lions den

Each post I have made I have said different things which whilst you have acknowledged some, others you haven't. My point is that I don't think you are doing this responsibly I'm not thinking about those you want to buy, I'm thinking currently of the two you have. I've said most of my points though, and you can go back and read them.

Currently I don't think you are being responsible and your bunnies may suffer because of that. That concerns me from two points of view, firstly, I made fatal mistakes from doing bad breedings (and no, I don't sell, everything I breed, I keep). I made those mistakes through ignorance, which is no excuse, but when you have the knowledge and choose to ignore that, that is worse, in my eyes. Also, I wouldn't want you to go through the pain I went through of knowing I killed those rabbits due to my mistake, and anyone who loves their rabbits and made mistakes would also feel guilt for them. Also, if I can discourage even one person from breeding irresponsibly, and help them breed more responsibly (in whatever way) then my buns did not die in vain, and something positive has come from what I put them through. Secondly, if you want to improve the breed, doing so in the current conditions is not realistic, and your doe will struggle immensely.

As a responsible breder you will also need to look at the other issues like the genes your buns came from, also what Peg said about them not being good breeding stock, finding them responsible homes and being willing to take them back if those homes don't work out, you will also need superior knowledge to all those who you from you because you will need to educate them on being a good owner.

I'm not against breeding in anyway, in fact, my best friend is a breeder, and a very good one, but I am against irresponsible breeding and all the repercussions of that.


ETA, if you don't have enough room to separate your male and female, how do you have enough room to buy a new bunny? I know you said you could possibly put your buck in the kitchen, but then where will the new bun go?

Click to expand...

Hi Paul I saw your post in the rabbitry and didn't realise you had a blog Your buns are very pretty as pets but as breeding rabbits towards show or improving the breed they would not be any good. Sorry I don't mean to hurt your feelings its just Lionheads are smooth coated rabbits the only part of them that should be longer or woolier looking is their mane and the hair on their chest other than that the rest of them should have hair like a netherland quite short and roll back which means that when you take your hand over it in the wrong direction it should roll back into its natural position.

Also your colours do not go together genetically so you would not get any or very few babies out of a decent colour. The easiest way to start off is to get a breeding pair or trio that all are same colour or colours that work together like black and blue.

There are a lot of breeders in Ireland just not in your area. one part of Ireland is regulated with shows rules etc. Perhaps it would be better to try and find out about that because if you do thats your link to breeders who have brought their stock in from the UK which means that they will conform to thestandards that have been set to make a breed as good as it can be

I hope that is of some use to you if you want to ask any more questions either post them in the rabbitry or pm me and I will try to help you

Click to expand...

I think you are going about breeding totally the wrong way, alot of the things Flashy has already pointed out that you skipped/missed. The most obvious thing is you still have a mature male and female living together? It also sounds like she's pregnant, because she's attacking you. You do know that if she has babies there she could kill them from the stress of being in that cage? Possible even injure the male?You seem to have rushed into breeding from the minute you got your rabbitsand have not spent that much time getting to know the animal, you need to spend time interacting with them, there's only so much you can learn from the internet, the rest comes from experience. If you want to improve Irish breeding you need to be a good role model.

What you should do now is get seperate cages for each of your rabbits, and get to know them and what the animal is like before rushing into breeding and running off getting more rabbits. From what the breeders are saying here, the rabbits you chose to breed aren't even a good match. You need to slow down and sort yourself out a bit. Get a cage for each of your rabbits and go from there, and don't buy anymore till your ready.

Click to expand...

Could you try bonding roger with the younger female for the time being until you can get enough cages for all of them? At least that way the older female will have her own cage in case she kindles, since they have been together you won't know her due date.

I had said in another thread that it was unlikely the two females would bond...

Click to expand...

I think if you want to do the best you can you concentrate on the buns you have right now, and not even consider adding anymore until you have more accommodation and have learnt more.

If you start to listen to people and take things on board then potentially you could be very good, but only then currently your buns are at risk (the make and female together) and deserve better. You can definitely give them better, and I know you want to, so focus on them three, not on being a breeder for now.

Click to expand...

Ya you could be a great breeder, but I think you are rushing too much. She is not even three months old yet is she? He shouldn't be able to get her pregnant for another few weeks. How long is it going to take you to get another cage? I think it's important to get the older female away from him, since she could be expecting babies any day now.The younger femaleshouldn't be able to conceive for another month or so, but I would try and set a goal for yourself to get another cage in the next 2 weeks, just to be on the safe side. If you can't get another cage in the next two weeks or so then I would try and organise for someone to take her for awhile, until you can afford a new cage.

Click to expand...

I'm waiting for pictures of Savannah, Paul!
I'm so glad to hear that she is getting her very own hutch

Click to expand...

When they are both spayed then you can try to bond them. They may reject that, but that will be down to the bunnies because obviously not all bunnies are bondable. As they currently are they are hormonal and could be likely to turn on each other and attempt to drive the other out of their territory. Plus Suki really needs a break having had such a rough time recently.

Edited, I got all my S bunnies muddled, lol, sorry. You still have the same problem. They need to be spayed before you attempt any bonding, else you risk them fighting and potentially killing each other.

Click to expand...