Pipp
Well-Known Member
This has been moved to The Rabbitry section.
Finding Rabbits
- Thread starter bunnychild
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la~la~land
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if I should be replying to this or not but I'll just say that I'm 15 and just started my sophmore year in high school. Yesterday was my second day at school and the second I went home I cleaned cages/fed rabbits. I only have 11 rabbits and they're all mini rex. Straight after that I had to go to a 4H meeting because I'm going to the state fair next week. I'll be missing school and will be doing my makeup work in between showings. I'm getting a pair of thriantas this october, that'll make it even harder. It might be possible for you to keep that many breeds but it'll be hard. Its not something I could handle.
CCWelch
Well-Known Member
Bunnychild, go to the ARBA website, find out what district you are in and see if they have a yahoo group. I am in District 3 but know Kansas is not in District 3. Also please join the ARBA they have lots of good information on rabbits and showing.
I am an adult and I have 5 breeds and some different varieties within the breeds and they are a lot of work. I refuse to have Angoras or any other type that needs "constant" grooming because I just don't have the time and I do not work outside of the home right now.
Take the time to read books and learn everything you can about the breeds you want before you get them.Remember each rabbit needs to have its own separate cage and you will have to feed, water ,clean up after, groom and provide vet care for the bunnies if they need it. I am not trying to talk you out of so many but I would suggest just a couple of breeds first then slowly add the others.
My first was a Californian pair and they wouldn't breed. Then I got an English Spot pair and I was in love!!!
Gotta go feed and water my herd, Good luck. I will PM you my email address later so you can contact me for help.
I am an adult and I have 5 breeds and some different varieties within the breeds and they are a lot of work. I refuse to have Angoras or any other type that needs "constant" grooming because I just don't have the time and I do not work outside of the home right now.
Take the time to read books and learn everything you can about the breeds you want before you get them.Remember each rabbit needs to have its own separate cage and you will have to feed, water ,clean up after, groom and provide vet care for the bunnies if they need it. I am not trying to talk you out of so many but I would suggest just a couple of breeds first then slowly add the others.
My first was a Californian pair and they wouldn't breed. Then I got an English Spot pair and I was in love!!!
Gotta go feed and water my herd, Good luck. I will PM you my email address later so you can contact me for help.
CCWelch
Well-Known Member
Also, I think Dutch come in Gold or Fawn not Yellow.
bunnychild
Julia
la~la~land wrote:
luckly our state fair is on a weekend. I don't have a job right now. ( unless you count selling eggs a church ) Like I said I don't do sports. We have alot of time in my school for homework in class ( thank goodness ) the only project I have is violin and it is during school and on Sundays
Blaze_Amita
Well-Known Member
I'll just say a fwe things, and take any of it that you want to.
Firstly , if you want that many breeds, all th emore power to you to keep up with them all. I've got 2 recognized breeds and 1 unrecognized breed pair, and that's about all that I can handle with a 40+ hour a week job, 2 horses and my rabbits.
First step: Join Arba, get your Standard of Perfection and read it thoroughly- it's like my best friend.
Second Step: join your national clubs of your breeds, I have only done this for two of my three breeds, but as I raise New Zealands for meat, with a side of showing the Jr, Int and some Sr's I didn't worry about joining the national club= my Hollands and Velveteen Lops are my two main focus'. The national club will give you information as to local breeders that have good quality rabbits.
Then join your local rabbit club that will give you the low down closest scopes of the other local breeders in your area and give you show schedules as well. Yes the more breeds you have the higher the costs of joining your clubs, but you get such a great wealth of information from them that it makes it worth it in the long run.
With the dutch, I used to raise dutch, in fact I still have some of mine, Gold/yellow is not a recognized color, the only COD color is Chinchilla right now. Steel, Gray(agouti), Black, Blue Chocolate and Tort are the only colors that are showable. The main reason you won't find Gold/Yellow is alot of breeders aren't touching it. My Gold's that I had were an accident bunch. I got my golds out of an accidental breeding of a tort doe to my gray buck. It was more of a prove out litter for the doe since she wouldn't lift for any of my tort bucks i figured she wouldn't lift for the gray either(I was wrong and never made that assumption again!)
Now I just want to say that If you go with 5 breeds max it will tax you when it comes to learning all the different body types and when showing, that was the main reason for dropping my dutch. I could never show my dutch and my hollands in the same show. They ALWAYS hit the show table at the same time and I can't be in two places at once.
Now again, if you want that many breeds, that's up to you. I had Velveteen lops, Holland lops, dutch, mini rex and New Zealands and I told myself no more. I can't show that many different breeds, move some of them on to breeders that can show them to their potential and focus in on just a few. New Zealands I couldn't drop as per my family(on the plus side, I love the big chunky heads), the Velveteens- i was hooked on day one and I've only got one pair right now and adding a second pair this fall and for my hollands well I've got about 18 adults and 5 JR's growing right now and even after having the breed for 6 years I am still learning- I have kept a single pair of dutch that are pets only I couldn't bare to part with them so that's where they stay, the others I sold to a youth show home where the youth was estatic to get them, but i have first option to take them back for retirement.
