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Breeding Issue thats worrying me

RosieHardy

Young Bun
I no this is a pro rescue forum, and my rabbits are all rescue, but I just need some advice on what to do.. and I hope someone can help me.
Thanks =]

My friend has just got a new baby Dutch, female rabbit Called Poppy.
He has been wanting to get a rabbit for a while so i was pleased for him when he finally got one.

The thing is, i have two Male rabbits, One's a Dutch (Dizzie) like his and the other ones a Netherland dwarf (Max. )

He was talking to me today saying how he wanted to breed Poppy with either Max or Dizzie, and he was saying that way he could get £15 a pop or more for the babies and then possibly keep one of the babies and then if it all went smoothly and he sold all the babies he could breed Poppy again and then her baby with Max or Dizzie and then get more money.

I just felt he was taking advantage of my two males to make a small gold mine for himself. And i'm sure my males are gonna feel a bit hard done by, having a female rabbit and then him not being able to see her again or anything, as it think animals sometimes do actually bond like we do with their "partners".. and his rabbit poppy my feel a bit scared having babies all on her own?

I said why don't you just buy a male then you can breed them when ever you want if you really want to breed them and he said he was thinking of doing that, but he will see how financially it all goes with breeding them with mine first! After all, he said he doesn't have much money or a job, so breeding her will give him more money to care for her better... and i was like what!

I feel rather bad for his rabbit as he obviously can't really afford to look after her and hes just going to use her for breeding as he dznt have any money.

But i don't no what to do or say to him.. I don't want him to breed with my rabbits as mine are all rescue .. but do you think i should let him breed with my rabbit?..i mean i don't know if i should be allowed to have some of the babies off him? as max is a pedigree and his babies would cost loads if I decided to breed him one day.... not that i'm going to but you no..

Dunno what to do ='[[
 
tell him you've got yours in to be netured and he's too late to breed from them. :lol: sorry not great advice but thats all i got. hopefully someone can advice you better. ;)
 
In a word, no I would not let him near your bunnies! Just tell him that he should not be breeding rabbits at all. Makes me angry when all the people think of is the money.
 
if he doesnt have a job or much money then what on earth is he going to do if mum has problems before , during or after birth ...

he is being very very irresponsible and if i were you i would have nothing to do with it . :evil:
 
firstly. i think you should inform him of the risks of an unneutered female ie the fact that she has 85% chance fo getting uterine cncer and dying if not spayed. secondly to be a good breeder you will need the following:
4generations worth of detail of heritage (minimum) so that you know about health genetics and any future roblems they may have and can establish a breeding line and do so for the "good of the breed" ie to breed out bad traits etc. by this i mean mishapen heads such as in lops causing dental issues etc .

you also need a lot of time and space and money. n i will explain. each rabbit needs a minimum of a 6x2x2ft hutch.... once the babies reach 8 weeks they can go up for rehoming however you will need to supply the owner with food thaat they are used to and bedding and a care sheet. you will need to ensure each rabbit has 6x6ft run and that you have an area to seperate every rabbit should needs be in case they dont rehome immediatly or are brought back to you and so that they cannot fight that means you really need a minimum of 8hutches there with runs.... at minimum you need 3 huthc and runs...(mum.... female babies....male babies.)
the cost of all their injections will need to be taken into consideration and their food and bedding.

you can only responsibly breed a doe 3 times maximum in a year else she will be worn out.

personally all rabbits i believe should have a permenant freind and there fore should be neutered and bonded. they really do love each other dearly and certaintly dora refused to eat when her partner went missing.

i also think if you decide to let him use your rescue rabbits (and im not quite sure why they werent neutered before leaving the rescue) to mate with his doe that you will have gone against your own reasons for rescueing them and will be contributing to the problem.and will not know their heritage either.

