want to start breeding

[katt]

TinysMom wrote:

I am very fascinated to find out how many of you started at younger ages. It is very interesting.

If you don't mind - I have some questions.

Did you get started because of 4H or FFA or something like that? Or was it something you always wanted to do?

How did you get help/education?

Thanks!

i also started breeding as a teenager. i was 12 when i got my first rabbit and did 4-h before that with chickens.

i started off with 4-h bunnies, but when i got into the arba shows and kinda stopped doing 4-h (i wasn't about to put my $100 show rabbit in our local fair, ect).

by the age of 15 i had a 30/60 herd (30 in the winter and 60 during the summer). we went to shows about 1 or 2 a month in the winter, and up to 4 in the summer/fall/spring.

i managed all the records (and i am a big record keeper), managed a special "rabbitry" bank account. handled all breeding/showing/ect. kept a full website. wrote up all the pedigrees.

and kept up with my 4-h group, was the pres of the club for many years (our club had all different ages from like 4 to 18).

while my mom loved the rabbits, she really only went to shows with me. my brother kept a very small herd around the same time and he also helped with the chores.

i think that teenagers can make great rabbit breeders.

 

[TinysMom]

Katie & Briana - I am very impressed with some of what I'm reading here. Its amazing how different your experiences were - but yet you still learned and were active with others (are active with others in Briana's case).

Let's take this thread and use it as a way to educate our younger people who want to breed.

What suggestions would you give them for learning more about breeding? Did you work with other breeders more - or read on your own?

How long do you feel it took you to get stock that you could be proud of?

You know - lots of helpful information like that.

I think even our non-breeding members would enjoy reading about how you learned about your rabbits and how you learned to run your rabbitry.

I am going to ask that we stay off the topic of things that breeders sometimes have to do themselves (like medicating and other things that can be controversial) - and discuss things that will help even non-breeders to understand how we learn to be a good breeder...if that makes sense.

I have to say that I never realized just how many younger breeders we have on here - I'm enjoying hearing from y'all.

 

[katt]

as a teen breeder it can be hard.

i literally had notebooks full of notes before ever getting a rabbit.

it was a large guessing game at first. but what i found to work for me was research on my own, and attach myself to a willing breeder via email to help support and offer advice.

i would say it depended on what breed as to how long it took me to get animals i was proud of.

honestly i never got to a great point with my holland lops, and i worked on them as my main breed for about 5 years. i did produce some great home-made winners, and considering i was working with 'different' colors, i got very far. but i never got the *perfect* baby that you just adore to put on the table.

the dwarf hotots were another story entirely. first you have to understand that there weren't many dwarf hotot breeders when i took them on. and i was lucky to make fast friends with almost the whole youth dwarf hotot group (at least the ones that went to shows regularly). i was more passionate about this breed, and i produced some really wonderful animals. by my second year i was putting them on the table with full confidence that my animals were some of the best in the state for youth.

my last breed i really worked with were the rhinelanders. and honestly i didn't have enough competition to really know how well i was doing with them. it was so much fun to have this breed though because you have to completely learn a new way to judge body type.

breeding is hard. that is why i don't do it anymore. but it was also fun.

i will talk about one of the biggest downsides to being heavy in the show and breeding world though:

understand to really breed, and do it right, you have to give up a HUGE part of you life.

in high school i couldn't have plans during the weekend. i was always at a show or meeting a breeder, or having someone come to my rabbitry to look at stock. i spent HOURS grooming, cleaning cages, sexing babies, generating pedigrees, keeping records, evaluating stock, ect.

i didn't go to dances, in fact i missed my prom because i had a show that was more important to attend.

i am in no way saying this is all a bad thing, but many teens have busy lives. they have lots of stuff they do, and friends to hang out with. . . when you breed, you don't have that.

but this is also looking at someone that would have up to 60+ resident rabbits at a time (this number isn't including babies, or sold stock, ect). IMO that is a large amount for a teen to handle by themselves. many teen breeders i knew at the time normally handled a herd of about 12 to 24.

