I do wonder sometimes

I do wonder sometimes about the mentality of some poeple.
I know I am going to get my head well & truely bitten off by some people after this but here goes.

There is so much good advice & so much bad advice on these forums that you never know who or what to believe.
There are breeders, rescue people, petshop staff, etc... which is really good as it gives a wide range of help & advice.
My problem is that there is so much of it, how are you supposed to tell the good from the bad..
Take me..
I've had really bad experiences with smaller petshops than the larger warehouse types....
I have had some not so good advice from them but worse from the little stores.
How come?
From different people I have spoken to over the years I have noticed that the smaller stores tend to not keep upto date with animal needs & welfare apart from what companies may send them in order to sell a product "this is good because...." these stores often cannot afford to send staff on proper training courses, so they are not neccesarily the best.
Breeders.... yes they do tend to be the most knowlegable about their particular breed of animals (Rabbits for instance) but there to can lie problems, they will often sell animals that have a disablility, or not show standard or the runt of the litter etc (I am not for one moment suggesting anyone here does any of these things) one thing they also do is put down any stock they can't show, sell or even give away. (I know this has happened with one particular Rabbit breeder & it happens not just with Rabbits but with all types of animals Cats Dogs Hamsters Rats etc etc etc) & not just that, often breeders are searching for the "perfect specimin" that the welfare of the animal becomes compromised, look at what has happened to some breeds of dog that are now "Kennel Club Standard" & are an unhealthy breed (Bulldog springs to mind)
Larger companies are able to send staff on animal welfare courses, I have come across some staff who don't have the full care & welfare of the animals in store who may do other duties such as shelf filling etc...but I have always found at least 4/5 members of staff who are fully trained & do have the care & welfare in mind.
The amount of products that are on sale these days is unbelievable!
One of the areas I have notice that can cause concern is feeding pets.. No-one can say whether one food should be used above another as sometimes the food they reccomend doesn't suit someone else pet..

I haven't had a rabbit in years... things have changed a fair bit since then...
I see by the forums here that there are far too many different opinions (including my own) & that only causes confusion & in some cases conflict..

So where do we go from here when it comes to buying your ideal pet Rabbit?

It's something I will think about if I decided to buy from a petshop or breeder or rescue another....

The same can be said for the whole of the internet. There's so much information out there, and it's so easy for any old "average Joe" to put it on there (no offence Joe!) that it's impossible to know if it's correct.

I think you just have to do your research enough to learn how many people are of the same opinion.

Oh and if you want my opinion definitely rescue!

i like to know all of the bunnys history and parentage lines so id only buy from a breeder i can trust, but i have felt sorry for a couple of cases like in the meat maket for eg and brought them home and a couple of ones that have been dumped on my doorstep were quartined for 4 wks then rehomed!

Raven Rexs said:

i like to know all of the bunnys history and parentage lines so id only buy from a breeder i can trust, but i have felt sorry for a couple of cases like in the meat maket for eg and brought them home and a couple of ones that have been dumped on my doorstep were quartined for 4 wks then rehomed!

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im not having a go,b ut if this is true, what a bout that girly you posted earlier who had the accidental litter of dalmaton x's? if it was an accident how comes there is a little baby in the corner of the pic of the mum?cus when you first hoswed us thast piccie your current litter were a few days old.

im not critisicing i just see that a little hypocritcal

thanks

Thankyou Bobbin

I take it you have rescue bunnies?

I had the most amazing petshop bunnie, Smudge, who got to 9 yrs old & was adorable..

I have also had a rescue rabbit (cross New Zealand White) who was a beautiful big bunny but had phsycological problems that the rescue centre didn't know about but we loved her. She died aged 8.

I have also had a rabbit from a breeder (beautiful rex) who had one leg shorter than the other, the breeder would've put him down as he wasn't show standard & she couldn't sell him. I bought him to stop him from being put down & he was a supurb Rabbit.

So you see where my dilemas are, from my own expeiences so far.
I do know people who have bought rabbits from petshops & had probs & had fantastic Rabbits. I know people who have rescued fantastic rabbits & I know of good breeders who never put a healthy rabbit down....

But I think in the world we have today it doesn't matter if a Rabbit has been got from a Pet Shop or Rescue or a Breeder, if you are happy with your Rabbit & your Rabbit is happy with you... where does it matter where you get one from as long as the new owners think of the care & welfare of that Rabbit as none of the above will ever truely know what happens after the Rabbit is in it's new home.

Hi :wave: I don't really see the problem in deciding whether to buy from a shop, breeder or rescue. Buy from a shop and you are supporting a backyard breeder or mill, so its out. Buy from a breeder and well you have a pedigree bun, or buy from a rescue and give 1/2 of the 33,000 buns in rescue a second chance. Personally I'd go rescue.

I think it terms of mass amounts of info, you have to sieve through it and stick to reputable sites, ie rabbit welfare sites and those general care sites which follow the advice of the welfare site. You can usually tell a good site a mile off from a bad one anyway. I always judge by the housing size they recommend, if they talk about neutering and what they say is suitable bunny diet.

altho going to a rescue is a good idea bcus it helps one of the thousands of bunnies that end up there, i certainly wouldnt class you as a bad person for not doing so.

i think as long as you care for youre pets, love them and give them everything u need..ur a good bunny owner

DaisyAsh said:

I take it you have rescue bunnies?

I had the most amazing petshop bunnie, Smudge, who got to 9 yrs old & was adorable..