i would adivse him about how many rabbits in the uk need homes this is litrally thousands.... and explain about how he will need to homecheck each home to ensure they can provide adequete space and time for his rabbits if i was going to breed i would ensure each rabbit was neutered and vaccinated before leaving me so that they could only go in pairs to always have a freind. i would also retire my rabbits after 3yrs as i think that3-9 litters is more than enough once retired the rabbit should be nuetered and allowed to live out its retirement with him with a nuetered companion.

also theier is the phsyical work and emotianl demands such as the fact that many does can die during childbirth some rabbits are not good mothers and may kill thier young or the babies may simply die they may need hand feeding(which is largly unsuccessful) around the clock too and does he have time for this?

i am not anti breeding but i am anti breeding for money i think it should be done responsibly.
 
another thought how about paying him £15 so he hasnt "lost out" and taking on his rabbit and nuetering her adn your own and bondning them with your own boys in a little group? rabbits really honestly prefer company. x
 
As you’ve mentioned, this forum is not particularly keen on breeding more rabbits since we’re the ones who usually take in or adopt the rescued ones that nobody wants or people have gotten bored with after they’ve been brought into the world.

I’d point out to your friend that he should know both the parents and grandparents of his bunnies (and your bunnies) to make sure that there are no genetic faults that will surface as a result of breeding. Failure to do this can result in anything from deformed/unhealthy babies to the death of the mother rabbit during birth.

As yours are rescues, aren’t they highly likely to be neutered anyway? :? I know not all rescues can afford to neuter their animals but quite a few do. I would not breed from any rescue animal, male or female, most of them have been through enough in their lives already but also you just don’t know what they might have that they can pass onto their offspring.

They are your rabbits though, you should be able to tell him where to go if you really did feel against it. It actually sounds like he only wanted a rabbit to breed from it and make money :? (or is that just a happy coincidence as far as he's concerned?)
 
tell him you've got yours in to be netured and he's too late to breed from them. :lol: sorry not great advice but thats all i got. hopefully someone can advice you better. ;)

Thats what I was thinking! tell him yours are neutered and then you dont have to think of any 'excuse!'
 
Thanks to everyone so far, this is all really great advice :D

I didn't get mine from a rescue centre.. i saved them from a farm who's dog attcaked them.. ='[ i just asked if i could take them csu they were like dead and they said it was fine :S

When he was getting a rabbit i did take him to the RSPCA to buy one of theres but he said he didn't want to pay £30 for a rabbit u__u he ended up getting one from pets at home.

I'm not full on against breeding either, as i have a guinea pig that i bread in the past, but i don't like how he's just breeding her cus he has no money.

I'll talk to him about it.

Thanks alot =] :love:
 
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I agree with the above - especially the bit about offering to take this bun off him and perhaps bond her with your boys if possible, to save her from her fate. People like this make me so angry - this man sounds like a rabbit welfare nightmare!
I'm pretty anti breeding full stop with so many unwanted rabbits in rescues all over the country, but if it's going to be done it should be done by someone who knows what they are doing re. genetics, care, and financially secure enough to pay emergency vet fees when things go wrong. Not to mention responsibly finding them new homes. This is the sort of person who is fuelling the rabbit welfare crisis in this country.
Poor little bunny is all I can say, it sounds like he got her purely to selfishly fill his own pockets with no regard for the fact she is an intelligent, feeling and sentient being who deserves to know a life of love and happiness. :(:(:(
 
They are your rabbits, tell him no.

If he wants to breed he should do it from rabbits he knows the full family history of. Eg who the parents and grandparents are and what genetic issues they have.

He also needs to think about health risks... did you know rabbits can get STD's? Plus there is always a health risk in pregnancy to the female rabbit. Complications could result in needing a caesarian section (you should have £200 set aside for this before breeding) and of course there is the possibility of death as well.

Who does he think will pay him £15? Pet shops won't and you can get pedigree rabbits for that, who'd want his cross breeds.

There more info on what you need to think about before breeding here: http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/breedingrabbits.asp
 
When he was getting a rabbit i did take him to the RSPCA to buy one of theres but he said he didn't want to pay £30 for a rabbit u__u he ended up getting one from pets at home.