it is also hard, dirty work. i don't know how many times i would go to school with fur all over my cloths, hay in my hair, tattoo ink under my nails.

i am NOT a morning person, at all, but being a breeder means that you have to be. i had to have an additional hour at least before i would normally get up to go out, water, feed, and check on everyone.

the breeds also take extra time depending on what they are. my rhinelander's took me hours to fully care for. they had to have run time, were you run them up and down a long table so they know what to do for the judges.

beyond that it can be emotionally draining. i remember trying to hand raise a couple of kits that weren't being fed. i was down to my last living baby, and doing EVERYTHING i could to keep him alive. it was exam week at school, and i was at a breaking point.

all in all, it was fun. it was something i loved doing and it taught me a lot of stuff.

i will say that ANYONE that wants to breed, especially teens. . . my pm box is always open. i am always willing to help in any way that i can

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

TinysMom wrote:

I am very fascinated to find out how many of you started at younger ages. It is very interesting.

If you don't mind - I have some questions.

Did you get started because of 4H or FFA or something like that? Or was it something you always wanted to do?

How did you get help/education?

Thanks!

I got my first rabbit in 6th grade, and started 4-H the next year. From there, it grew into a small breeding herd and has continued to where it is today.

So like I said, I began in 4-H. However, I had already been caring for a rabbit for a year. So the basics that we learned (feed, house, shelter), I already knew. And since our club only met once a month, our breeding and showing lectures were contained to about a 1 r. meeting. And these were the same lectures and schedules we had every year. So 4-H was really not entirely too helpful for me. If anything, have you heard the saying where you're actually getting good information, but not enough of it? When I tried to apply this information, it was more of a hit and miss and could even be more dangerous than if I had NO knowledge at all, ya know? Not to say that 4-H was a bad thing, I just feel that raising rabbits encompasses SO many ideas and situations that it's just impossible to take a group of all different ages and experiences and really give them what they need to know. In some areas, it may work. But our club just wasn't big enough to justify breaking into specific groups, etc. They do the best they can and I LOVED it, but it was only the basis for my knowledge.

From there, I did a lot of the research by myself. I checked out every book on rabbit raising and showing from the library multiple times. Every...one. I read through them, cover to cover, soaking up all the knowledge I could. From there, I was book smart, but my experiences led me. I bred my mixed breed pet doe and this was my first experience with a litter, and a tough one at that! I tried breeding both my does (now had another one) the next year. My very first pet doe that I loved dearly passed away days before her due date. I will never know what happened, there were no signs of illness. I have always suspected pregnancy complications and blame myself to this day. But it was a lesson learned. By the next year, I had my first purebred, pedigreed breeding pair. And it was downhill from there!

However, I think the most helpful place to me was another more breeder-involved rabbit forum that I'm on. I thought I knew everything going into it, but man, I was wrong! I've learned SO much through others' experiences and pictures and debates, etc., that I would have NEVER learned otherwise, from show to breeding to meat to babies to health and ER topics. I've gained friends and advice and help that are invaluable to me. 4-H and rabbit books got me started, but the people are what continue to tie it together for me. I'm now 21 years old and in college and because of the people I surround myself with, I'm still headfirst into rabbits and plan to be for a very long time.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

TinysMom wrote:

What suggestions would you give them for learning more about breeding? Did you work with other breeders more - or read on your own?

How long do you feel it took you to get stock that you could be proud of?

You know - lots of helpful information like that.

I think even our non-breeding members would enjoy reading about how you learned about your rabbits and how you learned to run your rabbitry.

I am going to ask that we stay off the topic of things that breeders sometimes have to do themselves (like medicating and other things that can be controversial) - and discuss things that will help even non-breeders to understand how we learn to be a good breeder...if that makes sense.

I have to say that I never realized just how many younger breeders we have on here - I'm enjoying hearing from y'all.

