Unhappy about recent rabbit purchase

[Hayley411]

Okay so I bought a little dwarf buck on saturday at the show. I have had him reserved since he was about 4 weeks old. Had already paid 50%. Well they sent him to the show with another breeder so I didn't get to meet/talk to the actual breeder. Keep in mind that as far as I was concerned the breeder was going to be at the show. I was never told they would not me there. Wierd. Anyways I had a malocclusion issue come to my attention in one of my older does, from trauma cause she did not have it when I bought her. So of course I go and check everyone else over and what do I find...My brand new buck has it too! Rrr. Now what do I do? Demand a refund/replacement? or is it my fault for not catching it at the show when I picked him up? The breeder is a judge so shouldn't he have been that much more careful?

What would you do?


Oh also the buck I was interested in was out of a REW and blue otter. The ped I got says this buck is out of a REW and black otter. Did I get the wrong rabbit? Very displeased with this whole situation....

 

[amdfarm]

Wow, I'm sorry this happened to you.

Best advice, contact the breeder and alert him of the issues, the teeth and the pedigree. It sounds like you got the wrong rabbit, it can happen, so it may not have been intentional. The pedigree could also be mismarked by mistake. Contact the breeder and see if he'll do the right thing.

Let us know what happens. And maybe others will have better advise. I know I wouldn't be happy either, having waited so long for your bunny.

Good luck!

 

[4kr]

I would try to contact the breeder, although I must say...Good Luck. I've been screwed twice by a breeder AND a Judge!! Both sold me animals with genetic defects/DQs and stated they were show quality. Neither answered my emails/calls. There are deceitful, Lying, Cheating Breeders AND Judges out there and I've come to realize this after I believed that all rabbit people are good and generally helpful.

:rant:

 

[pamnock]

I would certainly send a photo to the seller and let them know you'd like a refund. I'd also question the pedigree info. A good lesson to check a rabbit carefully at time of purchase. The breeder may not have noticed the teeth.

 

[mistyjr]

A few breeders have told me also, To check everything on a rabbit when you get them from somebody. You just never know, They said to always check the teeth, Doesn't matter if they are a well known breeder or not!

 

[4kr]

Yes, but some animals don't have DQ's until it shows up later, after you bought them. I was sold a jr. doe and it definitely looked like a doe, was judged as a doe, ect. It was Not a doe a week later(split penis). Another was the doe I bought that had brown eyes, one eye turned blue the next month and then had a tumor in it the month after that. All of the above are genetic issues as the teeth issue that Hayley has mentioned and any decent breeder/judge should make things right. Sadly there are some people who don't care and are in it for the money, they will sell you junk and call it gold. makes me angry!

 

[jujub793]

just throwing this out there because of my ignorance on the subject....exactly how do you check a rabbits teeth? frankly i'd be scared to death of putting my fingers in my rabbits mouth. seems kinda traumatic to the rabbit....?:?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

You raise the lips away from the front teeth and check for alignment. Either the breeder doesn't have much knowledge or is unscrupulous. Either way, I'd contact and register my displeasure.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I agree with contacting the breeder. It could have easily been a mismark on a pedigree. We had bought a black buck from a lady in indiana and my friend mikey transported him for me. When we got the pedigree we noticed the tattoo and the paper didn't match. It said KBR2 (his sister) instead of his tattoo KBR5 we just called and made sure we could change it and remarked it.

About the teeth. I've never been clear on malocclusion but can butting of the teeth be possible. I have some babies who occasionally have butting teeth and grow out of it later.

 

[LindyS]

It happens alot more them you think. A good guy who's been breeding for years bought a pair of dwar hotots at a show, it was not checked. Called the lady/breeder when he got home and she was amazed that she gave him the wrong bun. He got his doe the next day. Some breeders just want to make a quick buck and run. It's wrong but happens.

 

[SNM]

Buyers responsibility to check over the rabbit before purchase.

I'll give the breeder the benefit of the doubt. If you didn't catch it, he/she probably didn't catch it. The best of the best can miss something or make a mistake.

Contact the breeder and see if you can sort this out

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

SNM wrote:

Buyers responsibility to check over the rabbit before purchase.

I'll give the breeder the benefit of the doubt. If you didn't catch it, he/she probably didn't catch it. The best of the best can miss something or make a mistake.

Contact the breeder and see if you can sort this out

It is a buyers responsibility to check it over, but at shows some things happen so quickly, and as a breeder if I miss something and someone contacts me shortly afterwards I want to know what is wrong with the animal and to keep my name in good standing fix that issue.

There are too many breeders out there that quickly jump to make a rabbitry go under. I rescently had an issue that the rabbit sneezed a few times on the way home. I thought nothing of it.. I have no lcue what the rabbit has, I brought this to the breeders attention, and she wanted me to medicate this 150 dollar rabbit. NO. for 150 there shouldn[t be a single thing wrong and def shouldn't need meds. Eventually she agreed to take him back and refund.

If the breeder for the OP doesnt contact, wont replace, that's a terrible breeder, and at that point I would NEVER buy from them, and would have others steer clear.

 

[Hayley411]

Okay so I contacted the breeder. Waiting for a reply back...

I do agree that I should have checked him over quite thouroughly. I did however have a couple other breeders take a look at him and they didn't catch it either. Though they were looking more at type than anything else. It was a crazy day. Showing multiple breeds. Now I'm kicking myself for not being more careful.

But even if I had caught it at the show. The breeder wasnt there, he had another breeder transport for him. So IDK how that would have worked out.

Anyways fingers crossed I get a reply....

