Is it irresponsible to breed rabbits?

[Sphynxmama]

Well, I would NEVER have a no questions asked return policy as per my fear of parasites and disease.

Yes, somethings are irresponsible... like all the peeps who hatch chicks and expect every cockerel to find a home but not get eaten.

If your friend already has the same stock and local, why compete for her business? Does she have a back log of people waiting for her rabbits?

I see them all the time on Craigslist. People here are big about eating rabbit... too me that would be a GOOD reason for breeding.

As much as I love dogs and pure breeds are nice... I will NEVER breed them. Like you say, it's pretty irresponsible with so many dying or being euthanized in shelters EVERY single day with yet more starving on the streets. And some people will turn their bunnies loose to fend for their own and do whatever nature has in store.

If it's a means to make $... probably not a great choice. If it's a labor of LOVE... Why breed and not just enjoy what you get for yourself. Will you be able to cull immediately any with defects? Chicken breeding has taught me a lot about how hard core some decisions we have to make are. I won't support ill birds... I want my stock strong. Survival of the fittest to a degree... knowing that I have provided ALL they need and some still just don't get the best genetic makeup. Yes, sometimes I cull "viable" chicks for bent toes and such. It's always a hard choice.

Anyways... you are looking at many factors, and for that reason whatever YOU decide is right for YOU... it will not have been a truly irresponsible choice. If you find it isn't working out... don't breed them anymore and learn from your experience.

I know chickens are ending up at shelters as well. I knew I could not choose to hatch without a plan in place for all the extra boys, since layers are always easy to get rid of... Those aren't my chickens in the shelter... mine are feeding my family and other people... we EVEN eat our extra Silkies or other bantams!

Yes, I like to rescue pets... when I can. I will likely ALWAYS adopt dogs... But I will NEVER adopt a chicken, too much risk to the rest of my flock. I have considered adopting bunnies or others but they aren't really available at the shelters I frequent.

To me the pet market for rabbits isn't large enough to warrant any extra effort from breeding... BUT this is YOUR life and your market may be different.

Best wishes for whatever you decide!

Why do you say it’s irresponsible to hatch without thinking about the boys? Is there a problem with keeping boys from hatches? I’ve got several in my back garden, so has my mum, we don’t have any problems...

 

[Chicks 'n ducks]

I don't think that that is what he meant. Keeping your cockerels is absolutely fine if you can provide the space. What he meant was that you can't post the ones you don't want on craigslist or something and not expect a few to end up in stew pot homes.

 

[Bunnylady]

Chocolate hollands are very rare around here. my friend had to get her stock from a whole different state. So there is a market here.

Some observations about the market for chocolate Hollands.

There are several colors that have showable chocolate versions, but a number that do not, so getting chocolate in your lines can be a surefire recipe for turning out some non-showable colors that may have you puzzling about what they actually are. Consequently, a lot of breeders steer away from chocolate, or only breed chocolate to chocolate. People who want chocolate may pay a higher price for the "rare" color, but that's kind of a niche market; some breeders won't consider a certain rabbit at any price because it's a chocolate. People who want pets generally want "pretty," but probably will go for whatever has a lower price; they most likely won't care whether the color is common or not.

Chocolate and BEW are colors that are generally considered best kept to themselves, so the gene pool is typically pretty limited. In the rabbit world, there can be a big difference between "show quality" and "show winning." Often, "show quality" simply means that the rabbit isn't too large or too small, and doesn't have any other disqualifications like mismatched claws or obvious physical deformities. While there are some amazing chocolate Hollands out there, unless you have access to their genetics, the restricted gene pool makes improving your lines difficult. Since Hollands are so popular, the breeder who restricts themselves to chocolate may find themselves always congratulating the winners rather than being a winner themselves.