I have also had a rescue rabbit (cross New Zealand White) who was a beautiful big bunny but had phsycological problems that the rescue centre didn't know about but we loved her. She died aged 8.

I have also had a rabbit from a breeder (beautiful rex) who had one leg shorter than the other, the breeder would've put him down as he wasn't show standard & she couldn't sell him. I bought him to stop him from being put down & he was a supurb Rabbit.

So you see where my dilemas are, from my own expeiences so far.
I do know people who have bought rabbits from petshops & had probs & had fantastic Rabbits. I know people who have rescued fantastic rabbits & I know of good breeders who never put a healthy rabbit down....

But I think in the world we have today it doesn't matter if a Rabbit has been got from a Pet Shop or Rescue or a Breeder, if you are happy with your Rabbit & your Rabbit is happy with you... where does it matter where you get one from as long as the new owners think of the care & welfare of that Rabbit as none of the above will ever truely know what happens after the Rabbit is in it's new home.

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I believe it DOES matter, in buying a rabbit from a pet shop you are fueling the demand. So many end up in rescues because people buy them on whim and then realise they don't really want it (not all, but some).

Same goes for breeders, if there was no demand for babies they would breed far less than they already do.

But we are just going over the same thing that is being discussed on so many other threads right now :lol:

XMissySJx said:

im not having a go,b ut if this is true, what a bout that girly you posted earlier who had the accidental litter of dalmaton x's? if it was an accident how comes there is a little baby in the corner of the pic of the mum?cus when you first hoswed us thast piccie your current litter were a few days old.

im not critisicing i just see that a little hypocritcal

thanks

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that was her last litter at the beggining of this year! and if you mean about knowing her parentage i have explained that before that she was actually micro-chipped from the first owner who bought her off a breeder and had to rehome her she doesnt know how she made it to the meat maket though she says and was horrified to hear this but she did give me the name and address of the breeder that she bought her from i managed to get his phone number and hes all the way in scotland so i managed to find out about her parents grandparent ect! the litter in that pic was planned and was pure bred with my champ orange rex Calcifer! fu thats alot to write!

oh right..i see. didnt mean to pry was just wondering! x

Thanx Beebop

I can't say I totally agree with you there as I have had some really great advise from larger wholesale breeders as well as show breeders, I know at least with a breeder who breed one type of Rabbit you know exactly what you are getting so there are no suprises with size etc....But there are also lots of Rabbits in rescue from reputable breeders too. & there are breed specific rescues as well.
So again, who is to say who is best I know I can't say.

I am new

Oh I am new to this Rabbit forum so please excuse me if I am going over some old stuff as although I have spent a lot of time reading the messages left I can't say I have read them all so this is giving me a good insight into what people think.

dont worry about it! altho u can search the forum for previous posts nothing beats actually talking to someone properly

Thanx Missysj

I have to go now but I will look forward too seeing anyother posts left here.

I will one day get myself another Rabbit or 2, but am happy at the moment with researching into how I go about it again.. As I said a lot has changed since my last Bunny past away

Thanx everyone

XXX

bye! xxxxx

come back soon!

XMissySJx said:

oh right..i see. didnt mean to pry was just wondering! x

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Dont worry about it! its best explained than taken the wrong way and getting butchered for it! i dont think your prying just intersted

no harm, no foul!

Thea & Bobbin said:

I believe it DOES matter, in buying a rabbit from a pet shop you are fueling the demand. So many end up in rescues because people buy them on whim and then realise they don't really want it (not all, but some).

Same goes for breeders, if there was no demand for babies they would breed far less than they already do.

But we are just going over the same thing that is being discussed on so many other threads right now :lol:

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i think that it does matter where you get your rabbit but only in the sense that it is well cared for when you have it and that no suffering has been caused if you get it from a breeder or pet store(unless rescueing it from there...hmm that not made sense).

also if we did neuter every bunny in the world(and yes i had mine done bar one and think its a good idea to) then there would never be another domestic rabbit in say 14 years as would all have died out at same time(ie none to replace) at same time i think too many are ending up in rescues as well there should be some sort of control on how many litters a rabbit can have,...that would also save some breeders (admitedly probly no one on here) from breeding the poor doe to death with exuastion...in fairness who doesnt think a family of neutered mum n babes living together in a happy group is cute!!!!

Raven Rexs said:

that was her last litter at the beggining of this year! and if you mean about knowing her parentage i have explained that before that she was actually micro-chipped from the first owner who bought her off a breeder and had to rehome her she doesnt know how she made it to the meat maket though she says and was horrified to hear this but she did give me the name and address of the breeder that she bought her from i managed to get his phone number and hes all the way in scotland so i managed to find out about her parents grandparent ect! the litter in that pic was planned and was pure bred with my champ orange rex Calcifer! fu thats alot to write!

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After everything that this poor bun went through, did it not cross your mind to not put her through the stress of pregnancy, birth and having her babies then taken away from her? :?

Ah the joys of the internet... it has brought a wealth of advice to peoples fingertips and as you say, a lot of it is conflicting. Personally I think you have to be cautious and not take anything as gospel (unfortunately ).

As for keeping up to date with the advances in knowledge, again that's the same in all walks of life. I'm lucky to have found a Vet who is totally committed to rabbits and attends seminars etc. to keep his knowledge up to date. Do they all do that? I wonder. Do pet shops? I doubt it. Also when a store/ chain / Vets promote a new product (and I'll use Panacur paste as an example), is it really necessary or are they promoting it because they're getting a good deal to do so :?