Introduction and a question....Y

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MommiesZoo

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
, Indiana, USA
Hello all...

I am new to the bunnyboard and have a question for anyone with the knowledge to answerit.We have a boymini lop bunny named ReecesPeanutButter Cup, we call him Reece's for short and we have had him forabout 3 years now...he is the most docile animal, bunny or otherwise wehave ever had...I love him to pieces! ;)

Anyway, we have beendiscussing the possibility of mating him with another bunny, wanting ababy of his...but were curious to one thing...does it have to be abunny of the same breed? We are having difficulty finding a female minilop but have found a few owners with other types of rabbits. Is crossbreeding OK? Or No way?

Anyone havinginformation, we would greatly appreciate it...we were thinking ofgetting the female just in time for Easter comingup...

Thanks and glad to have found you all!

~Dionne

Going to attempt apicture of Reeces here...hope it loads...
 
Well, mixed breed rabbits are not exactly in highdemand most parts of the country. Many end up in pet storesand are sold as "Dwarfs" regardless of what they are because they areall small when young,especially around Easter time.

Much to many first time rabbit owners' chagrin, keeping a rabbit provesto be more labor intensive than originally thought, or the "Dwarf"grows into something approaching a "Behemoth," so about 2-3 monthsafter Easter, Animal Shelters and Rescue operations experience aplethora of rabbits being abandoned and/or dropped off foradoption. Fact of the matter is, many will not find homes andend up being euthanized. Less fortunate buns who don't makeit to a shelter,may end up as snake food.

If you insist on mating your bun, I would recommend searching morediligently until you find a doe of the same breed and try to insure thesiblings, that will most likelybe born alongwithyour bun's son or daughter, will end up in a suitable long termenvironment. Easter time is probably NOT a good time for suchan undertaking because "Easter Bunny " purchasers tend to be the firstto bail out and ditch the bunny when things don't move along as theyforesaw it.

Why not just get your bunny a girl friend from a shelter that hasalready been spayed and get you boy neutered. It will addyears to his life, be less frustrating for him, and he will greatlyenjoy the company. Owning two bonded pairs for many years, Ican attest to the joy that watching them interact brings to us.

Don't add to the too, too many throwaway bunnies that already exist, please!

Buck
 

Greetings MommiesZoo

I would add that it takes breeders years to breed rabbits with healthyteeth, etc. Not knowing what kind of family background your rabbitcomes from or the mother, you don't know what ailments/disabilities thebabies could inherit.

-Carolyn
 
As faras thehealth of our bunny...vet says he's in great health. Aswith all of our animals he is checked regularly. Secondly, we love allof our animals, have taken in strays, both domestic and wildlife forover 10 years now...so we are hardly a "throw away" family.

<<Don'tadd to the too, too many throwaway bunnies that already exist,please!>>


That only slightly offendedme...but alas, you don't know us personally...so I forgive theoversight. We'd be more likely the family at the shelter AFTER Easteradopting the "throw away's" as you call them.

Thanks for your advice...Iassumed an exact match breed was the wiser choice, which was only myquestion posed.

Thank you~

Dionne
 

Hi MommiesZoo,

You might start your search for a mini-lop breeder in the ARBA websiteor doing a search on the net for mini lop groups. Since they're such apopular breed, I would hope that it wouldn't be terribly hard to find abreeder relatively closeby.

Even if you know or can find any breeders in your area, you could checkwith them. They might know of someone that deals in mini-lops but isn'tlisted. Rabbits Only Magazine has a list of breeders as well.

-Carolyn
 
Thank you Carolyn...we will continue our search, for only themost beautiful girl mini lopout there for our handsome boy!:)

~Dionne
 
MommiesZoo wrote:
That only slightly offendedme...but alas, you don't know us personally...so I forgive theoversight. We'd be more likely the family at the shelter AFTER Easteradopting the "throw away's" as you call them.



MommiesZoo,

Suggest you might be a little less sensitive to suggestions you askedfor initially, especially of the nature of your query, which impliedthat you would keep only one of the proposed litter, thereby raising myconcern over the disposition of the remaining littermates.That, in conjunction with the references to obtaining a rabbit in timefor Easter, and seemingly on the cusp of a decision to breedReece's[sic] with other than another mini-lop, seemed like a recipe forpotential disaster to me, hence my, what I believed to be, rather calmreply in an effort to suggest other alternatives.

Those of us who have been around rabbit fancying a while willunderstand my concern, as elicited by your query. Instead ofbeing a family "likely" to be at the shelter AFTER Easter,weHAVE been such a family to the tune of six "throwaway" rabbits to date,therefore, I do speak from someexperience.

So, even though you may have taken some degree of umbrage at myresponse to your post, if it has, in some way, given you to pause formore consideration, I will be more than grateful in the knowledge that,perhaps, between the two of us, we have not added to an alreadysignificant problem of indiscriminate rabbit production.

Buck :)
 


It seems to me that you both Buck Jones and MommiesZoo care very much for rabbits.

I certainly understand and am behind what Buck Jones' says in hisstatements. I'd be surprised if MommiesZoo doesn't agree as well,however it may not be relative to her personal situation.


