If you consciously decided to let your rabbit have one litter...............

[minirex]

I don't buy into the 'accidental' litter thing at all. It doesn't require a biology degree to know that 2 unneutered animals of the opposite sex WILL breed.

All animals bought from pet shops OR rescued should be taken to a vet for a full health check when you get them home - part of the health check includes confirming the sex of the animal for registering purposes. It's called being a responsible owner.People who say 'he/she escaped' OR 'I didn't know they were different sexes' make me cross.
He/she wouldn't escape if they were in a properly secured environment.
Don't rely on a pet shop to sex them for you - if you can't sex them yourself, get a bunny savvy vet to do it for you. If you're not prepared to do that then don't have them at all!! :evil:

People who think that letting a doe remain unspayed is a good idea should google Pyometra, closely followed by Uterine Cancer.

I took a guinea pig to the vet to be sexed. Vet said guinea pig was a girl. I wanted Squeek to have a friend so I went and got 2 more girl pigs. Squeek wasn't a girl after all, and 3 guinea pigs turned into 10 guinea pigs:shock:

 

[Tamsin]

I don't buy into the 'accidental' litter thing at all. It doesn't require a biology degree to know that 2 unneutered animals of the opposite sex WILL breed.

All animals bought from pet shops OR rescued should be taken to a vet for a full health check when you get them home - part of the health check includes confirming the sex of the animal for registering purposes. It's called being a responsible owner.

We brought one female guinea pig, yeah I know, they should be kept in groups, it was okay though because one day a few weeks later we had two more!

I don't think not immediately getting a health check makes you a bad owner. That might be the sort of thing an experienced owner does because they have learnt that you can't trust most pet shops. However most people expect pet shops to be a source of accurate advice. They should be - they have a legal obligation to be trained and provide accurate info. It's the same as I don't go and get my new microwave PAT tested or get a my sandwich inspected by the environmental health board. We expect (and should get) a certain level of expertise from the supposed experts we buy things from.

A health check is a good idea but there are also points in the plus column to letting a rabbit settle for a couple of weeks before stressing it out further. I don't think the whole blame should be on the owner.

 

[The Duchess]

Just going back to the original question again as I'm sure there must be a few new RU members since I originally posted this.

Discounting accidental litters, are there any more experiences of people who have deliberately made a decision to give or let their rabbits have one litter (or more)? If so, why did you do this?

I'm still not really understanding why people think it's a good idea to let rabbits have babies (for their sake) so surely it has to do more about what the human wants and not what is in the interest of the animal itself.

The most common reasons I have heard of off forum is because the owner thinks it's good for animals to have atleast one litter, or for the educational purpose for the owners kids.

 

[Sky-O]

Just going back to the original question again as I'm sure there must be a few new RU members since I originally posted this.

Discounting accidental litters, are there any more experiences of people who have deliberately made a decision to give or let their rabbits have one litter (or more)? If so, why did you do this?

I'm still not really understanding why people think it's a good idea to let rabbits have babies (for their sake) so surely it has to do more about what the human wants and not what is in the interest of the animal itself.

The most common reasons I have heard of off forum is because the owner thinks it's good for animals to have atleast one litter, or for the educational purpose for the owners kids.

Yes it is. It's selfish. I know I was, for sure.

I do think though, that because, by nature, we are selfish beings, it can be very difficult to get to that place where its all about someone else. It certainly took me a long time and I don't know at what point the transition happened, but it has. Its to do with how you view things, more than education, I think.

I don't know how to change that though, or help someone change it in themselves.

 

[whitehood]

Never done it

But here are some reasons:
-To sell babies ,when the process it gets to much they stop
-They think its healthy for bunny
-To show their relatives
-To get free rabbits

 

[The Duchess]

Yes it is. It's selfish. I know I was, for sure.

I do think though, that because, by nature, we are selfish beings, it can be very difficult to get to that place where its all about someone else. It certainly took me a long time and I don't know at what point the transition happened, but it has. Its to do with how you view things, more than education, I think.

I don't know how to change that though, or help someone change it in themselves.

This is a very interesting point - I think that everyone has to have a measure of selfishness for self preservation.

Sometimes selflessness comes from an experience that shows you a different way? Some people will never be enlightened as to what the true meaning of happiness is so strive to find it and I think this can manefest itself is selfish behaviour.

Maybe inner happiness would make a difference to those who search for it without? Just a thought.

I do think that education plays a massive role here - seeing what happens later. I have learned from seeing the tail end of rabbit keeping why it's not a good idea to buy from shops or back yard breeders. If everybody was woken up to seeing the bigger picture maybe they'd not add to the numbers? We really do have to educate.

 

[Sky-O]

This is a very interesting point - I think that everyone has to have a measure of selfishness for self preservation.

Sometimes selflessness comes from an experience that shows you a different way? Some people will never be enlightened as to what the true meaning of happiness is so strive to find it and I think this can manefest itself is selfish behaviour.

Maybe inner happiness would make a difference to those who search for it without? Just a thought.

I do think that education plays a massive role here - seeing what happens later. I have learned from seeing the tail end of rabbit keeping why it's not a good idea to buy from shops or back yard breeders. If everybody was woken up to seeing the bigger picture maybe they'd not add to the numbers? We really do have to educate.

Ah yes, In that respect, I do think education plays a large part (I was thinking education with regards to rabbit care). I do think though, that for each person its a journey and they have to walk their own journey, and some people can have that sped up, but not everyone can. Even choosing not to breed doesn't just get someone to thinking solely about what is best for the rabbits, there's still a mile of difference in between, but it is further along the journey.

 

[Bunny Buddy]

I haven't read the whole thread so this might have already been suggested (apologies is covering old ground).

Any of the pet ownership book I've bought in years gone by always, as well as the health, diet, breed identification etc chapters have always had a chapter on breeding. It seems to have been a big assumption that you might want to breed your pet. If you've bought a book, even a basic one to educate you on your animal's care then reading this chapter might put the thought into your mind, or normalise/endorse it if it was already there. Some of the older books I've got don't go into genetics just the gestation time etc.

I've got to admit when I got my original three rabbits Bungee was spayed early on because she had dental problems and needed a GA anyway. It was on the agenda for the other two but I was absolutely besotted with Scrappy - The idea that I could have her off-spring to ease the pain of one day losing her was a very tempting reason to breed her and Artie once before they were neutered. I am however somebody who worries about all the what ifs so didn't do it as I was scared of causing pain/suffering/death to Scratty and it wouldn't have been worth the risk. However when I see Sarah Jane's Domino and know she has son of Peanut and my heart aches so much for the loss of Scratty.. I have different 'what ifs' playing through my mind Not regrets but ponderings. If bunnies had litters of 1 or 2 I think I'd have been much more tempted.

Now I know the situation with rabbits in rescue/abandoned etc I would never consider the 'one litter' scenario, but for anybody who hasn't been aware of the situation in rescues I can really understand why 'one litter' is tempting.

I think the key has to be the books out there and getting the message across that it's a bad idea. The first book I read that was rescuing-orientated was "Rabbit Health in the 21st Century" - healthwise I'm not sure how much it taught me but regarding getting bunnies from rescue it was the first step to how I think now and changed my philosophy and life completely.