The only off topic thing I will say here is more for a bunch of folks, not anyone in perticular but please remember EVERYONE "You get more with sugar than you do with vinegar" I understand the mods have been in here already but please everyone, take a setp back, a deep breath and relax.
Firstly , if you want that many breeds, all th emore power to you to keep up with them all. I've got 2 recognized breeds and 1 unrecognized breed pair, and that's about all that I can handle with a 40+ hour a week job, 2 horses and my rabbits.
First step: Join Arba, get your Standard of Perfection and read it thoroughly- it's like my best friend.
Second Step: join your national clubs of your breeds, I have only done this for two of my three breeds, but as I raise New Zealands for meat, with a side of showing the Jr, Int and some Sr's I didn't worry about joining the national club= my Hollands and Velveteen Lops are my two main focus'. The national club will give you information as to local breeders that have good quality rabbits.
Then join your local rabbit club that will give you the low down closest scopes of the other local breeders in your area and give you show schedules as well. Yes the more breeds you have the higher the costs of joining your clubs, but you get such a great wealth of information from them that it makes it worth it in the long run.
With the dutch, I used to raise dutch, in fact I still have some of mine, Gold/yellow is not a recognized color, the only COD color is Chinchilla right now. Steel, Gray(agouti), Black, Blue Chocolate and Tort are the only colors that are showable. The main reason you won't find Gold/Yellow is alot of breeders aren't touching it. My Gold's that I had were an accident bunch. I got my golds out of an accidental breeding of a tort doe to my gray buck. It was more of a prove out litter for the doe since she wouldn't lift for any of my tort bucks i figured she wouldn't lift for the gray either(I was wrong and never made that assumption again!)
Now I just want to say that If you go with 5 breeds max it will tax you when it comes to learning all the different body types and when showing, that was the main reason for dropping my dutch. I could never show my dutch and my hollands in the same show. They ALWAYS hit the show table at the same time and I can't be in two places at once.
Now again, if you want that many breeds, that's up to you. I had Velveteen lops, Holland lops, dutch, mini rex and New Zealands and I told myself no more. I can't show that many different breeds, move some of them on to breeders that can show them to their potential and focus in on just a few. New Zealands I couldn't drop as per my family(on the plus side, I love the big chunky heads), the Velveteens- i was hooked on day one and I've only got one pair right now and adding a second pair this fall and for my hollands well I've got about 18 adults and 5 JR's growing right now and even after having the breed for 6 years I am still learning- I have kept a single pair of dutch that are pets only I couldn't bare to part with them so that's where they stay, the others I sold to a youth show home where the youth was estatic to get them, but i have first option to take them back for retirement.
The only off topic thing I will say here is more for a bunch of folks, not anyone in perticular but please remember EVERYONE "You get more with sugar than you do with vinegar" I understand the mods have been in here already but please everyone, take a setp back, a deep breath and relax.
bunnychild
Julia
thx that is very helpful
SpotLover
Member
bunnychild wrote:
EXACTLY!! You are a child. You shouldn't even be CONSIDERING raising rabbits. You are illiterate and very rude. These are all experienced people trying to give you advice and you're throwing it all away. They are know what they're talking about! Even just getting ONE breed will cost your parents thousands of dollars. If you want to raise rabbits, get ONE BREED, NOT EIGHT. Make sure they come with full pedigrees and are purebred. Buy ONE rabbit of the opposite gender, fully pedigree'd, and the same breed. Then go from there.
If you want to show, why do you want so many rabbits? You can't take 10+ rabbits to a show and show them all. Take one, show it, and see how you like it.
Childeren... :X
If you can see by my two first posts, I was very new here and was getting my first bun. She is now almost 6 months old and is in her first show, I will get show results tomorrow. Owning even one rabbit is very pricey, and it would be a huge waste of time getting so many breeds.
What I can suggest is, before even getting a rabbit, educate yourself on the different breeds, colours, genetics, types, and everything you can.
-What is the breed standard like?
-Is the rabbit I'm getting close to the breed standard?
-If I breed the rabbit, will it better the breed?
-What am I aiming for in breeding/showing?
The only reason someone should breed an animal is to BETTER the breed. There are thousands of unwanted rabbits in the world, why make more? :wink
EXACTLY!! You are a child. You shouldn't even be CONSIDERING raising rabbits. You are illiterate and very rude. These are all experienced people trying to give you advice and you're throwing it all away. They are know what they're talking about! Even just getting ONE breed will cost your parents thousands of dollars. If you want to raise rabbits, get ONE BREED, NOT EIGHT. Make sure they come with full pedigrees and are purebred. Buy ONE rabbit of the opposite gender, fully pedigree'd, and the same breed. Then go from there.