-Carolyn
 
[align=center]
ladysmileyface.gif
[/align]
 
Unless you are breeding as a profession, I neverrecommend taking the risk of the doe's health and the risk of emptyingyour pocketbook. We just recently have taken a doe to the vetfor birthing problems and we werelucky to have gotten off*cheap* with a surgery bill of only $175. I think you'd befar better off adopting a new bunny rather than trying to "make" one:).

We just had another doe retain a placenta, nearly requiring anothertrip in for surgery. Luckily, with massage, she passed itafter a couple days. The scene that greeted me last week wasnone too pleasant when I caught a doe eating her newborn bunny forbreakfast -- it was hanging out of her mouth as she happily munchedaway. It really turned my stomach to have to reach in andtake it away :p

I agree with Buck on the over-population issue. There aretimes when you can't even pay someone to take a bunny, let alone beable to find the perfect loving home.

I've seen so many cases of neglect that I stopped selling pet bunniesmany years ago aftermy rose colored glasses fell off,shattering the imageof cheery homes for each bunny.

I highly recommend putting much thought and plenty of research into youendeavor and also discussing potential health issues with your vet andhow much your vet charges for both regular and emergency visits.

But, of course, that's just my humble opinion,

Pam
 
MommiesZoo,

It is not only opinions being stated, but experience from both parties,Buck Jones who's rescued rabbits for years; and PamNock who breeds themand is an ARBA Judge.

I highly respect both of their experiences because they've seen things that I shiver to think of.

Each of these people don't know your rabbits, but they already lovethem. Their heart aches when they're not able to help bunnies andthey'd go out of their way to help you help yours. Their advice issolid, not personal.

-Carolyn







 
Before moving from Ohio, I was the advisor of alarge 4-H rabbit group. I always stressed to the kids to "setgoals, plan and research" before thinking about breeding theirrabbit.

Many families assumed that the bunnies could live together as one bighappy family and didn't realize that the rabbits may fight.Mini Lops, on average may have 6-7 kits. These will need tobe weaned from the mother by 8 weeks of age. By 12 weeks, thebunnies become sexually mature and need to be separated not only bysex, but put into individual cages, as they may begin to fight andseriously injure each other. (The expense of the extra cages will beapprox. $500 for cages alone, plus feeders, water bottles,etc.)

It's possible you may be able to leave some of the bunnies togetherthat are the same sex and not fighting, however, bunnies are verydifficult to accurately sex for beginners, so you don't want to takethe chance of a sibling mating, and even more bunnies.

Once they've done their research, many people opt *not* to breed theirrabbit as their is a health risk involved and additional expenses.

The pet market is highly unstable, and most people want the tiny cute 4week old bunny (too young to sell!), not the gangly 12 week old bunnysold at the proper age. People who breed irresponsibly often findthemselves stuck with rabbits they had not intended on keeping and itcan be very difficult to sell a non-pedigreed adult rabbit.

There is not only an influx of bunnies to the pet shelter after Easter,but also after the county fairs where visitors often purchase a bunnyon impulse, not realizing the responsibility involved. Manybreeders will say that rabbit rescue groups inflate the numbers ofunwanted/abandoned rabbits, however, I witnesses the neglectcontinually in my own county, which is why I highly discourageunmediated breeding.

It's not my intent to come across harshly. I just wish tostress that anyone considering breeding their rabbit should doextensive research first. There are health risks, expensesand time that must be devoted to the rabbits that first time breedershave often not considered.

Pam
 
Some idiot I know got kicked out of his home today,Monday, and the jerk bought a rabbit for his very difficult kids, and alaborador retriever.?

That poor rabbit!? It'll either die of stress of be looking for a homein a month. Knowing the kids, they'll set it free if they can't find ahome. It really upsets me.

-Carolyn

?

?
 
<<I just wish to stress that anyoneconsidering breeding their rabbit should do extensive researchfirst.>>

And thank you for all ofyour advice...it is much appreciated!

~Dionne

Attempting anotherpicture of Reeces...hope this works...

Reecescloseup.jpg

 
OH For Heavens sake!!

It came through SO big!!It wasn't that size putting it in???

UGH!Well....................that's him! Upclose and personal!!

Except in this picturehe looks like BIG SCARY BUNNY!!;)

~Dionne
 
Bummer, it still didn't come through, MommiesZoo!
 
MommiesZoo wrote:
I see it!!:?

~D


It's because you are trying to link directly to your harddrive. Use the attachment "browse" button you see below thebox when you are posting and you can upload your photo from there.

Pam
 


Buck Jones was telling me about seeing rabbits in a petstore thisweekend and two of them had lost their ears or had considerable damagedone to them.? Buck said they were sweethearts, but would probably notget sold because of their ears and is hoping they wouldn't be sold assomeone's food.? So sad that we can't just swoop them up and shut downthe people that are misbreeding rabbits or don't know the proper stepsto take to breed them.? It's so upsetting, I don't usually even go intopetstores because I always come out incredibly depressed.?

I'm sure it breaks the hearts of you all as it does mine.? I have toforce these things out of my mind because as with the family I told youabout above, I'll get too wrapped up in it and unless I can take therabbit, there's little I can do.

-Carolyn
 

Latest posts

Back
Top