Question for breeders (how many rabbits is too many?)

[Aki]

Hello,

well, I've always wanted a siamese netherland dwarf rabbit. They are really really rare in France (strangely enough, there are lots of siamese lops and angora but just not plain netherland dwarfs). I've even toyed with the idea of breeding some myself, as I am interested in breeding but I don't want to breed rabbits you can find easily as there are lots of them in shelters already in my country.

So, that's where my question comes in. I've actually found ONE breeder who does siamese netherland dwarfs in France some years ago. She had maybe a dozen of rabbits at the time and did show them, which is pretty rare in France (we are still considering mostly rabbits as something to eat and things like rabbit showing or agility aren't taken seriously at all - I still have to deal with people asking me if my rabbits are for dinner when I take them to the vet... :/).
At the time, I couldn't think about breeding or anything because I lived in Paris in a flat. I've recently moved to a house with a garden and looked up the breeder again. And er... she expanded. A lot. She is still the only person in France breeding siamese netherland dwarfs, but she is now doing lots of other breeds. And guinea pigs. And german shepherds. Her rabbits seem to have a good type, as far as I can tell and one of her rabbits won the French national championship (but I don't think many breeders enter that). But, according to her website, she has 200 rabbits. That sounds crazy to me. Is that normal ? On her website, she says that it sounds like a lot but that she does it professionally so it's not that much because she take care of them full time.
So, yeah... I'm not sure about buying from a rabbitry which has that many animals. I'm a bit concerned about diseases and the lack of sociabilisation. What do you think? Do you know rabbitries that big? All the breeders I've ever met had 30 to 40 rabbits at the most... The breeder I got Tybalt from only had a dozen of rabbits.
I've studied the genetics behind the siamese and it seems I could recreate it from black and REW netherland dwarfs. I'm beginning to think it might be the best solution even if it will be more difficult and a longer process.
I don't know... I think breeding is really interesting but with hundreds of animals it sounds like a rabbit factory to me.
Thoughts?

 

[majorv]

If there is a breeder with the variety you want, it would be much easier to get one from her than to try and create it. It may not be as easy as you think. It will take time, and you need to understand genetics to undertake this.

I would at least visit her rabbitry and check out her rabbits before making a decision. I know breeders who have more rabbits than her. They have others who help them feed/water/clean cages.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

The number of rabbits or other animals isn't as important as the quality of care. For some people, ONE rabbit is too many.

 

[Sugarbread]

I agree with OakRidgeRabbits completely on this one.

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[Ainsleys_mommy]

I know someone with about that many rabbits. She stays home and cares for them and has two kids who help her. They're well taken care of.

 

[Aki]

OK, thanks for the input.
The number of rabbits made me wary because I thought you couldn't possibly socialize and manipulate all the babies when you have like 50 at the same time and I think that's important too for rabbits. I mean, I wouldn't buy a dog or a cat from a breeder who's got 200 of them (when I bought my puppy, I ruled out all the breeders having more than one breed and more than 30 dogs and I don't regret it, having a dog who was well socialized, feared nothing and was potty trained from day 1).
I get it's different for rabbits, but in France, studs with hundreds of animals are really rare for animals who aren't destined to be eaten. There is maybe one or two other big rabbitries like that and that's all.
I've researched the rabbit breeder I'm talking about and she also raise guinea pigs. She has 500 of them. Her husband breeds German Shepherds and cats.
I don't know, I tend to be quite mistrustful when you get only a listing of the breeds raised with one or two examples instead of all the animals (which makes sense, when you've got several hundreds of them) and an offer to order the rabbit you want and to ship it to you without any kind of personnal contact. I think I will visit the breeder before taking a decision.

 

[bright_eyes]

Definitely visit before making a decision. If the ammonia in the air due to rabbit urine is burning your eyes out, definitely do not purchase from her. With 200 rabbits, I can't imagine she must be doing much culling to keep only the best stock (culling can be euthanasia or selling them as pets).

With that many rabbits, if she is indeed taking good care of them, BE PICKY when choosing a rabbit. With so many to choose from, there is no reason not to choose the creme of the crop and get the best quality rabbit to show. Do your research, know what to look for, and don't let her sell you a rabbit you don't want or think is of the best quality. Don't let color dictate your choice either. Color is just that- color.

Make absolutely sure none of her rabbits are sneezing, coughing, have runny eyes, or runny noses. Pasteurella is a real thing and it's often a horrible, drawn out, lifelong battle of coughing, runny noses, and abscesses for the rabbit that never completely goes away.