOD home.

I'm glad of that. Also, you've been kind and respectful thank you for that.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Eating meat is a personal choice many people make, and I totally respect people who choose not to.

I don't support people who choose to knowingly have animals suffer on their behalf. That includes people who stick their heads in the sand about the fact that grocery store meat comes from places where animals suffer greatly. Which is why I raise my own.

Nobody minds you keeping rabbits as pets. Please do. If you want more, please consider buying a rabbit from a responsible breeder or better yet, rescue one. The problem lies in breeding without any particular reason to. Even if you emphasize that they should send them back to you, chances are they wont bother or the rabbit will die first anyhow. I have no idea what happens to the rabbits I send out as pets but I send out fewer than six rabbits a year as pets and I spend literal hours educating each person who gets my rabbits about them. Even still, I can only hope that doesn't come back to bite me and I feel uncomfortable sending my rabbits to pet homes. I have done my time in rabbit rescue as well. Are you ready to spend 2 hours educating a stranger on rabbit care, shelter rabbit statistics, disease averages and dietary needs for 5 kits per litter, 4+ times a year, when they sell for about $20 each?
Rabbits are the third most surrendered animal in the USA and of those 1/4 will be put down and up to another quarter will never make it out of the shelter. Those are the ones that even make it to the shelters. Despite having a lifespan of 8-12 years, most pet rabbits don't make it to 3 years old from poor care in general. Not only that but between 3-6 years old, 80% of female rabbits will die of uterine cancer. Male rabbits also get testicular cancer. How many "pet" owners who buy that $20 rabbit are going to get their rabbits fixed for $200 no matter how much the "love" them or how "nice" they seem? That's money people will spend on a $400 dog, but not on a rabbit. Did the person who sold you your rabbits tell you there was a 60% chance your female was going to die before she hits three years old if you didn't get her fixed? Now that you know that your rabbit has a 60% chance to die by 3 years old or an 80% chance to die by six years old, will you be getting her fixed?
How many of your customers are going to stubbornly decide that they want baby bunnies from their rabbits for no particular reason and send a cascade of additional pet rabbits across the market to anybody who can pay money? How many of those people will laugh in your face and say "it's just a dumb rabbit, I paid $20 for it! I'm not spending hundreds on vet bills. Are you crazy?"... How many people are going to think it's too much effort to drive back to you to drop off the rabbit, or how many people are going to not want that embarassment, so they release it outside to "live in the wild" only to see it die ripped apart by a dog or a hawk or starve to death? Because once they leave your hands your rabbits could end up anywhere, in any situation, an there's NOTHING you can do about it once they're gone.

tl;dr
This isn't a "cute bunnies shouldn't be killed for meat" or "difference of opinion" or even a "You don't know what you're doing" argument. This is a "do you want people to think of you like a puppy mill that lets your mutt animals breed for no particular reason other than to produce more pets, and do you want to contribute massively to the shelter animal population" argument. And if you're cool with that, please carry on. If you're breeding mutt pet bunnies just to make more mutt pet bunnies that's literally all you're doing, and no, I won't be respectful or nice towards that any more than I respect people who let their unfixed dogs run around the neighborhood having puppies willy nilly. Sorry.

 

[AmandaVirginia]

I'm not making assumptions about anything - I am not even assuming that I can take you at your word. I have seen a lot of (particularly young) people who say things like "my animals are my life" or "this animal is my baby; my soul mate," who then, when the animal has some medical condition that clearly needs professional care, "can't afford a vet" or "don't believe in vets" and want advice on stuff they can do at home, for free . . Or like the girl who wants to breed her dog, and a very experienced dog breeder tells her that there is always a risk of the female dying as a result of complications from pregnancy or delivery,who insists that she loves her dog, and would never do anything to hurt her - what part of "you'll be risking her life" gets cancelled out by loving her?

But once an animal leaves your care, that's it - you no longer have control over how it is treated. I don't care how carefully you vet the prospective owner, or how many times you say you want it back, if ever; ultimately, it is their animal now, and they will do as they choose. I was seriously chagrined when I met one of my former breeders in the hands of a local rabbit rescue - I thought surely that family meant to be a "forever home;" that's why I let such a wonderful rabbit leave. I guess I should be glad that they took the trouble to get her to the rescue rather than just turning her loose . . .

I learned a long time ago not to pay a whole lot of attention to what people say, because however much they might mean it now, things change. Not even suggesting that they weren't telling me the truth at the time, just that watching what they ultimately do is a lot more informative.

First, I'm 25 and my animals have been my life since I could voice they were. Don't put quotes around my animals are my life like it isn't an extremely significant statement. Second, I take the health of my animals VERY seriously, more seriously than ANYTHING, and they are treated by our vet twice a year as well as whenever deemed necessary. For example, I have two Call ducks. I hatched both but at separate times. My second one had three siblings. Would you like to know why I chose to kept him out of his three siblings? He had what I thought was an upper respiratory infection, so I took him to our vet to be put on medication and to be examined. Turns out, he had a cleft palate. Every time he ate, I had to flush his nares with normal saline by using a nasal cannula. Otherwise they would get clogged and he wouldn't be able to breathe. I CHOSE to do that and I love him dearly. Then his three siblings went to a very good friend of mine, a vet tech. We became close when I worked at my animals vet before getting into Nursing school. Third, YES, my animals are my life.

