School Project Bunnies

[Wish]

Hi everybody, I'm Wish, a Highschooler in Utah. I'm experienced with rabbits (a little) but I don't show them or breed them (I have bred a litter though, mixed breed) But my Adv. Animal Science teacher has just told me my summer project is going to be managing the school bunnies. I got some ideas, and told him I want to try purebred bunnies this year. [line]
Currently at the School:
-One Mixed Breed Dwarf Doe
-One Dwarf Hotot (Non-Showable) Buck
-Their offspring (two bucks) That I want to adopt out.
Supply-wise, we have 12 nice (KW) cages, six small, six large,for the "Main Rabbitry", we also have 3 indoor cages and 5 beat up crappy cages.
I'm trying to decide on breeds. The school budget is rather small, and I'd like to get as much variety as possible, probably four different breeds, two or three of each. A teacher at the school breeds Holland Lops, but other than that, I need to decide on some breeds, one small, two medium/large.
I need to keep the costs down though, and I'm not sure whether I would get show bunnies or not, but I want nice quality. I don't have the ability to travel to pick breeds either, so I need to find breeders around Southern Utah, and besides the one teacher, I'm having trouble finding any.

Any breed suggestions, or suggestions on how to go about getting bunnies? Which breeds are easiest to come by or are the cheapest for decent quality buns?

 

[pamnock]

Some of the smaller breeds can be more expensive as well as harder to raise.  I highly recommend starting out by joining the American Rabbit Breeders Associationhttp://www.arba.net/

(Ask the school if they will pay for your membership). Membership includes an excellent guidebook with important information for getting you started.

Some good project rabbits include Havanas, Florida White, Mini Satin and Polish.  These breeds are generally inexpensive, hardy and rather easy to raise.  If you are going to delve into larger breeds such as the New Zealand or Californian, you'll need more cages.

Pam

http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/

 

[flemishr2cool]

If you're not breeding for show then I suggest trying the following breeds:

Dutch: they are a 5 pound breed that come in 7 colors I think, You can usually get dutch for free, or sometimes as cheap as 5 dollars with a pedigree, to show them their markings have to be just right so breeders have a lot of culls

Mini Lops: Mini Lops are another 5-6 pound breed, they are known for large litters, so you can usually buy some for anywhere from free to 15 dollars

On the Larger Scale Harlequins are another good breed: Harlequins are a6.5 - 9 pound breed, to show a harlequin they also have to have special markings so breeders generally have a lot of culls that they sell for cheap.

Mini rex: These are a 5-ish pound breed that are very common therefore its easy to get cheap ones

Netherland Dwarfs: a 3-4 pound breed that are very common and therefore can be very cheap

Well this is just a start, I recommend that you attend an ARBA rabbit show. There will be lots of rabbits for sale, and lots of different breeds available, that way you can shop around and find the best priced rabbits, and you can get a nice variety of breeds. for show information or pictures of the breeds mentioned stop by the American Rabbit Breeders Association webpage!

http://www.arba.net/

 

[naturestee]

I'd suggest only one or two breeds, especially with your limited cages.  You'll need to remember that the babies will need cages too.  Why not do one breed and work on the genetics of colors?  That would be a great school project.

I don't know where you are in Utah, but I'm sure there are ARBA shows somewhere there.  Check the website.  If you can getto one, you can meet show breeders who would be able to help you find decent, inexpensive stock.  Is there a 4H rabbit program in your area?  They'd be able to help too.

 

[pamnock]

Here's a few considerations with the following breeds:

Dutch are very nice disposition wise (however, when I judged at Dutch nationals, the blues had nasty temperaments and I received a deep bite on the palm of my hand).  As already mentioned, it's difficult to get the proper markings, but they do sell well as pets.  The different varieties shouldn't be mixed, or unrecognized colors may be produced.

Mini Lops have a reputation for biting -- many a judge has been "nailed" when handling them.

Harlequins are difficult to breed due to the markings.  It may also be difficult to find quality animals as they are not very common.

Mini Rex are a nice choice, but may be prone to birthing problems.  I left them off my list due to the number of varieties and the possibility of beginners breeding the wrong colors together and producing un-showable animals.  When we raised them, I didn't care for their dispositions.  The top weight on Mini Rex is 4 1/4 lb.. bucks and 4 1/2 pounds for does.

Netherland Dwarfs are prone to birthing difficulties and the issues of working with the dwarf gene breeds which also produce larger, non-dwarf specimens.  They also have a tendency to be hyper and the breed has a tendency towards problems with their teeth.  The top weight on Netherlands should be no more than 2 1/2 pounds.


Pam

 

[pamnock]

naturestee wrote:

I'd suggest only one or two breeds, especially with your limited cages.  You'll need to remember that the babies will need cages too.  

Yes!  I agree that it would be a much better idea to start out with only 1 or 2 breeds.  There are times when you can't pay people to take the babies off your hands, so you will need to provide individuals cages for them.   They become sexually mature as early as 12 weeks, and need to be separated at that time.


Pam

 

[Wish]

Yeah, I guess you're right, I'll keep it down to one or two breeds. So what would be a good "start"? # of Bucks/Does?

I'm leaning towards mini lops, my crosses I have at home are so funny. I love 'em. And I really think working in color genetics would be cool- we had the strangest thing happen in the litter we did have - two solid colored buns (Black and Agouti) out of a Hotot pattern and Pointed bunny. And blue eyes on the Agouti. *shrugs* But colors on MiniLops would be fun.

 I just thought of something else too, there's a Biotechnology lab opening up in my area, I wonder if they need a rabbit supplier? I'd go with Dutches then, I guess. I duhno.

