I don't breed rabbits, nor do I ever intend to... but I AM a breeder. I *love* cute little baby animals but as all of you know, a responsible breeding program is about so much more than just "cuteness". I firmly believe that to be a GOOD breeder, you absolutely must feel
driven to work with the animal(s) you choose - it's a labor of love after all. I don't exactly have the space for a rabbitry (short of overhauling/de-cluttering my whole house) or interest in going to rabbit shows, I'm honestly just not very interested in the nuances of individual rabbit breeds and most importantly, there are plenty of exceptional rabbit breeders out there already - I don't feel I have anything unique to offer the world of rabbit breeding, which is all the reason I need to not work with rabbits. I have two spayed girls of different but equally adorable breeds and that's all the naughtiness I want or need in rabbit form
I breed sugar gliders. There are some similarities in husbandry - babies (joeys) are old enough to go to their new homes at 8 weeks of age and by 12 weeks of age, males MUST be either separated from their mom and any sisters or neutered to prevent unwanted inbreeding. Males typically mature around 3-6 mos old, females around 4-8 mos (so same starting ages but later "max" ages compared to bunnies) and females are usually bred for the first time around 9-12 months old (compared to 6-12 months for bunns, depending on breed size) so that they're fully grown when they have their first joey(s). Back-to-back or overlapping "pregnancies" are possible (in that sense, a glider "pregnancy" includes both the actual pregnancy and the "IP" or "in pouch" time).
Unlike bunnies, gliders are "pocket-sized" marsupials who are only pregnant for 16 days before giving birth to 1-2 joeys (rarely, 3) the size of a grain of rice who then crawl up mom's stomach to her pouch where they remain for approximately 9 weeks before emerging into the world for real - their "OOP" (out-of-pouch) date is considered their true birthday. The father plays a crucial role in raising joeys and young joeys are constantly looked after by one or both parents; M/F pairs "mate for life" and pairings shouldn't be changed unless one glider dies while the other is still of breeding age... which is about as different from rabbits as you can get. Gliders go into heat about once a month when not pregnant.
My reasons for breeding gliders are very similar to why the rest of you breed bunnies - like all of you, I'm focused on producing healthy offspring. Gliders don't have "breeds" but they do come in different colors. There aren't "glider shows" or coloring-specific characteristics that vary the way each rabbit breed has specific ideals. This is presumably due in part to the fact that gliders have only been bred in the US for 10-15 years and aren't even considered "domesticated" yet. The main goal for breeding gliders is producing the best possible genetics in gliders with the specific coloring(s) you work with with a very important secondary goal of good temperament.
The colorings each trace back to 1-3 origin points (wild-caught gliders who displayed the coloring or, with recessive traits, pairs that first produced them) - unfortunately, due to such incredibly limited starting stock and lack of information regarding how the colorings were passed along/produced, there was a ridiculous amount of inbreeding in the early days. The glider-breeding community is still working to undo all the inbreeding that happened a decade or more ago, so all decent breeders are very concerned with pedigrees, kinship charts and COI(coeffient-of-inbreeding)s when pairing gliders.
I want to breed colored gliders responsibly with a long-term goal of contributing towards making the different colors more affordable to "pet only" homes (standard grays go for around $150; gliders that are "colored" to some degree range from around $300-350 to well over $1000 depending on the color and quality of their genetics). My more immediate goals involve producing gliders with excellent lineage/COIs and temperament, out-breeding with my first pairing to introduce fresh genetics to the colored lines I work with and help repair past damage. Out-breeding isn't "the profitable way to go" but is definitely better for the gliders!
My goals as a breeder are relatively simple... I want to create better versions of the parents.
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We need more REPUTABLE breeders breeding them and helping to expand the gene pool.
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As for making a profit... only people who have never raised rabbits believe that. I made $145 from the last group of rabbits I sold. The last time I sold rabbits before that time was back in July. I don't remember what I made then, but I think it was around $100. I spend $100 PER MONTH on pellets, about $20/month on hay, and about $48/month on bedding. That's not to mention medical bills for emergencies that crop up (like the rabbit in May who had a stuck kit). Tell me... Where is my profit? I do this for the love of rabbits and for the love of the breed. I do it because I want to create QUALITY rabbits and try to help other people create quality rabbits. There will always be backyard breeders selling low quality animals. If that's all people can buy, that's all they'll buy and then there will be more low quality rabbits. That is what I am battling, as lame as that may sound to some.
^ While the details differ simply because we work with different species, I whole-heartedly agree with all of this - the reasons you have for breeding rabbits mirror mine for breeding gliders.
Mill breeders like PPP (perfect pocket pets) are even more prevalent than backyard breeders for bunnies! PPP is always on the go, hitting up malls, fairs, flea markets, gun shows and other "impulse-purchase" venues... sticking around for only a few days before *poofing* off to another city/state before reports about them selling sick and/or underage gliders can catch up
. There's little the breeding community can do but strive to educate people as much as they can and offer a better alternative to mill breeders.
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Because gliders are SO exotic, most sales are done online with gliders being shipped (via airplanes) to their "forever homes". Naturally, I set up a website for my future babies. I wasn't originally planning to include information for new or prospective glider owners, since my breeding program currently caters specifically to other breeders - out-breeding means I'll produce "standard gray" gliders that are carriers for recessive traits; no one but a breeder is going to pay significantly more for a glider that's visually identical to a non-colored glider.
However, I realized how often my gliders randomly meet people when we're out in public... some of whom are extremely interested in gliders and ask a lot of questions. I would hate for them to meet my sweeties and, as a result, impulse-purchase from a mill breeder down the road... so I made business cards with my website on them and offer a card to anyone who seems very intrigued by gliders. I tell them that I currently only sell gliders to other breeders (so they know I'm not after a sale) but that they can find some general information about glider care on my site, as well as links to other sites they can research gliders on and a run-down on the "cons" of glider ownership to help them figure out if gliders would be a good fit for them. I'm still working on adding to the resources for new/potential glider owners but there's enough to get people researching in the right direction, at least. I also hang out on glider forums to spread good information (whether I'm learning or teaching), but I feel personally responsible with people who didn't even know what a glider WAS until they met mine.
I honestly feel that education (of others) is as much a part of good breeding as your husbandry choices. If you love the animal enough to breed it, you should love them enough to take the time to spread good information to both prospective and less experienced owners regardless of whether you stand to make a sale from them. I can only assume that the rabbit breeders here agree with me on this point, since all of you spend time on RO answering questions and giving people advice.