The fact that Hollands are a small breed means that they have small litters, and of course, there is that lethal gene that also trims the number of viable babies. With only 3 breeders, you might make enough money to cover your feed bill, but you are unlikely to "flood the market" with animals that will get dumped into shelters before they are even fully mature. Make sure you are obeying the laws in your area regarding rabbits; I know of a couple of breeders who got shut down or paid hefty fines because they weren't.

Understand - however careful you may be about choosing your breeding stock, and however careful you are about the people you sell to, there will always be people who think they can judge you simply because you are a breeder. You CAN'T be sure that your animals won't wind up at a shelter or rescue. I just saw an item on the local news about someone who was congratulating herself on rescuing 16 rabbits from the backyard of new-to-rabbits owner who had had a couple of litters without any plans for them. The rabbits in the pictures were chinchilla colored, and I know where the AmChins in this area most likely originally came from - a friend of mine. She got into them because they are a rare breed (according to the Livestock Conservancy) and she breeds to help promote them, and would be chagrined to think that her rabbits wound up on the news that way. A Harlequin doe that I petted out because I wasn't going to breed her any more, and I though deserved a loving home, wound up at a rabbit rescue within a year after I sold her. You do your best, and figure out a way to deal with the rest.

 

[Aerliss]

As someone who once considered breeding, but now with only rescue buns and chucks I'd have to come down on breeding for the pet trade to be irresponsible. People who just want a cute pet have unlimited access to pet rabbits from accidental breedings, shelters, and if they must pet shops.

If you're breeding for show, and to sell on to other show breeders, with a solid plan for the rabbits that aren't up to scratch, even if it's just giving them a good life and then eating them** , then you can absolutely do it responsibly. This would be my ideal world, tbh; dogs, cats, rabbits, etc bred ONLY for show/work, not the pet trade, and "extras" going on to become pets.

But as someone pointed out; you'd be competing with another breeder, and not necessarily breeding rabbits that are show worthy. Research the shows, go to shows, talk to other breeders about the breeds and qualities that are coming in tops in your area, or are in demand at show level. Then choose a breed and colour to start your programme based on that.

**not sure how much eating there is on your average lop, to be honest. My most precious rescue is a bag of floppy bones, but my other is a big chunky slab of muscle (you KNOW when he's kicked you in the belly). Maybe the average is somewhere in between XD

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Why do you say it’s irresponsible to hatch without thinking about the boys? Is there a problem with keeping boys from hatches? I’ve got several in my back garden, so has my mum, we don’t have any problems...

I keep a stag pen as well. Some boys *can* get along.

It's irresponsible to not consider boys if you don't have a means of protecting your hens from being over mated... which doesn't just mean giving them saddles.

Many people who choose to hatch live in the city... always trying to sell just their boys and claiming they have to downsize their flock because they can't have roosters in city limits.

I have sold a FEW boys. There are people looking on occasion. But it would be sheer ignorance on my part to think I can hatch all that I want and never see a single boy go to the stew pot. If your neighbors can deal with limitless crowing or you are fortunate enough to not have neighbors, then that's awesome.

But for anyone to not a have a good plan in place for their extra boys, that would not be a pleasant situation. I almost always hatch more cockerels than pullets.

And yes, it can get brutal in the stag pen. Sometimes a boy decides he is on one and has something to prove. If you have ZERO problem... either you haven't kept them long enough for issues to arise, or you got real lucky. No animal or human will live indefinitely with another and not have a disagreement sometimes. And introducing new boys from other hatches is a whole other challenge.

Anyone without a plan should NOT be hatching. It's the animals who pay the price for it.

No it isn't an issue to keep some boys... inline with what your property, income, flock, and time can manage. That isn't the same as relentless hatching and demanding every boy find a home without going to freezer camp. Bantam or not, teenage cockerels are not sheer joy in my experience. Anyways this is MY take. And I live in the reality where everything has to eat to live and if I eat meat something has to die. I see those people who hatched without the ability to MAKE that choice sending their boys off to live at a rooster sanctuary. There is NOTHING responsible about people who choose to do that. They went in KNOWING they would get some males yet chose to do it anyways knowing they would push that responsibility off onto someone else.

