Worth It?

[mistyjr]

The most I spent on rabbits was $30.00 on an LionHead Buck that died 2 days later after I got him. And the rest were Free or $20.00 the most.

 

[TinysMom]

elrohwen wrote:

I'm not a breeder, but I had to say I'm surprised at the low prices (to me anyway) many of you pay for show animals. My holland (a pet now) could have been a show rabbit, but not a great one. He matured to 4.3lbs and has a slipped crown, so clearly not super high quality, but I paid $55 for him. A shelter rabbit is $75 around here, so I didn't think anything of paying $55. I'm just amazed that you can even get show quality bunnies for $30 as most breeders around here charge $25 at least for purely pet quality buns. Anything of remotely decent quality seems to be at least $40 (just talking hollands, but I can't imagine MR is that different). Maybe it's a regional thing since this is an expensive area to live in generally.

I don't know enough about MR to say how nice he is, but I dno't think the price sounds unreasonable for a very good quality herd buck.

I think a lot of the prices depend upon the area of the country you live in and how many breeders are around - and many times it depends upon how many unsold bunnies a breeder has.

I was at a show last weekend and there were two people that travel to shows together who were selling rabbits - they wanted $50 each (tort buck / broken tort doe). I was pulling out the money when they lowered the price to $80 to "make me a deal". I made sure they were ok with that - because I didn't mind paying $50 and didn't want to cheat them.

I know that I'm starting to save now for my "main" herd buck for hollands. I'll probably try to save $250 - $300 before I even go looking. That is - if I decide to get serious about the hollands - I'm going to work with what I have through their first litters and then see if it is a good match for me (so far - so good).

If I can get a buck from Juan Perez from the breeding he's going to be doing (both parents were awesome - far better than anything I can get here) - I will pay whatever he asks..plus the shipping.

It doesn't mean I'm against cheap animals - I've bought some really nice cheap ones.

And unlike many people - I'm fortunate in the fact I can use most of my paycheck if need be on the rabbits...(most of the time).

I guess for me - it is because this is more than breeding rabbits. I am trying to develop my own lines - so that someday - you can look at one of mine and go, "Oh...those are from Peg Flint...aren't they?"

I had someone look at the flemish I had at the show for sale last weekend (juniors). She doesn't breed flemish - but she took one look at them and said, "Jack's rabbits...right?"

That is what I'm hoping to build....a line that is my vision of what the standard should be (and hopefully the vision of judges too!)

 

[Nela]

Well pet shop bunnies are am average of 40$ here soI would pay a high price for a pedigreed bunny if I were to buy but personally I am the type to not care about how much it costs if I fall in love with a bunny. I would go broke in no time with a rabbitry :whistlingHowever, many of you would make a small fortune

 

[elrohwen]

Cheers, Peg! I can't tell you how much I respect you as a breeder. I know not everyone has the luxury to spend that much on their bunnies, but I believe that you get what you pay for more often than not.

 

[TinysMom]

elrohwen wrote:

Cheers, Peg! I can't tell you how much I respect you as a breeder. I know not everyone has the luxury to spend that much on their bunnies, but I believe that you get what you pay for more often than not.

Well - I don't mean to discount those who can't/won't pay more money for rabbits. There was a time when I couldn't pay as much and I remember finding some lionheads at $50 or $60 each...and being so psyched because I could afford to get two or three of them and split the shipping with a friend.

I think the important thing is that when you breed- you have a goal in mind and then you look for the best quality rabbits you can afford that will help you move towards that goal.

In fact - I have a decision I'm trying to make (and stick with) - that I think I'll share about in a thread in a few minutes - it will be called "broken flemish". I'd love to hear what others have to say.

I'll never forget the time though that someone said, "I saw one of your rabbits on X's website and I knew without even looking at the name that it was from your lines..".

Wow. That made my year I think!

 

[elrohwen]

I do realize that not everyone can afford expensive rabbits, and I'm sure I couldn't either if I had a large herd to feed and care for, but I definitely think shelling out a little more money upfront saves time and effort down the road. It might save you 4 generations of breeding to buy a nice stud up front if you can afford it. Though I'm sure in some parts of the country it really is possible to get a high quality bun for only $40, which would be a great deal.

 

[TinysMom]

Just to show I have nothing against inexpensive buns...let me introduce Cindy.

