Butterfinger
Well-Known Member
So, I've said this before, but some of you may not have caught it...
On Winter Break, if everything goes right, I might be bringing home a Belgian Hare...
(The breeder I contacted said that his hares come and go, and that another breeder was coming to buy a lot of his animals the first week in December ((Spring Break is late December)) but that I should email him a couple weeks in advance before I can come up, and he'll see if he has any for me ) So, I've been doing research on the breed, and ran across....whaddaya know.. that very same breeder's web-page.
He had a lot of useful information on how to breed, raise, and show Belgians, but there was one thing that concerned me somewhat.
He wrote that (And I quote) ......
"They can react to unexpected events in the rabbitry with a fury that can move cages off their supports, dislocate joints, and break bones. This is compounded by the fine bone structure and extreme length of the animal which seems to invite broken backs and legs. Also, this nervous nature seems to complicate breeding, because, in many cases, fright and panic get in the way of normal mating urges. Most important, this nervous temperament seems to translate normal events in the life of a Hare to an overall stress level that can compromise its auto immune system and open the way to bacterial and viral diseases. Perhaps, this nervous tendency came for past breeding attempts to make the Belgian hare more like lepus Timidus which was suppose to be so fearful so as not to close its eyes even in sleep (Wilkins 1896)."
Does anyone know if this is exactly true? Having a rabbit that is constantly scared out of its mind isn't something that sounds all that....great.
If it is true, does anyone know if spay/neutering would affect this issue? In many cases, rabbits calm down significantly after their hormones die down.
I would be willing to work with a rabbit, if it wasn't very severe, but this breeder really seemed to know what he was talking about. But...he even went on to say that a 'good' animal was "... firm in flesh, alert, and has a nervous disposition."
Extremely nervous, or just 'slightly more than normal rabbit' nervous?
This is the link to the website I'm taking this from:
http://users.bentonrea.com/~frankz/raisingbh.htm (There are multiple pages; links are at the bottom)
Does anyone breed or has bred hares and could tell me more about them? :?
I'm not too keen on having a bunny go into a wild panic and break its back just because I walked in the door.
Perhaps this is just an issue with this breeder's rabbits in particular? I've heard them described elsewhere as being relatively mellow.
Any help would be appreciated :? I'm having second thoughts because of this issue. (I think Pam mentioned that her son used to breed Hares? ....Or was I thinking of someone else? )
Sorry for the long post, I'm just worried about this..
~Diana
On Winter Break, if everything goes right, I might be bringing home a Belgian Hare...
(The breeder I contacted said that his hares come and go, and that another breeder was coming to buy a lot of his animals the first week in December ((Spring Break is late December)) but that I should email him a couple weeks in advance before I can come up, and he'll see if he has any for me ) So, I've been doing research on the breed, and ran across....whaddaya know.. that very same breeder's web-page. He had a lot of useful information on how to breed, raise, and show Belgians, but there was one thing that concerned me somewhat.
He wrote that (And I quote) ......
"They can react to unexpected events in the rabbitry with a fury that can move cages off their supports, dislocate joints, and break bones. This is compounded by the fine bone structure and extreme length of the animal which seems to invite broken backs and legs. Also, this nervous nature seems to complicate breeding, because, in many cases, fright and panic get in the way of normal mating urges. Most important, this nervous temperament seems to translate normal events in the life of a Hare to an overall stress level that can compromise its auto immune system and open the way to bacterial and viral diseases. Perhaps, this nervous tendency came for past breeding attempts to make the Belgian hare more like lepus Timidus which was suppose to be so fearful so as not to close its eyes even in sleep (Wilkins 1896)."
Does anyone know if this is exactly true? Having a rabbit that is constantly scared out of its mind isn't something that sounds all that....great.
If it is true, does anyone know if spay/neutering would affect this issue? In many cases, rabbits calm down significantly after their hormones die down.
I would be willing to work with a rabbit, if it wasn't very severe, but this breeder really seemed to know what he was talking about. But...he even went on to say that a 'good' animal was "... firm in flesh, alert, and has a nervous disposition."
Extremely nervous, or just 'slightly more than normal rabbit' nervous?
This is the link to the website I'm taking this from:
http://users.bentonrea.com/~frankz/raisingbh.htm (There are multiple pages; links are at the bottom)
Does anyone breed or has bred hares and could tell me more about them? :?
I'm not too keen on having a bunny go into a wild panic and break its back just because I walked in the door.
Perhaps this is just an issue with this breeder's rabbits in particular? I've heard them described elsewhere as being relatively mellow.
Any help would be appreciated :? I'm having second thoughts because of this issue. (I think Pam mentioned that her son used to breed Hares? ....Or was I thinking of someone else? )
Sorry for the long post, I'm just worried about this..
~Diana