 

[SNM]

I get showing rabbits is competitive(esepcially in youth) Really takes the fun out of everything sometimes, but make sure nothing is wrong before you leave. Put your hands on the rabbit and check everything before the purchase so you won't have situations like this. I agree the breeder should try to fix the situation, but not everybody is honest.

Here's my trick, I personally ask the breeder their honest opinion about the rabbits. Their insight gives me an idea of what is going on. There are breeders that will lie and take advantage(on children as well). My little sister is 11, but she knows more about MR than I do and she catches everything. I was appalled a notable breeder purposely lied to her about a rabbit and gave her wrong information and critique. Didn't point out DQ's..just wasn't honest period

This weekend, I'm taking a gamble getting rabbits transported from the OH Mini Convention. I can't personally put my hands on the rabbits we purchased, and if there is something wrong I can't really do anything about it. You win some, you lose some. Learn from your mistakes

 

[FogCity]

I learned this the hard way. I had a friend of mine pick up some rabbits from a breeder I spoke to on the phone. When I got the rabbits they were sick and both of them died. I contacted the breeder and got a less than satisfactory response.

So I wont do that again. I would do what you can to try and contact the breeder but in the future I would just make sure you pick up the rabbits yourself and unless you have very good references about the breeder I would not give a deposit until you see the rabbit.

 

[CCWelch]

this is why if I can help it, I will not purchase a bunny at a show. I will purposely make the trip to the rabbitry so I can see parents and etc.
If I do purchase at a show, I look it over very carefully and ask if the parents are showing. I have found rabbit that have had their teeth trimmed just before being brought to the show to sell.
It truly is a "buyer beware" world out there...however, I wonder what the ARBA would think of their relied upon judges being unscrupulous.

 

[pamnock]

Keep in mind that some breeders don't sell out of the barn. For us, a sale is much easier at a show rather than waiting on someone at my house for a day, or having them be a no show. I simply don't have the time to spend on inviting buyers to my home. As a buyer, I also don't have time to waste driving out to a sellers home - we just pick up the rabbits at shows.

 

[rabbitgeek]

I hate when that happens.

I'm glad you contacted the breeder and let them know of the problems. Hopefully it will resolved quickly and you get your money back.

Go to youtube and search for "rabbit showmanship" videos. Take note of how the exhibitors are reciting a checklist of features that are displayed for an observer judge.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5DaZtQQ-dE&playnext=1&list=PLF9145829B3D34ABC]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5DaZtQQ-dE&playnext=1&list=PLF9145829B3D34ABC[/ame]

Check out examples 1, 2, 3 showing 3 members doing their presentation.

Watch the rabbit judges at the show. The judges will pick up the rabbit and methodically check all the same features in generally the same process. This is how a rabbit judge can assess the condition and features of the rabbit in 30 to 60 seconds each. You need to learn to do that kind of assessment.

When we were buying an ND buck my lovely wife was chatting with the breeder and I looked at the rabbit to see if there were any DQs. I picked up the rabbit to check ears, eyes, teeth, toenails. Sadly, I found a white toenail and so we did not buy the bunny.

IT IS ALWAYS BUYER BEWARE IN BUYING LIVESTOCK!

I would avoid putting money down to reserve a 4 week old kit that really cannot be evaluated for showbunny status.

Not every bunny in a litter is going to be a showbunny. I prefer to buy rabbits that are weaned and ready to go on the showtable. Usually 10 or 12 weeks minimum. Some problems like misaligned teeth or mis-matched toenails are not easily detectable until that time.

Better luck next time!
Have a good day!

 

[rabbitgeek]

I agree with Pam.

We stopped selling from our house because of the buyers. Many wanted to "see" the rabbitry so they could assess our conditions. No thank you. I don't know if they are a sting operation from animal control or animal rights activists planning to come back later for a raid on our rabbitry.

Some people think we are running a petting zoo, wanting to have their children stick their hands into all the cages. Then decide they want to think about it so will leave without even a thank you for your time.

And then there are people who will show up late, look at everything, then decide they will get back to us.

We don't have that much time. So we started restricting how people could come to the house. We would bring rabbit from outside to inside for people to see. No visitors in the rabbitry. If people insist they must see the parents because they read that they should, we'll bring parents in, no problem.

If they want to see the rabbitry, sorry, we have nursing does in there and can't have strangers in there. If they insist, sorry. no can do. If that is a deal breaker, I'm sorry you came all this way to leave without a rabbit.

Pretty much if we do not know you, then you are not getting to the rabbitry.

Often I would meet people on the roadway halfway to where we were. Meeting away from my house is not a problem. For buyer in the same town, I'd even bring rabbit over so they could see it.

We prefer to sell at shows, we are going to be there most of the day so if the buyer is late, not a problem. We will sell the rabbit to someone else at the show.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

If I can check out a place, I really like to. Because honestly a lot of times I wouldn't buy. I like seeing if they leave snotty rabbits in their barns exc. I bought snotty rabbits and ended up loosing a lot of my juniors. Now that I'm restocking I'm being extremely anal about it. Sorry, but I'm not into throwing money in the furnace.

I just picked up a young Flemish Giant doe. I really respect the breeder. I asked his honest opinion he looked them over and then laughed and said 'please don't judge them the way I do, you'll find your own method'. He then inspected all parts of the rabbit and when he was done he requested I recheck her teeth and make sure I think she is a she.

I do pick up at shows alot, and if there is still enough time I sign the rabbit up for the show. I like getting the judges opinion as well and hope that if I missed a DQ, that he will catch it.