[align=center]

[align=left]Cindy is 4 1/2 months old. In March she took BOV at the state show. Last weekend she took BOB in both shows and both judges remarked on how nice her crown was (for a junior rabbit) and felt she would do well as a show rabbit.

She beat out her father and her sister along with several other rabbits.

[align=center]I paid $40 for her
(and actually offered him more because I knew she was worth more than that)

I'm sure Joe was kicking himself this weekend when he saw her go up against the rabbits he'd kept. But as he said - he has the mama and daddy and can repeat the breeding!

[align=left]So I'm not against inexpensive rabbits.
[/align][/align][/align][/align]

 

[pamnock]

TinysMom wrote:

I think a lot of the prices depend upon the area of the country you live in and how many breeders are around - and many times it depends upon how many unsold bunnies a breeder has.

This is so true. Our area of the country is extremely competitive and prices are sky high - especially at conventions. (I remember when someone bid $5000 on a New Zealand rabbitat the Ohio State Convention a few years back).

Many people don't think twice about paying $300-$500 for a rabbit here.

On the other hand, it's true that a high price doesn't mean necessarily mean high quality, and you can get a quality rabbit for a low price.

The most we've ever paid was $300 for a Holland Lop buck (and he was worth every penny!).

 

[kwilds]

I am very new to pedigreed, show rabbit breeding (I raisedsome meat rabbits years ago) so take my opinion for what its worth! I am starting with some rabbits that are not very expensive but seem to be pretty good quality (the buck has already earned a few legs, they all have a least a few animals with legs close up on their pedigrees) however I agree that if you want the best it SHOULD cost more! In every other species of animal humans raise for pets or livestock there is a huge difference in cost between the "pet" quality and top level show quality. Breeders (in all species!) spend a huge amount of time, effort and money in developing quality show animals - that should reflect in the price of their top level animals.

I think it is great that a new rabbit breeder can get involved without a huge investment (I bred horses for several years and comparatively -rabbits is like pocket change!) however I would never expect to take my current stock to the nationals and win with them. With a lot of hard work, smart culling and more education I hope to be able to improve my herd but at some point I will very likely invest in a few really good rabbits to help me along.

I do live in an area where there are very few breeders and a fairly big market for pets. The pet stores get rabbits in and they are sold within days, usually for $40/50 -though one recently had unpedigree pet jersey woolies for $200! The private pet sale of bunnies here are still around $25-$50 depending on breed. I don't know what pedigreed, showable rabbits go for as I have yet to find a local breeder who sells pedigreed rabbits!

Karin

 

[la~la~land]

I get what your all saying In my area there are very few pure breed breeders. A petshop bun is between$10-$15. My issue with paying that much is that I'm a youth that pays for her own rabbitsand a majorityof the supplies for them (my parents will buy the essential supplies if I need them to). I'm in the process of saving for an excellent trio :thumbup

 

[elrohwen]

La la land, I'm sure you'll get the best bunnies you can afford! It's totally tough being a student and having show rabbits - I couldn't have done it, that's for sure. And it sounds like you're willing to put in the effort to breed good buns even if you can't have $120 stock to start with.

 

[la~la~land]

elrohwen wrote:

La la land, I'm sure you'll get the best bunnies you can afford! It's totally tough being a student and having show rabbits - I couldn't have done it, that's for sure. And it sounds like you're willing to put in the effort to breed good buns even if you can't have $120 stock to start with.

Thanks I had an assignment where I had to memorize several poems to recite in class. I spent the entire week reciting poems to my rabbits lol. I turned around one day to see my neighbor watching me :baghead

 

[elrohwen]

Hahaha. I'm sure the bunnies are very cultured now!

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I wouldn't pay that much for him, I'm more prone to buying two and breeding them for the nice baby to show and then moving the parents on and keeping the youngin. I just can't see the point. I mean the most i've ever paid was $35 for my blue dutch doe and she wasn't even marked that well, she was the only blue for sale that we'd found and she had awesome type. My babies, when I sell i don't ever charge more than $10 for them, because for the most part they've not proven themselves on a show table and they aren't proven breeders yet.

 

[la~la~land]

Thanks for the input I'm just gonna wait and see whats for sale at the show.

 

[Jashaira]

I paid $65 for my English lop that if he did not brake his toe I think he would have went far. I also paid $65 for my jersey wooly. For a good show/breeder rabbit I would pay that.