Anyone else breed/raise rabbits here?

[KikiDeAnime]

So I had a question. How do you choose a good doe to breed? What do you look for when choosing one?

 

[Little Red Birds]

So I had a question. How do you choose a good doe to breed? What do you look for when choosing one?

It depends on what you are going to want the kits for

 

[Little Red Birds]

Watch how hot the temperature gets, the kits can overheat in the nest box if there's too much fur. Not a fun thing to learn from personal experience, as I did this week.

That is so sad!! I’ve never heard of them overheating here but I’m gonna start watching now... Last year she had three around this time and pulled her chest bald lol

 

[KikiDeAnime]

It depends on what you are going to want the kits for

Let's say for example, the kits will be sold as pets.

 

[Bunnylady]

That depends - do you want a reputation of "oh, they'll put anything together if they think they can make a buck or two," or do you want people to think well of you? If the latter, you want to learn what the breed standard is, what it means (not always obvious to someone who doesn't have experience showing the breed), and get animals as close to the standard as you can reasonably get. They don't have to be show quality, but they should at least be recognizable to someone who knows the breed (you'd be amazed . . . I certainly have been). If you can get genuinely friendly animals, that's a bonus, but since a certain amount of personality is inheritable, you at least want to avoid breeding "dragon rabbits" in case the offspring turn out like their mothers. Good mothering instincts are often inheritable, too, so daughters of good mothers get a little extra consideration in my book. Good health should be obvious, but that can be either good/poor genetics or a maintenance issue; either way, you don't want to be bringing in sickly animals as potential breeders. At the very least, they represent possible points of contagion for your other animals.

 

[Little Red Birds]

Let's say for example, the kits will be sold as pets.

Ok so, if you are just breeding her for pets, look for a good mannered, non-aggressive doe. Same with the buck. Tame-ness has been proven (through a study with foxes- not in the US, also with people trying to raise wolf pups) to be genetic. That’s the main thing for pets. Also, if you are going out and buying a doe, you might want to try and find one that’s had a litter and took care of them well, or before you buy ask to see the parents (mostly the mom) and ask if they are not aggressive and if the mom has taken good care of litters. My friend raises Holland’s and he bought an amazing looking doe (show worthy) and didn’t look at he mom or dad or ask about the moms litters. The first time He bred her and she gave birth, (he tried four time before and she didn’t take) she had them on the wire after building a beautiful nest. The second time she gave birth to five healthy kits. She didn’t feed them and three died. After a week she ate one and only one was left. I am currently fostering it. So be careful!

 

[KikiDeAnime]

That depends - do you want a reputation of "oh, they'll put anything together if they think they can make a buck or two," or do you want people to think well of you? If the latter, you want to learn what the breed standard is, what it means (not always obvious to someone who doesn't have experience showing the breed), and get animals as close to the standard as you can reasonably get. They don't have to be show quality, but they should at least be recognizable to someone who knows the breed (you'd be amazed . . . I certainly have been). If you can get genuinely friendly animals, that's a bonus, but since a certain amount of personality is inheritable, you at least want to avoid breeding "dragon rabbits" in case the offspring turn out like their mothers. Good mothering instincts are often inheritable, too, so daughters of good mothers get a little extra consideration in my book. Good health should be obvious, but that can be either good/poor genetics or a maintenance issue; either way, you don't want to be bringing in sickly animals as potential breeders. At the very least, they represent possible points of contagion for your other animals.

I'm not in it for the money. Besides, most the money would go towards the rabbits' health and food.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Ok so, if you are just breeding her for pets, look for a good mannered, non-aggressive doe. Same with the buck. Tame-ness has been proven (through a study with foxes- not in the US, also with people trying to raise wolf pups) to be genetic. That’s the main thing for pets. Also, if you are going out and buying a doe, you might want to try and find one that’s had a litter and took care of them well, or before you buy ask to see the parents (mostly the mom) and ask if they are not aggressive and if the mom has taken good care of litters. My friend raises Holland’s and he bought an amazing looking doe (show worthy) and didn’t look at he mom or dad or ask about the moms litters. The first time He bred her and she gave birth, (he tried four time before and she didn’t take) she had them on the wire after building a beautiful nest. The second time she gave birth to five healthy kits. She didn’t feed them and three died. After a week she ate one and only one was left. I am currently fostering it. So be careful!

My older brother bred rabbits for meat a couple years ago and this one doe he had only took care of her second litter but ate or just didn't take care of her other litters. He felt cheated because the doe's previous owners had stated that she was bred once and was an excellent mother.

 

[Little Red Birds]

My older brother bred rabbits for meat a couple years ago and this one doe he had only took care of her second litter but ate or just didn't take care of her other litters. He felt cheated because the doe's previous owners had stated that she was bred once and was an excellent mother.

That’s why we ask to see siblings and parents. Siblings are proof of some success and that the breeder isn’t just trying to get rid of a bad doe. And if there aren’t any siblings, we ask for records and pedigrees of they parents siblings and/or past kits of the mom. We often know the person we buy from though and we only go through this process when we go to a new person.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Let's say for example, the kits will be sold as pets.

Then you mostly need to figure out your local market and which breeds sell. Otherwise you could breed dozens of the most amazing, pedigreed whatnots and not sell a single one. Look on craigslist, see what's around, see what goes quickly vs. what hangs around forever.