is it ok to breed pet store bunnies?

[sweetasme007]

i really wanted to breed mine because everyonewho has seen my bunnies wants one, especially once i tell them what adelight they are and great pets! however, i have been reading a lotabout my particular breed ( albino netherland dwarfs)andthese sights have reccommended against it because of defects and ihaven't had them looked at by a vet. i'm just doing myhomework cause the male is only around a month and the female around 3.and is it worth it to go ahead and breed, we have a solution for thedefected ones, and just keep the ok ones? my doehas mooneyes, but i still think thats no defect and she's beautiful.thanks for all the help so far.

nichole

 

[Zee]

Hi and Welcome !!!!

Can I ask would you be breeding "for fun" ?

We have alot of experienced breeders here, that should be able to help you.

 

[Shuu]

Short answer: Don't.

Long answer: There's already an overpopulation of rabbits. If yourfriends want a rabbit, tell them to adopt one from a shelter. Pet storerabbits can have genetic defects not apparent on the outside. Really,only purebred rabbits from another breeder should be bred if at all. Iwould strongly advise against breeding rabbits of any kind, no matterhow cute they may be.

 

lets ask a few questions first

are they related as in brother and sister, if yes, NO

mother and son , if yes, maybe ,

father and daughter, if yes, maybe ,

unrelated rabbits , if ansewr is yes , then Yes you can breed them ..

at age one month , he isnt ready to beedto the female and the female at3 months isnt ready to breed either, You should wait till they areat least 6 to 8 months old and expect problems, First time mothers dontdo well , usually thelitter will die orone kit can get stuckresulting in a lost litter and possable loss of theDoe ,

I would suggest before breeding any rabbit to:
A< check for wanting owners, make sure there are enoughnew owners to warrent breeding, figure on 6 to 8 kits and besure there are that many people who want a baby bunny

B< Make sure you have a rabbitsmart Vet handy , YouMay need one ,

C< Make sure you have enough Money on hand for Vet , feed , medicine , etc,

D< READ READ READ READ , everythingyou can get your hands on aboutbreeding and rabbit care , Kit care etc,

E< theres3 mottos i liketo go by1. Read Before YouBreed:

2, If You Cant Feed IT Dont Breed It.

3 If You Cant Vet It Forget It:

F< what is your reason for breeding , oneperson wanting a baby isnt a valid reason, neither is the feeling its anatural thing for rabbits to breed oncebefore being spayed , neither is it avalid reason to have a batch of kits justfor the experience of watching a birth , mostpeople NEVER see them birthed ,

Take nothing for granted ,think twice , check facts and number ofnew owners , then check againbefore you decide to breed.

 

[sweetasme007]

well i do have enough homes, however i noticed alot of people from around tennessee on here. none of the shelters i'vecalled keep rabbits and the nearest petstore that sell them is 100miles away. considering that there are 2 months differencethey couldn't be brother/ sister. can pay for food and will accomodatefor space. DEFINATELY have the time and concern, definately need tolearn more, but that's why i'm asking now, they aren't even old enoughto mate yet nor are they in the same cages. how much space do they needif i let them out once a day for at least a half hour? thanks again forall the help!

 

[Shuu]

If you're absolutely positive breeding is a good idea, read like crazy and ask specific questions.
For rabbits, bigger is better. Half an hour really isn't long enoughunless their cage is a room. They need more exercise than my dogs. 2-4hours is a better time frame for your buns in the exercise departments.Try to dedicate a room to the buns or buy a dog exercise pen and letthem run around in there whenever possible.

 

[seniorcats]

They need a minimum of time out of their cages of 2 hours a day or at least a pen in which they can exercise, in my opinion.

About having homes for any rabbits you breed, based the experiences ofseveral friends, they also thought they had more than enough homes fortheir rabbits. People kept saying how much they wantedone. However, once the babies were born, weaned and rady toadopt, all those 'good homes' disappeared. SOme peole may seeyour cute babies and decide onthe spur of the moment thatthey want one. When the rabbit is ready, they havereconsidered and you are stuck. Just something toconsider. Tri cities, Nashville, Knoxville all have rabbitrescues.