I don't mean to turn your post around at all, but as far as suggestions for new breeders, I suggest learning as MUCH as you can about those things that aren't discussed on this forum. Those topics seem to be a taboo, in some cases. And while I do understand where you're coming from since this forum is heavily pet owners, having that knowledge is what makes you or breaks you as a breeder. As I stated in my last post, I was not really surrounded by breeders in my early years. Most of my education was the basics from 4-H and then a few rabbit books. Neither of which discussed much about "that stuff". I was also on a more pet-related forum, and while they were helpful, the care of an indoor house rabbit is just different from a breeder's herd. Neither are more well taken care of or more spoiled, the care is just different. So it was a fun forum to be on, but when I branched out a bit and surrounded myself more by the breeder crowd...that's when things really came together for me. I have had the opportunity to save rabbits who otherwise would not of had a chance, even from a "rabbit savvy vet". I've also had some tough decisions to make, but thanks to the knowledge I now had, I could make much more rational and knowledgeable decisions than I could before.

So, RO is an excellent start.inkbouce: But my advice for the breeding end of things is to definitely find yourself another breeder mentor or even contact a breeder privately on this forum with any questions or concerns. Because those topics that, in most places, are not discussed- those are the ones that we must be most responsible for as reputable breeders.

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Now, onto how long it took. It has taken me YEARS to get stock that I'm proud of. 5 years, in fact, and I'm barely even beginning to keep rabbits with my name on them. It took a long time for me to find beginning breeding rabbits that would produce babies for me that were of a quality I wanted to keep. This has only started within the past year! So it definitely takes a long time, especially since it takes awhile to learn your particular breed as well.

Now that I have some first generation rabbits that I am happy with (this means the first generation after my breeding stock I brought from other people), I will be breeding these rabbits back to one of their parents. This is NOT inbreeding, for those who aren't sure. This is actually called linebreeding, and its purpose is to attempt to collect all the good genes from this line you've started, and continue to move them into further generations. In time, a good herd is essentially one in which your litters are fairly predictable. You can pretty fairly judge what you will get out of both parents, because you know what kind of genetics the rabbits carry.

So in short, it takes a long time to build a solid herd that a breeder is happy with! For most people, this takes years.

 

[wooly_queen]

I would suggest learning on your own first. Start reading all you can, research breeds your interested on. Go online and find info too. Once you feel pretty confident in your knowledge I would find some other breeders and rabbit savvy people to talk to. Like Julie said - "a mentor". You'll never run out of things to learn. 4-H is deffinatly a help too. You can get a lot of free booklets and stuff from the extension offices. Plus going to a show near you with just a rabbit or two is great. I made a lot of new friends that way. We would just compliment each others rabbits and start a conversation. We'd leave with a new friend, more knowledge and a phone number etc. lol It is hard work and I think that I should have learned even more before I jumped in. I did know a lot from 4-H, I was everyone else's mentor. lol But I still needed to learn more about the breeder aspects of rabbit raising. I didn't really have that mentor...it took me about 3 1/2 years to finally find somebody who really wanted to help me.


It took me about 5 years to get rabbits I was proud of. I didn't have any breeders near by and I still don't. They live 3 hours or more away. I started with bad quality and it took a long time to be able to find the rabbit rabbtis to improve me herd. It's still very difficult for me, but I wouldn't give these guys up for anything. I finally have some woolies that I am proud of and it will get better now. I met 3 wooly breeders that are very nice and really like to help me. I still have trouble getting to all the shows, but I am much better off now and it can hopefully only get better from here.

So this is tough and I recommed that young people wanting to be breeders learn everything they can before jumping in and save up that cash so you can buy the right stock and start off well. Not like I did...cuz it really sucked. lol

But I am a bit happier now. I have about 20 rabbits (most still need to go), butI am getting to more shows and once I sell some of the rabbits I can't use, I am starting fresh and this should be a good year.

 

[irishbunny]

You all are so lucky to have such a ''rabbit developed'' country lol! I envy you

 

[wooly_queen]

irishbunny wrote:

You all are so lucky to have such a ''rabbit developed'' country lol! I envy you

Aw, I'm sorry Grace. :hug:

 

[irishbunny]

wooly_queen wrote:

irishbunny wrote:

You all are so lucky to have such a ''rabbit developed'' country lol! I envy you

Aw, I'm sorry Grace. :hug:

No shows, no clubs, nothing lol!