 

[cassie]

I agree with you. I raised goats for many years. I got so I refused to sell kids for pets. So many pet goats end up with such miserable lives that I preferred they be butchered.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Oh man, I can't even imagine. At least rabbits are small, relatively disease/parasite free, and capable of living with people for their socialization without significant incident. Plus goats have that myth of "You can feed them anything even tin cans" which is SO much worse than the myth of "rabbits eat mostly carrots"... And they're big and super smart... I don't think I'd be able to sell a goat to someone who wanted a "pet" without a home inspection or photos of their barn and a pen big/dry enough to keep them in without hoof rot, complete with some climbing structures.... Otherwise I suspect I'd just be sending them to a very sad fate.

 

[AmandaVirginia]

Eating meat is a personal choice many people make, and I totally respect people who choose not to.

I don't support people who choose to knowingly have animals suffer on their behalf. That includes people who stick their heads in the sand about the fact that grocery store meat comes from places where animals suffer greatly. Which is why I raise my own.

Nobody minds you keeping rabbits as pets. Please do. If you want more, please consider buying a rabbit from a responsible breeder or better yet, rescue one. The problem lies in breeding without any particular reason to. Even if you emphasize that they should send them back to you, chances are they wont bother or the rabbit will die first anyhow. I have no idea what happens to the rabbits I send out as pets but I send out fewer than six rabbits a year as pets and I spend literal hours educating each person who gets my rabbits about them. Even still, I can only hope that doesn't come back to bite me and I feel uncomfortable sending my rabbits to pet homes. I have done my time in rabbit rescue as well. Are you ready to spend 2 hours educating a stranger on rabbit care, shelter rabbit statistics, disease averages and dietary needs for 5 kits per litter, 4+ times a year, when they sell for about $20 each?
 Rabbits are the third most surrendered animal in the USA and of those 1/4 will be put down and up to another quarter will never make it out of the shelter. Those are the ones that even make it to the shelters. Despite having a lifespan of 8-12 years, most pet rabbits don't make it to 3 years old from poor care in general. Not only that but between 3-6 years old, 80% of female rabbits will die of uterine cancer. Male rabbits also get testicular cancer. How many "pet" owners who buy that $20 rabbit are going to get their rabbits fixed for $200 no matter how much the "love" them or how "nice" they seem? That's money people will spend on a $400 dog, but not on a rabbit. Did the person who sold you your rabbits tell you there was a 60% chance your female was going to die before she hits three years old if you didn't get her fixed? Now that you know that your rabbit has a 60% chance to die by 3 years old or an 80% chance to die by six years old, will you be getting her fixed?
How many of your customers are going to stubbornly decide that they want baby bunnies from their rabbits for no particular reason and send a cascade of additional pet rabbits across the market to anybody who can pay money? How many of those people will laugh in your face and say "it's just a dumb rabbit, I paid $20 for it! I'm not spending hundreds on vet bills. Are you crazy?"... How many people are going to think it's too much effort to drive back to you to drop off the rabbit, or how many people are going to not want that embarassment, so they release it outside to "live in the wild" only to see it die ripped apart by a dog or a hawk or starve to death? Because once they leave your hands your rabbits could end up anywhere, in any situation, an there's NOTHING you can do about it once they're gone.

tl;dr
This isn't a "cute bunnies shouldn't be killed for meat" or "difference of opinion" or even a "You don't know what you're doing" argument. This is a "do you want people to think of you like a puppy mill that lets your mutt animals breed for no particular reason other than to produce more pets, and do you want to contribute massively to the shelter animal population" argument. And if you're cool with that, please carry on. If you're breeding mutt pet bunnies just to make more mutt pet bunnies that's literally all you're doing, and no, I won't be respectful or nice towards that any more than I respect people who let their unfixed dogs run around the neighborhood having puppies willy nilly. Sorry.

Both my Netherland Dwarf doe & my Lion Lop doe are from responsible as well as reputable breeders. I specifically got 'sisters' instead of a pair, so they wouldn't breed every month. I haven't bred either of them but I have stayed and will continue to stay in touch with who I got them from, they're my friends now. I have found homes for ducklings and not only do I make friends with the families I send them to, if we're not already friends, but we talk on a regular basis. I even visit the animals I've given them to at their homes. I know exactly how the animals I've found homes for are doing. And, yes I would be willing to spend any amount of time explaining anything and everything to anyone interested. I most certainly would.

 

[CyndiD]

We photographed a bunch of our rabbits yesterday. They came out a little blurry but that's OK.... Our black otter rex doe Sage, an opal doe, her daughter, about 5 months old.

they look so soft. is that what is popular about the otter rex, their fur? do they shed alot? my bucks are shedding now, is this cuz of the heat & time of yr? i will google it.

 

[BantamSlave02]

I'm glad of that. Also, you've been kind and respectful thank you for that.

You're very welcome. That comment made my day.

 

[BantamSlave02]

First, I'm 25 and my animals have been my life since I could voice they were. Don't put quotes around my animals are my life like it isn't an extremely significant statement. Second, I take the health of my animals VERY seriously, more seriously than ANYTHING, and they are treated by our vet twice a year as well as whenever deemed necessary. For example, I have two Call ducks. I hatched both but at separate times. My second one had three siblings. Would you like to know why I chose to kept him out of his three siblings? He had what I thought was an upper respiratory infection, so I took him to our vet to be put on medication and to be examined. Turns out, he had a cleft palate. Every time he ate, I had to flush his nares with normal saline by using a nasal cannula. Otherwise they would get clogged and he wouldn't be able to breathe. I CHOSE to do that and I love him dearly. Then his three siblings went to a very good friend of mine, a vet tech. We became close when I worked at my animals vet before getting into Nursing school. Third, YES, my animals are my life.

Awwww, I was born with a cleft palate too, so I empathize with your little drake.