I've had rabbits in the past as pets and I'm just curious as to how time consuming breeding rabbits is!? I absolutely adore them....and would love to have another hobby! Does anyone know if there are any laws in Georgia on breeding rabbits?
It does not take much time at all if you keep it small. ramps up as you add more. You do need to be ready to cull though. It is not for everyone.
I almost bred my rabbit, but then I noticed ALL the cons... *The female has a high risk of dying during birth (Same as the babies) *Male and female overmating can occur, and cause injury to the female *There are millions of bred, abused, and dumped rabbits out there, and all you'd be doing is brining more into the world, for that to happen to them. (Learn more at http://www.bunnyworldfoundation.org/) Sorry to be such a downer, but these are serious things to consider before taking on a new "Hobbie", but I do get what you mean. It would be cool to have a baby bunny! My friend breeds her rabbits, and her past breeding (4 or 5) have ALL died, even the mother. She was heartbroken, but guess what her next thought was??? she wants to breed AGAIN!!! I was like "Did you NOT learn anything from what just happened?!", but some things never change. Anyway, please consider these things!
Quote:Are you going for meat or pets? I just recently got back into rabbits. Hope I can remember what I knew. LOL This time I have fancy little Lionheads though. I love these rabbits. I can't wait until my little buck is old enough for breeding. The does are older and have each raised babies, but we're waitin on the Wascal to come through. I got my cuties at a rabbit show. I just so happened to invite them all to join BYC and a few did. One is even waiting for my non broody, brid brained Silkie to start laying again. Shw was the first to lay this year and after just a few eggs has stopped, so waiting to be able to give her some birds. Otherwise, she is a rabbit person. Maybe some of these people will come out and play and help you out.
Quote:Does don't have a high risk of dying during birth. Over the last 11 years, I have never lost a single doe during birth. I did lose one to heat stroke shortly after and lost another to mastitis about two weeks after she gave birth, but that's been it. I'm not sure what 'overmating' is. Usually you take the doe to the buck, let them breed, then remove the doe from the buck's cage. There are a lot of great pet rabbits in shelters, which is why I oppose people breeding rabbits just because. But if you are breeding for a purpose-like show, food, or fiber-your rabbits likely aren't contributing to that shelter population. To the OP: Rabbit breeding can be as time consuming as you want it to be. If this is the direction you want to go, showing rabbits can be a GREAT hobby, and I'm happy to answer questions.
All animals have a higher risk of dying while giving birth. I lost a doe to a prolasped uterus and I had a doe that needed pain killers because she was so swollen from pulling out a stuck kit that she wouldn't eat or nurse. You should be prepared for it but it is very uncommon in rabbits. They rarely have issues that cost you the doe. You really don't hear about it from breeders except in isolated poorly bred strains. The creme d'argent around here have some issues giving birth from a small gene pool and people not culling properly. Now dead kits are not uncommon especially in some breeds. You will likely see a stillborn or if breeding dwarf a peanut in your time. Some does fail to take care of their first litter properly and you lose a few or sometimes one gives birth on the wire and they all freeze to death. We've also had to deal with mastitis which ended in supplemental handfeeding for the kits and antibiotics for the doe. Overall though I would say rabbit breeding is pretty darn easy and has fewer problems than most animals. Raising any animal will have it's ups, downs, and "Oh ****" moments. My husband has decided he's not cut out for breeding animals. He can't stand it when we have problems. It doesn't phase me in the least. I hate to lose any of them but it's a risk of breeding and my rabbits are livestock before pets. It only takes me 10-30mins to do all rabbit chores for 30 rabbits every evening and then slightly more time once a week to dump the poop collecting containers on the garden.
I have been rasing rabbits for 3 years and its pretty time consuming for me personaly since i show mine. I really would not recomend breeding if its for fun cause there are lots of great pet buns in shelters cause of over breeding. If you are breeding meaties for personal consumption then you can mix any breeds together to get your ideal meatie. The only time i lost a doe after birth is when it hit 98 degrees and her misting system malfuntioned. Its very fun to raise rabbits and I have a nest box of little lovlies that just turned 5 weeks. BTW over mating is when you breed your doe back the day she gives birth and if you breed your poor buck more than 4 times a day.
I think that there are many things to look at when thinking about breeding any type of animal. I personally think that if you are breeding for meat or for serious showing purposes, then it there is good reason for it. When you start breeding for fun or just to make money, you are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
How much time it takes partly depends on your set up, and partly on what you intend to do with your animals. If you are raising rabbits to slaughter, you may not care that they aren't particularly friendly. If the kits are meant to be pets, it's important that they get lots of handling so that they are people-oriented, and that takes time. I don't know about Georgia, but some states do have laws in place regarding the age kits must be before you can sell them, that sort of thing. Depending on how many kits you produce and who you sell them to, you may need to obtain a license. I know of one person who had to get rid of the dozen or so rabbits that she was keeping in a garden shed because her HOA had a cow over them, so checking on local regulations is a good idea, too. And of course, there is always the problem of what do you do with the rabbits that for whatever reason don't sell.
Glad you're getting some input. Hope more people come in too. I like reading threads when someone is just starting out with a project or looking into it.