I wonder how he would feel about an out of hours vet consult + surgery if she needed a caesarian section to get the kits out? I'm thinking £200 + not to mention the cost of adequate housing, healthcare, food, etc etc...
I love Dutchies, it breaks my heart :( Let's hope he comes to his senses!
 
If your buns are rescued then it is normally in the rescue paperwork that they shouldn't be bred from:? I am surprised the rescue hasn't neutered them:? also you don't know the generation of yours, so they again shouldn't be bred from.
If I was you I would point your friend in this forums direction and let him see how many rabbits are actually in rescues due to backstreet breeders which in effect is what he will be:roll:.
 
I no this is a pro rescue forum, and my rabbits are all rescue, but I just need some advice on what to do.. and I hope someone can help me.
Thanks =]

My friend has just got a new baby Dutch, female rabbit Called Poppy.
He has been wanting to get a rabbit for a while so i was pleased for him when he finally got one.

The thing is, i have two Male rabbits, One's a Dutch (Dizzie) like his and the other ones a Netherland dwarf (Max. )

He was talking to me today saying how he wanted to breed Poppy with either Max or Dizzie, and he was saying that way he could get £15 a pop or more for the babies and then possibly keep one of the babies and then if it all went smoothly and he sold all the babies he could breed Poppy again and then her baby with Max or Dizzie and then get more money.

I just felt he was taking advantage of my two males to make a small gold mine for himself. And i'm sure my males are gonna feel a bit hard done by, having a female rabbit and then him not being able to see her again or anything, as it think animals sometimes do actually bond like we do with their "partners".. and his rabbit poppy my feel a bit scared having babies all on her own?

I said why don't you just buy a male then you can breed them when ever you want if you really want to breed them and he said he was thinking of doing that, but he will see how financially it all goes with breeding them with mine first! After all, he said he doesn't have much money or a job, so breeding her will give him more money to care for her better... and i was like what!

I feel rather bad for his rabbit as he obviously can't really afford to look after her and hes just going to use her for breeding as he dznt have any money.

But i don't no what to do or say to him.. I don't want him to breed with my rabbits as mine are all rescue .. but do you think i should let him breed with my rabbit?..i mean i don't know if i should be allowed to have some of the babies off him? as max is a pedigree and his babies would cost loads if I decided to breed him one day.... not that i'm going to but you no..

Dunno what to do ='[[


Dont do it! Tell him yours are netuered and that gets you out of that bit. As for breeding to make money, it doesn't work!

My doe had two litters. The first litter was 3 lovely bunnies, all healthy however I had one remain with me for a while after 8 wks. The mum had turned on the baby (and if it is a male then you have to seperate it anyway) so I had to sort out a seperate run & hutch.

The male then escaped and my doe became pregnant again. This time there were 4 lovely bunnies however 2 of these didn't open their eyes properly. It cost me approx £150 in vet bills to get both babies back to health although both bunnies are blind (or almost) in one eye each. There is no way I could rehome these, so these ended up staying with me.

When a doe is pregnant, she eats more so you food bill goes up. When you have a few babies running around, again they are eating so again you food bill goes up.

When the babies are about 8 wks you have to seperate the boys from the girls and you have to provide suitable accomodation for them all.

Breeding, when done properly, is not as easy as it looks, it doesn't make you pots of money and you have to be prepared to pay out for some expected vet bills. You can pass this message onto your friend - this has all happened to me within the last year and has cost me a small fortune!!
 
Daft bloke, there isn't money to be made. Most likely he would be stuck with the babies and have to try to get a rescue to take them:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:

We get asked to take between 10 and 50 rabbits a week. Only the lucky ones get places. The rest are doomed to a life of misery.

Sugggest he breeds some animals there is a shortage of - like tigers;)
 
If yours are rescues, check the form you signed when you adopted them. Most rescues are anti breeding and I know all my rescues adoption forms state they are not to be used for breeding
 
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