And I'm going to join ARBA, as soon as possible. I'll have to talk to my teacher about fees, but I'll definately join - It's only what, $8.00? I can definately handle that. I'm not -that- broke, yet. And after the Ag. Department spent all that money for cages, I'm not sure how well-funded the school is.

What are your opinons on a mister system? I'm managing the bunnies during the summer too, and where I live is a desert - and the rabbitry's situated in the greenhouse (A different wing than the plants, and the Greenhouse has pretty mild tempatures, but I'm not sure about how it is in summer).

4H? I'm pretty sure they don't. I've been in a Horse 4H program for years, and my county doesn't do rabbits, or show dogs (Also disapointing to me.) So I'm pretty much working it out myself, but I do have a couple bunny-proficient teachers. ^^

 

[pamnock]

Wish wrote:

Yeah, I guess you're right, I'll keep it down to one or two breeds. So what would be a good "start"? # of Bucks/Does?  A trio -- a buck and 2 does.

I'm leaning towards mini lops, my crosses I have at home are so funny. I love 'em. And I really think working in color genetics would be cool- we had the strangest thing happen in the litter we did have - two solid colored buns (Black and Agouti) out of a Hotot pattern and Pointed bunny. And blue eyes on the Agouti. *shrugs* But colors on MiniLops would be fun.
Agouti is dominant, so either the Hotot pattern or pointed was an agouti.  Both would have to carry the recessive "a" self gene as well to produce a black.  A few genes could produce blue eyes on an agouti (I'm assuming it was a chestnut agouti) -- the blue eyed white gene, dutch gene and chin gene all can produce "odd" colored eyes.

I just thought of something else too, there's a Biotechnology lab opening up in my area, I wonder if they need a rabbit supplier? I'd go with Dutches then, I guess. I duhno. Labs need suppliers with large amounts of rabbits.  It would be an interesting part of your school project to research the requirements of raising lab rabbits.  List of suppliers: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~rlharris/_private/anvendor.htm

http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/15suppntoz.html                                                  

More info and sources on lab rabbits:

http://research.uiowa.edu/animal/?get=rabbit#Sources%20and%

http://www.criver.com/research_models_and_services/research_models/guinea_pigs_hamsters_gerbils_rabbits.html

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/larc/forms/aof.htmhttp://oregonstate.edu/dept/larc/forms/aof.htm

And I'm going to join ARBA, as soon as possible. I'll have to talk to my teacher about fees, but I'll definately join - It's only what,$8.00? I can definately handle that. I'm not -that- broke, yet. And after the Ag. Department spent all that money for cages, I'm not sure how well-funded the school is.

What are your opinons on a mister system? I'm managing the bunnies during the summer too, and where I live is a desert - and the rabbitry's situated in the greenhouse (A different wing than the plants, and the Greenhouse has pretty mild tempatures, but I'm not sure about how it is in summer).   Mister systems are great in dry climates (too humid out here in the eastern US where I live).

 

[Wish]

Okay then, I'll probably invest in a mister system, I bet the greenhouse already has one I can expand on.

I don't think the biotech lab is going to be open for a while though.

About that kit - I'll have to find my pictures of the litter. They're interesting. I don't think I can get to them from here at school though.

 

[Wish]

Okay now, so I'm trying to narrow down my list of possibilities.

Mini Lops

Rhinelanders - They always looked attractive to me, but I don't knowanything much about them. Any more info? I know they have special colorrequirements, and are mid-range and more of an arched breed, but afterthat I don't know.

Dutch - This year we had a Dutch pair at the school. Tried to breedthem, but the doe was a pain and nasty. A few of the scars on my handwere thanks to her and those back legs.

Mini Rex - but it's probably lower on my list.

Thanks again guys. You're great.

 

[pamnock]

Rhinelanders are beautiful, but it can be very difficult to find breeding stock and hard to get properly marked specimens. They are an arched breed.

Mini Lops and Mini Rex are common and you'll have an easier time finding breeding stock.

Pam

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

naturestee wrote:

I'd suggest only one or two breeds, especially with your limited cages.  You'll need to remember that the babies will need cages too.  Why not do one breed and work on the genetics of colors?  That would be a great school project.

I don't know where you are in Utah, but I'm sure there are ARBA shows somewhere there.  Check the website.  If you can getto one, you can meet show breeders who would be able to help you find decent, inexpensive stock.  Is there a 4H rabbit program in your area?  They'd be able to help too.

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but at most shows the host club will also have a raffle.  You can pick up some nice stock in a raffle for the cost of a raffle ticket (typically 5 tickets for a dollar).

But you'll need to research the breed first before putting your ticket in for any rabbit... unfortunately there are some breeders &some raffle secretaries that don't check for DQ's.  ARBA requirements for rabbits in Raffle are they must be free from DQ's and be accompanied w/their Pedigree.

Just a thought for good rabbits @ a more than reasonable cost.

~Sunshine

 

[pamnock]

Most certainly - "Buyer Beware" when putting in for "raffle" rabbits.   ARBA does not set requirements for rabbit raffles, nor do many shows, so first check with the raffle chairperson to find out if the rabbits had to meet registration/show/pedigree requirements.  I've seen some terrible, diseased, un showable specimens put in for show raffles.

Pam

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

SunnieBunnie Rabbitry wrote:

ARBA requirements for rabbits in Raffle are they must be free from DQ's and be accompanied w/their Pedigree...

Oops.. typo
I meant to say that at the shows here tend to follow ARBA show rules for rabbits being submitted for Raffle - Raffle guidelines at show's I've attended were:

• Must be healthy & in proper type carrying cage
• Must already be Permanently Tattoo'd
• Must be free from DQ's
• Must be accompanied with Pedigree &/or Registration Papers (if previously Registered).

I have gotten a few good show/breeding stock rabbits from raffle... but definately Buyer Beware -- make sure you know what you're putting in for.

~Sunshine