Anyone know of..

[MiniLopMad]

Hello

I live in Sydney, NSW and I have been searching for a show rabbit for what feels like ages (been about 5 months)

I know I should take my time searching but I keep getting into contact with breeders willing to help get me started with a show rabbit, only to have them just stop contacting me without warning. It's frustrating and I don't like being messed around with. I know that people have lives other then rabbits, but how hard is it to get on your email or phone and send a quick reply, especially when you know that someone is waiting for you to message them!

Does anyone here in Australia know of good breeders willing to sell me a show quality bun?

I am planning on focusing on Mini Lops or Dwarf Lops. I currently own 3 MLs already, but none are show quality. One is half blind, one is to big and the last one is an unaccepted colour

So if you know of someone selling good bunnies, or if you are selling some yourself, please send me a message or reply to this post here.

If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but I'm sick and tired of people not replying to me and I thought that it was worth a try asking people here.

Thanks in advance!

MiniLopMad

 

[Azerane]

Have you tried going to a show, they don't sell at shows but then you can meet breeders face to face and speak to them about their rabbits and ask what they'd recommend etc. I'm afraid I don't have any advice otherwise.

You might have tried already, but have you gone through the rabbit fanciers site? http://www.rfsnsw.com/

 

[MiniLopMad]

I am going to the first show in March but there is a problem - I'm showing sheep at the same time as the rabbits, so I won't have much time to talk to rabbit breeders because ill need to prep my sheep and possibly help others

I am actually planning on joining the rabbit fanciers 😂 hahahaha
I've already got everything ready to become a member, I'm just waiting to find the right rabbit to get me started.

What I'm concerned about is calicivirus which will be released before the show. I know that people will probably get the rabbits vaccinated, but can vaccinated rabbits carry the disease and not get affected by it? I know this is kind of off topic, but I'm worried that if I buy a rabbit off someone it won't be fully vaccinated and by the time I get it vaccinated it will be to late. I'm kind of paranoid about this, sorry I work on a farm where none of the rabbits are vaccinated and I don't want to give them the virus from one of my bunnies. Probably doesn't make sense and off topic but that's kind of why I want a rabbit before March

I was told by someone once that the rabbit breeders here can be snobby and un-welcoming. Not sure if this is true as everyone I meet here online seems nice. Is what this person told me true? She said that breeders don't like extra competition She shows rabbits but doesn't breed and said that it gets really, really competitive to the point where people go a bit crazy. Not that I mind that much, but I just wanted to know if this is true.

Thanks

 

[AbbottRabbitry]

Rabbit breeders do sell rabbits at shows, after your sheep show, try to find a way to talk to a rabbit breeder and see what they have available, I know many sell rabbits at the shows.

 

[MiniLopMad]

I found a breeder who let me come and see her rabbits. She also taught me how to pose and she showed me what to look for in a mini lop. She's offering me a young sooty fawn buck and said that she'll keep in touch and help me at shows

 

[Azerane]

That sounds perfect It's to the advantage of other breeders to help out new breeders because it helps to keep the type correct and improve the rabbits That's great!

 

[woahlookitsme]

Yay! I'm glad you found someone! It's actually hard to keep up with emails I know at least for me if I don't write out a sales list it can be hard to keep track of everyone.

I am so glad you found someone to help you!!

 

[MiniLopMad]

Yeah that's what she told us. When we arrived at her property I understood when she said that she was often too busy to email.. She had about 2 or 3 sheds of rabbits, cows, a horse, geese and chickens hahaha.

She also offered me a BEW mini cashmere doe but she said that they would be harder to start with so I think I'll stick to the sooty fawn buck.

Another breeder I contacted got mad at me, accusing me of asking personal questions and saying that I was a nosy person already in the rabbit world 😂 all I asked was if the buns were rung, if she would show me how to pose and give me advice on showing and I asked if she could send me photos of them. The breeder I visited told me after I told her what happened that sometimes other breeders don't like extra competition, especially if you are getting involved in the same breed. That made me kind of nervous

So hopefully I'll get the buck soon if showing goes all good I might even buy another one off of her. She said that if I bought a doe, she would let me breed it to one of her bucks which I thought was really nice.

 

[Azerane]

Yes competition can get pretty fierce, but it's good that you've got someone helping you out. It's so rude how people behave, just because someone wants to learn, she probably thought you were trying to steal all her "secrets"

BEW isn't a good colour to start with, you're right. Better off with something else