Again.. not ALL hatching and keeping boys is irresponsible. I probably hatched 100-200 chicks this season. Sold lots and kept lots, also ate lots. Hatching is addictive. But ya gotta know the difference between having a hobby that you love and hoarding or over crowding your place.

Some observations about the market for chocolate Hollands.

Great information!

Please note one other thing, on the heals of bunnylady's post... First year hatching I went with "rare" Swedish Flower chickens which I sold a few. Then I discovered rare is irrelevant and popular is what counts. I can sell my Marans and Silkies all day long as fast as I can hatch them, all year long... at $9 each per straight run chick. I offer to take boys back for the stew pot for free as a community service. Not a single stag returned yet. Still, Yes I cover some feed cost, but even at that price I won't be getting rich and still consider it a labor of love.

What he meant was

I kinda like the fun of not knowing gender and guessing according to how people post, until I actually know... but alas I am *almost* an old lady.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Have you ever eaten rabbit? Possibly my favorite meat.

Not yet. But with it being so readily available, I did make contact with someone who bought chickens that said they do rabbits to let them now my family was interested in trying it... Local, humane meat!

 

[Aerliss]

or you are fortunate enough to not have neighbors

Ah, my ideal world; no other people for miles... but a good delivery service because I don't drive. And good Internet service...

 

[townchicks]

I love that you are trying to make the ethical decisions before you start. Breeding for show, and trying to "improve" the breeding stock, can be worthwhile pursuits. As others have said, however, there will always be kits in the litter (sometimes the whole litter) that you will not want to show or breed. Those rabbits end up as pets or food. Period. Once you let them out of your hands, you have no control. Telling folks you will take them back, is the right thing to do, IMO, if you brought it into the world, you are responsible for it. Having said that, you do take the risk of bringing disease into your animals, also of getting so many back, that you then can't re-home. Some things to consider. Rabbits, along with guinea pigs, hamsters and parakeets, are what is called in the pet business, as "starter pets" Those are the pets that parents get for their kids, who are really begging for a dog or cat, to "teach the kid responsibility" or to shut them up about getting a dog. They think these animals don't live long, so they won't end up caring for them. Often the child loses interest, because they didn't want it in the first place, they wanted a dog, and the parent gets rid of it, or it dies from neglect. I don't know if you know this, but unspayed female rabbits can be really nasty, due to raging hormones. Un neutered males often spray like cats. More reasons to "get rid' of them. Lots of people don't want to spend $150 t0 $200 dollars to spay a $20 pet for the kid. I don't know about your area, but the shelters here all have lots of rabbits. We even have a shelter here dedicated solely to rabbits. People also dump them, thinking they can live "wild". Lots to think about. One thing you can do, get your feet wet in the showing side, by getting a good quality rabbit from your friend, to see if you even like showing. Then you can think about breeding later. Thanks for putting some thought into it. Sorry for being so long winded.

 

[h2oratt]

I don’t know a thing about breeding rabbits but here is my take on breeding AKC dogs There are many purebred Dog breeders that are doing the right thing. Breeding purebred dogs to better the breed is a great goal.
I don’t know where you live but here in Stockton calif the only thing you can adopt from the shelter is a badly bred pit bull or chihuahua. They are also the only breeds running the street. Any dog that looks adoptable or purbred is scooped up by the for profit rescue. They can be sold for a higher adoptition fee.

 

[Austradork1819]

Not yet. But with it being so readily available, I did make contact with someone who bought chickens that said they do rabbits to let them now my family was interested in trying it... Local, humane meat!

I have to say my decision to begin breeding meat rabbits has been well worth the effort! Four litters are on the way this weekend.
In my opinion they are easier than meat chickens, the manure is insanely wonderful, and my kids have a steady supply of baby bunnies to play with!
I can't rave enough about grilled rabbit backstraps!