 

[Erins Rabbits]

I started in eighth grade in 4-h. We made the mistake and bought the first purebred rabbit with a pedigree we could find- even though, originally, I wanted Himalayans, we could not, for anything, get our hands on any, at all. I needed a rabbit for fair, for showmanship, etc. It's AMAZING how much you learn that first year. For example- 4-h? Not for us. Lol. We went to our first ARBA show, the AZ state convention, and discovered that that was where we belonged.

Most everything I learned was from a forum I found online. The other things I learned at my 4-h meetings. 4-h was it's own thing though- I never learned anyhting truly valuable. Yes, thanks to it, I know rabbits have 28 teeth. I know fur types. I know body types. But, it was trivial- nothing practical or, well, useful. The forum I'm on is breeder based, and from there, I started learning about diseases, genetics, breed standards. Your most useful tool when you are starting out, or even as a seasoned breeder who's been through it all, is the knowledge of other breeders. I read every book I could find... and in the end found that so many books spread misinformation to the public. I LOVE Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, by Bob Bennet. It was a wealth of informaion to me, and the guidelines it enforces reflects on the way I raise my animals to this day.

How long it takes you to get stock you're proud of depends vastly on the breed you are working with. It has taken me two years to reach my major breeding goals with my Himalayans. I now have NICE homebred Lilacs and am a month away from a litter of homebred chocolate. I could not be more proud of where my breeding program is at. It's different though, because around here, they aren't a terribly popular breed. It takes much longer to make a rabbit that you can be proud of and will do well on the tables in other breeds. It's also largely based on luck.

Trial and error is obviously the best way to learn. I made some real crappy, oogly rabbits when I first started. I can show you pictures- these were not nice animals. I've been breeding for four years, and only now am I getting this right. I started with many wrong assumptions, and many fairly upsetting shows, but I got myself addicted. I tried so hard that first year, you know? Wanted to be the best. You can't be the best right out of the gate, or even ten years down the line- it's a lesson I've learned, definitely.

Also- I absolutely agree with Julie. If you are serious, you WILL learn to medicate and take care of your own herd. These topics need to be in the light for new breeders especially because they are extremely important, and while pet owners may not want to hear it or believe it, breeders need to know about these things to get to a certain point. Any of you can feel free to PM me with anything you may need to ask that isa sensitive topic on here.

 

[wooly_queen]

Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits....best book ever. I love that book. Everyone should have a copy lol

 

[bearbop]

i think that she read that because she goes to school with me and it is a really really good book

 

[wooly_queen]

Erins Rabbits wrote:

Trial and error is obviously the best way to learn. I made some real crappy, oogly rabbits when I first started. I can show you pictures- these were not nice animals. I've been breeding for four years, and only now am I getting this right. I started with many wrong assumptions, and many fairly upsetting shows, but I got myself addicted. I tried so hard that first year, you know? Wanted to be the best. You can't be the best right out of the gate, or even ten years down the line- it's a lesson I've learned, definitely.

Ohyes... I am with you on this one Erin. I've had my share of ooglies as well. lol

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

wooly_queen wrote:

Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits....best book ever. I love that book. Everyone should have a copy lol

I agree. And the ARBA's book Guide to Raising Better Rabbits & Cavies is great as well.

The best way to learn about rabbits is by books, research, and even joining 4-H before you get a rabbit. That way you can learn from the other kids, maybe visit their rabbitries if they have one (or visit the 4-H leaders) and the leader can help you pick out great stock to start with.

I have had rabbits since I was oh... 13 I think? Around there, and I have been breeding purebred show quality Mini Rex for about 2 1/2 years... If I could go back in time, I would join 4-H before I got rabbits, I would do tons of research (more than I did) and learn as much as possible.

Last yearI joined an all rabbit 4-H club,and you'd be amazed at all what I have learned since then. I thought I knew most of everything, but there is so much out there about rabbits that it really takes more than just a couple days of computer and book research to find it all.

Emily