Question for you: Have you or your friends had any experience with adolescent bunnies - around 4 to 6 months?

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

seniorcats wrote:

Question for you: Have you or your friends had anyexperience with adolescent bunnies - around 4 to 6 months?

If you're referring ot the teen stage, that lasted for a year in my neutered boys! From 6 months to 18 months of age.

Man people would not put up with a moody bunny for that long and just add to the over population.

It's probably best to buy from a breeder or adopt from a shelter. A lotof time pet store bunnies are not the healthiest or even the breed youare told (there are many cases of pet store dwarfs that turn out to be5-10 lbs bunnies).

And there are many risks in breeding a doe. I suggest leaving the breeding up to the experts.

Another thing, yes people think your bunnies are cute, but they're onlybabies. Give it a few months and most of those people would grow tiredof the bunnies and get rid of them.

 

[KatsMeowTree]

First of all: do you have papers for them? Areyou sure that they're Netherland Dwarfs (I assume by "albino" you meanRuby Eyed Whites). I'm not sure what breeding the Netherlands is allabout as far as genetics but you probably should think more deeplyabout your decision. Do you have homes for ALL the little ones? Are youprepared for taking care of all of them too? Seriously consider whatyou're doing first and make sure if breeding would be best for youranimals. If you don't know if they came from a reputable breeder ormuch of their history, I would advise that you don't breed them.

Kat

 

[samandshawn]

sweetasme007 wrote:

i really wanted to breed mine because everyone who has seenmy bunnies wants one

Oh dear, this is not a valid reason tobreed, please dont!!!

 

[TinysMom]

If I were you, I would not breed your rabbits (and I'm a breeder). Here is why I say this:

a. From my limited understanding, Netherland Dwarfsfrequently lose their first litter. This can beheartbreaking. My lionheads just had their first litters andwe had one stillborn...which is a great rate because we had 17 bornlive and the one stillborn.

b. Also from my understanding, Netherland Dwarfs frequentlyhave problems with peanuts and Max Factor babies.....so while your doemay have a litter - most of them could have problems.

I would recommend that you send your friends to a reputable breeder, areputable pet store, or some sort of a shelter in your area.Let them know that all sorts of bunnies are fun...not just yours.

One of the biggest things to consider is that if your doe has problemswith labor and delivery (which can happen when they're young) - you maylose your doe. Do you really want to lose your pet since thatis what she is? Trust me - I have certain does that I don'twant to lose....and they will become our pets when they are donebreeding for me.

Anyway, I wouldn't advise you to breed them....but I am glad to seeyou're doing your homework. If you do decide to breedthem...read the links folks have posted and do more research...

Peg

 

[sweetasme007]

TinysMom wrote:

b. Also from my understanding, Netherland Dwarfsfrequently have problems with peanuts and Max Factor babies.....sowhile your doe may have a litter -

what are those? i'm not saying i've absolutely decided tobreed these two, i'm just generally asking so that if i decide to iwill know what i'm dealing with.

also, where can i find breeders? can i look that up online? or can someone reccomend any that are close?

in the mean time, i will join the arba and think about things....i'mcertainly not planning on doing any of this anytime soon and i havenothing but time for research and reading and such.

nichole

 

[dajeti2]

I am not trying to be mean so if it comes across that way I apologize.

Don't breed them.

You said your two are allowed 30 minutes play time. How are you going to find the time to socialize the kits?

You got them from a pet store so chances are they have nopapers. You have no idea what is in their backgrounds. There can bedefects that they can pass on to the young, malocclusion being justone.

I struggled day and night with a friend that had a peanut inher litter. Losing him was one of the most heartbreaking this I've hadto endure. Are you prepared for that? Max Factor is another defect thatis heartbreaking to endure.

When people see a cute rabbit they say they want one. But thesad reality of it is when the time comes most of those same people aregoing to say hey sorry but I can't. Especially if you have specialneeds kits.

Then there is the money to consider. You have to get extracages so you can separate the kits when it's time to wean them. Youhave to have some money set aside for vet bills in case something goeswrong.