If you want to show, why do you want so many rabbits? You can't take 10+ rabbits to a show and show them all. Take one, show it, and see how you like it.
Childeren... :X
If you can see by my two first posts, I was very new here and was getting my first bun. She is now almost 6 months old and is in her first show, I will get show results tomorrow. Owning even one rabbit is very pricey, and it would be a huge waste of time getting so many breeds.
What I can suggest is, before even getting a rabbit, educate yourself on the different breeds, colours, genetics, types, and everything you can.
-What is the breed standard like?
-Is the rabbit I'm getting close to the breed standard?
-If I breed the rabbit, will it better the breed?
-What am I aiming for in breeding/showing?
The only reason someone should breed an animal is to BETTER the breed. There are thousands of unwanted rabbits in the world, why make more? :wink
SpotLover
Member
bunnychild wrote:
You're avoiding answering the question because you know you cannot. You get an animal, then throw all the responsibility onto your parents while you do all of that. Do you have the room and money to keep all the kits if they don't sell? What about if one of your rabbits gets sick? How will you afford that? You won't, you'll go right to your parents. You are a child, you shouldn't even be considering raising rabbits. You should be playing barbies with your friend in your bedroom
You're avoiding answering the question because you know you cannot. You get an animal, then throw all the responsibility onto your parents while you do all of that. Do you have the room and money to keep all the kits if they don't sell? What about if one of your rabbits gets sick? How will you afford that? You won't, you'll go right to your parents. You are a child, you shouldn't even be considering raising rabbits. You should be playing barbies with your friend in your bedroom
bunnychild
Julia
SpotLover wrote:
u said u r new so u shouldnt be posting with out answers. i am not 5 i dont play with barbies what 14 yr old plays with barbies?! I hav planned and planned for this i created 6 planned out charts i have articles on how to care for orphan kits with no alternet mothers. And on ur other post u will see at the end of my post i said i will get what is in my area. if u read all the post u would see i said i am going to stick with the breeds i hav and maybe dutch, but my mom says because dutch rabbits r hard to breed she would rather i stick with what i hav and get a furrabbitas a PET.
bunnychild
Julia
I am done with both of these topics because all i have been getting is u shouldn't breed u will fail with that many. i have found someone to help, so peace out
CCWelch
Well-Known Member
SpotLover, I have had rabbits since I was 6- do not condemn a child for wanting to have pets, I have given her some assignments to do and I will help her find her bunnies.
I NEVER had a rabbit get sick when I was raising them before we only ever took 1 to a vet and that was for an injury, now a days it seems like everyone has sick rabbits, when did they get so fragile?
Kids(age 5 to 18) in 4-H have rabbits and quite often care for them on their own and FFA starts even younger sometimes...
I NEVER had a rabbit get sick when I was raising them before we only ever took 1 to a vet and that was for an injury, now a days it seems like everyone has sick rabbits, when did they get so fragile?
Kids(age 5 to 18) in 4-H have rabbits and quite often care for them on their own and FFA starts even younger sometimes...
Brittany85
Well-Known Member
No one condemns a child having pets. I have had rabbits all my life but only 1 or 2 at a time until I was a teenager when I had maybe 7 or 8. When a child wants around 30 rabbits of 9 different breeds at once people get concerned...
thethicketrabbitry
Member
SpotLover wrote:
I disagree with this. Some of the best rabbit breeders I know are youth. When first deciding to get into rabbits, it is exciting. You have so many different breeds to choose from, so it is understandable that you want to try many. There isn't anything wrong with getting a pair/trio and trying out a breed. Something that helped me narrow down which breeds was size. I prefer the dwarf breeds because they are easily managed and handled. My mom has Flemish Giants. They are BIG rabbits, require BIG cages and LOTS more food than a smaller rabbit would. Estimated, you could feed four dwarf rabbits for the amount it takes to feed one Flemish Giant. That's something to consider as well. Good luck in your search!
CCWelch
Well-Known Member
Like I said, I have BunnyChild doing some book reading and finding out all about the breeds she wants first, I will help her find what she wants once we can get through the book smart part. I had 135 rabbits in my back yard by the time I was 15, all were my responsibility. I was not involved in any after school activities except 4-H and I was the leader of the Rabbit Project, I had 5 other members involved in the rabbit project all younger than myself. Some children are more responsible for things than others.
CCWelch
Well-Known Member
Brittany85 wrote:
I agree and I think her parents would stop her before she got that far, when her mom said more breeds I think she meant just a few. Again, I have her reading up on breeds and rabbit care, I have searched her area for the breeds she wants, many are not available and those that are, her parents better be rich to get quality stock, they are looking at $50 and up.
