I thought id do a thread for anyone considering breeding.
As a breeder i want to get across the message of breeding.

1) do you know the last 4 generations of the rabbit? if you do not know then dont breed as you could breed in all sorts of genetic problems, just because your bun dont show these problems dont mean there not lurking waiting to come out!

2) Are they cross breed or are you considering cross breeding? if so DONT! there are so many cross bred bunnys in rescue's longing for that special home!

3) Money? do you have the money to feed a litter until theyre approx 8-12 weeks? believe it or not you will NEVER make money on selling a litter of rabbits, i sell my french lops at approx £40 yet still make NO money as i have to upkeep the hutches, buy food, hay, straw, wood shavings, get jabs done, pay for paper and printing for birth certificates etc the list is never ending and thats without any vet care thats needed!

4) Time? It takes alot of time looking after rabbits and kits, i spend more time in my rabbitry than i do indoors LOL i have to go in the morning to top up water and give hay then in the evening to feed and every 2nd day clean litter trays and weekly clean the whole lot out which can take me a few hours to do all of them. more time needs to be taken with babies as the does hutch needs cleaning everyday.

5) Can you handle heartbreak? If the doe was to turn on the litter or abandon them could you handle it? or if just 1 wasnt to survive? its hard and heartbreaking!! could you raise a litter if mum couldnt? or if mum was to die? you have to feed that litter every 2 hours with formula and this has to be done with care or you can drown them!

There are so many reason's NOT to breed and im sure others will offer more of these reason's but i thought i would just add some of them incase your thinking "oh it would be nice to see what rabbit X and rabbit Y's babies would look like".

Leave it to people like myself to do the research and raise healthy strong rabbits.

*Update* April 2011, after few years of breeding i am now giving up. I cant afford the money that goes into breeding healthy buns as there are so many people breeding I cant find homes for mine. Also the time is a big commitment and i dont want to neglect the rabbits with other things i need to do, it just wouldnt be fair.
So here i am now a pet owner

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Excellent post!
I used to breed & show rabbits myself, and I can vouch that everything in the above post is true. They are very hard work, often heartbreaking, and it's no way as easy to breed them successfully and properly as you might imagine.

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Well done Frags, very good post.

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great points frags, your a great bunny mummy

Great post.

I bred and showed Dutch rabbits a few years ago and i agree with every bit. I lost a doe once with her first litter the baby died too

I had a couple of horrible times but the good outweighed it. I had to do sooooo much research when it came to breeding some steel greys and brown-greys out of my Dutchies. I was the only person in the shows that had them. But the time i put in was madness!

I would never take it up again, instead i leave it to the other mad people.......i like some time to myself
xx

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Good post, theres also the issue of space, tiny little 3ft/4ft hutches are never ever ok for any rabbit.

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If tears could build a stairway, And memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to Heaven, And bring you home again.

What a brilliant thread. Rep for you

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Mummy to:

Oscar and Molly Pooches
Oliver, Lily, Jacob, Sweep, Stevie, Blue, Dillon, Daisy and Flopsy Rabbits
Midnight, Alice, Bethany, Midget, Hermionie, Dora, Valentine, Casper, MJ and new babies!!! Meeces
Dean, Bella, Ruby Hammies

thanks to all that rep'd me for this

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deffo not for breeding, they need alot more space as mummy buns needs room to escape the nagging babies or she could hurt them by thumping, i had this when lily was indoors on her 1st litter!! she was in an indoor cage and there wasnt enough room and sadly 1 got killed from her thumping on them.

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Here's another reason not to breed

Just back from vets

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