Netherland stud service? lol

[wooly_queen]

I have an orange netherland that I love to death and can't part with...he is also my only netherland left and I can't find people that are willing to sell there does....He has 3 BOV legs and other BOV's that he didn't get legs for (# in class or what not). He's a great little dwarf. He also has the best color on an orange I have seen in a while... So would it be a good idea to stud him out and get at least some money for keeping him? How much would I charge though? I bought him for $35 from Lesa Rose "Rosie's Acres". She is the most well known for oranges up here in MI.

 

[Leaf]

This may be a silly question, but if you do so - how do you ensure his overall health against unknown diseases or health issues from does introduced to him?

 

[pamnock]

I highly discourage offering stud service. I see way to many cases of syphilis on the show table - it's a risk that you shouldn't take with your buck.

Pam

 

[wooly_queen]

...but if I bought a doe to breed...wouldn't the risk be the same?

 

[Leaf]

I would suppose if you bought a doe to breed it would be your responsibility to do all vetting and health testing to make sure she was clean for breeding before doing so.

If you randomly stud him out chances are so much greater for risks and to possibly have problems passed on.

If it were to happen innocently as it may be, what would that do to your "name" in rabbits all around?

I don't know much about showing rabbits, but from how you speak of him he is good and I'd want to weigh that against possibly "ruining" him with health problems that could crop up - and of course the consequenses to other rabbits from an inadvertant blunder.

 

[TinysMom]

Many breeders that I know will give a doe shots against vent disease (syphilis) for a month or so before breeding her - to make sure that she is healthy. In addition - when bringing a buck into their herd - they will treat him before ever breeding him.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you're going to breed - and breed responsibly - I'd make sure your animals all have shots against syphilis before bringing them into your rabbitry....and if you stud out your buck - you can not insure that the does he is with have been treated and are disease-free.

 

[wooly_queen]

Well, really I would only do this with respectable breeders, not random people I wouldn't trust. My rabbits don't go to vets unless there is something really wrong with them that I can notice. So if I bought a doe to breed with him and didn't notice anything myself and neither did the breeder or anybody else, I would go ahead and breed them.

 

[Leaf]

If you plan on working with responsible breeders... perhaps they will require you to have him vetted as needed in order to make sure he's as healthy as possible. Thats probably the best that can be hoped for in the given situation.

 

[wooly_queen]

Hhhmmm...I really have never heard of breeders around here taking the bunnies for shots like that. I mean, I have up to 20 at a time and others have hundreds...never heard of bunny diseases really getting around a rabbitry unless it was snuffles or something.

 

[pamnock]

As far as I know, there is no syphilis vaccine for rabbits. Peg, do you mean they give Pen treatment as a preventative? There is some risk to using Pen, so I wouldn't give it unless absolutely necessary.

Generally, a physical examination showing lack of lesions after the quarantine period is sufficient. (This would allow time for a newly infected doe to develop lesion if she was infected).



Pam

 

[TinysMom]

Pam - I do mean Pen G.

One of the top lionhead breeders (and a couple of others that I know of) - treated their whole herd for syphilis and do this with any new rabbit that comes into their herd. I won't give their name except to say they're very well respected - a COD holder for lionheads - and very VERY careful about what they do - they work with several breeds.

When I asked them about this once - she explained that they had heard of cases of a new rabbit bringing in syphilis even though there were no signs of it when it was bought. They decided the best thing to do was to cease breeding for a month and treat the WHOLE herd - and then treat any incoming rabbit.

She said that they'd never had an outbreak of syphilis....

She even stated that it might be "over-doing it" but felt it was better to do things this way for their herd.

Honestly - after some things I've seen happen when I bred....I think if I were to breed again - that would be the route I'd want to take.

Extreme? Maybe....but then again - I tend to be overly cautious...

 

[wooly_queen]

Isn't that expensive??? Don't think the parents will pay for that...

 

[Bramblerose]

250 ml bottle of Pen G with procaine runs about 12 bucks, box of 100 syringes 10 bucks, not expensive. However knowing what your doing and getting the dosage right without killing the rabbit is the hard part, giving shots is not for the faint of heart either. I keep Pen on hand, use it on the rabbits very sparingly, and am very careful with the doses and shot intervals. I do not normally stud out my bucks either, too risky. I do however have a friend I trust that I use her bucks from time to time, I've known her for years, know her practices well, see her rabbits on a daily basis. If you value your little guy, and he sounds really nice, don't stud him out unless you really have an excellant relationship with the other breeder and know them well. You'd do far better to buy a doe, quarantine her and then breed like others suggested. Good Luck!!

 

[wooly_queen]

quarantine...wow. I really have never heard of people going so far with this. But if you say so.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

pamnock wrote:

I highly discourage offering stud service. I see way to many cases of syphilis on the show table - it's a risk that you shouldn't take with your buck.

Pam

I (and most reputable breeders) know of and agree with this. So your reasoning about only studding to reputable breeders doesn't really work either, because they would not accept stud service.

 

[clevername]

wooly_queen wrote:

quarantine...wow. I really have never heard of people going so far with this. But if you say so.

I wouldn't dream of adding a rabbit to my herd without quarantining first. :shock:

There are many things that are contagious for rabbits, why take the risk of exposing your entire rabbitry?

 

[wooly_queen]

Quarantine? I mean what does this really consist of? How do you quarantine it?

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Most breeders I know quarentine, even ones that do not show. The breeder that helped me get started kept any new rabbit away from the rest for 3 weeks. He had had to many unexplained sudden deaths from new rabbits.

One should never breed a rabbit as soon as they aqquire them, you do not know what may be wrong with them, their temperment, etc. It is one thing if they come pregnant or something, then again not many breeders sell pregnant rabbits. To me it is stupid to breed a rabbit you are planning to sell, unless the buyer asks it to be done.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I've heard that if you quarantine, it should be done for at least 4 weeks or it's useless.

Personally, I don't quarantine. I know I should but its just difficult to do with my setup...

 

[paul2641]

wooly_queen wrote:

...but if I bought a doe to breed...wouldn't the risk be the same?

Yes but if you get a new doe then you are only taking one risk with breeding him to her, where as you have many chances of it picking up something when offering it as a stud.