Not all does are meant to be mothers. Some kill and eat theyoung. Some reject the whole litter. That means bottle feeding every2-4 hours. Even then the outlook isn't good. If a kit gets stuck that'sa trip to the vet and possible surgery. Does do die kindling and after.There are also infections to worry about.

I have to be honest, breeding them just so you're friends canhave cute babies is a really wrong reason to breed.

Tina

 

*** considering that there are 2 months difference they couldn't be brother/ sister. **

Unfortunately that may not be a true statement ,.they could very well be brother andsister from different breedingswith the same parents ,

*****and these sights have reccommended against it because of defects and i haven't had them looked at by a vet ***

True REW Nethi's do have problems, they have defects , But thenagain most Mini's and dwarfvarieties are prone to abnormalities ,Its not unknown nor unheardof with the larger breeds suchas Flemish and Standard Rex ,French Lops etc , Any mammel can havea birthing with defects , itsjust not as common with thelarger breeds .

*********** i'm just doing my homework cause the male is only around a month and the female around 3***

*********my doehas moon eyes, but i still thinkthats no defect and she's beautiful. thanks for all the helpso far.***

what do you mean bymoon eyes ? do you mean hte eyesare covered with a white filmthat is showing fromthe inside ? if soshe has cateracts . Please before youdecide to breed take them to theVet for a thourough check up . its thewise thing to do .



How did you manage to purchase aBaby rabbit thats onley One Month old ? thatsillegal to sell babies that young ?

 

[dajeti2]

Here are some sites that tell you notonly about breeding but also the problems inherent in breedingNetherland Dwarfs.

http://www.home.netspeed.com.au/reguli/Netherlanddwarf.htm

http://www.slc.bc.ca/sbb/autumn/netherlands.htm

Tina

 

[rabbitrae]

I wouldn't

 

[cirrustwi]

Unfortunately, back yard breeders, can have tonsof problems with their litters. I have to agree witheveryone, that I wouldn't breed them. Gypsy is right, theycould very well still be siblings despite the age difference.Also, I'm not sure what the law is in Tennessee, but in I manage a petstore in PA and it is not legal here to sell kits that are under 8 wksof age. I know in WV it's 6 wks, but that's the youngest Iknow of, in any way, at 4 wks, they should still be with their mother.

I have a similar situation with my pedigreed Mini Rex, all my friendswant one. I have a buck to mate her with, but I don't thinkI'm going to do it. The more research I do, the more I don'twant to deal with the large number of possible problems. I'vegiven my friend's her breeder's contact info and a list of local petstores and shelters. To be honest, once they learned how muchwork it is to properly care for rabbits, they've changed their mindsand very few have gotten them.

They need more time out of their cages or very large cages.If they are housed together, you need to separate them now.If you don't they'll be sexually mature soon, and you'll have babieswhether you want or not. You will have to separate them ifshe has babies no matter what, because the buck will injure them.

I have to give you great kudos for reading before breeding!
Jen

 

[sweetasme007]

the pet store didn't actually say how old theywere, i was just assuming, but obviously that was wrong,also. ANDeveryone told me not to breed but no onehas answered my lastquestions, how do i find breeders, where, etc. ihave talked it over with my husband and we have decided to not havethem bred at least till we can tell more. and by "mooneyes" i mean there is no discharge comming from their eyes,but the color of her eyes are a hazy light grey, almost like someonewith cataracts.

p.s.-> i'm sorry i live in the sticks and the people i haveknown said that they would breed with normally no problem becausethat's their nature....at least i do care enough to learn about thembefore i breed.how about instead of telling people more ofthe negative, i'd love to hear some of the positive,also.

thank you all for the info.

nichole

 

[Shuu]

Sadly there aren't too many positives. We'retrying to discourage breeding because for the most part it's not a goodidea. As for breeders, most larger cities have breeders so check ongoogle for directories. I only know of a few Canadian ones for certainbreeds so I can't help much in that sense.

 

http://www.arba.net/index.htm

This is a very good place to startlooking for breeders , go tothe link on the lefthand sidethat says breeders directoryand it will take you where ever you wouldlike to go for breeds .