Breeders that Charge for Pedigrees

[Pink]

I read somewhere that reputable breeders should and will offer pedigrees free of charge, but I am wondering what are you thoughts?

I noticed the majority of the breeders in my area ask for a "small" fee, in order for new owners to obtain their rabbits pedigrees. Should breeders charge? What are their reasoning for charging an additional fee?

Pardon my negligence! :blush: I've never owned a purebred in the past, therefore pedigrees were never truly my concern.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm only speculating, but I believe it is because they really want "X-amount" for the rabbit, but will let it go for less to a "pet" home- but if the buyer is being dishonest and really wants it for breeding, then they will have to put the time and effort into breeding 3 generations in order to create a pedigree.

 

[Random Rabbit]

When i sell a rabbit... the pedigree goes with it. I will not sell pets... so i must assume that they will be bred or shown. ymmv of course...... :bunnyhop:

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

One of the local breeders here tacks on close to an additional 50% if you want the pedigree

 

[Secuono]

My rabbits are meat rabbits, I don't sell pets nor show specifically. Cali kits with no papers are $15, with papers $25. SF no papers $20, with papers $30. My new Blue gene pair kits come with papers and are; blue $75, black $50.
What doesn't sell is eaten, so I don't care which the buyer chooses. But it's the buyers that demand the papers, so they need to pay for it. Some don't care, since they only use them for their own meat production, others need them because they show. It makes my job harder if I buy non-papered rabbits, rather spend a few more $ and have it from the start than have to inbreed/line breed or buy more rabbits just to make the pedigree myself.
The rabbits need to pay for themselves; cages, equipment, meds & feed, I'm not going to work in my job longer just to be giving away rabbits to other people, not worth it. I make no profit from any of my animals, w/e I get goes back to feeding and caring for them.

 

[akane]

I think it's stupid to charge extra for a pedigree. It's just a piece of paper with the ancestors info on it. This could be useful or it could just be interesting to someone. I send my pets with pedigrees. It's isn't like not having the pedigree would stop someone from showing and breeding the animal. I've done it with unpedigreed rabbits more than once. Many pet people find it interesting to see the pedigree of their kits. I just had someone neutering the rabbits they got from me ask if they could have the pedigrees just to have the records and see the colors and names behind their rabbits. It also gives them a birth date they won't lose. You know how when a couple years go by people start adding or subtracting a few years from the age of the animal they have because they can't remember. I know a few claiming 15 year old guinea pigs who were old but probably more like 8-10 simply because they'd had the animal so long and they had no record of it's birth.

 

[Secuono]

It's just how they do it in my area, so I do the same. I don't like it any, but you pay more for registered/papered dogs, cats, sheep and horses, so why not rabbits, too?

Adding, if I have half a pedigree, like just the mom's, I offer it free. Though, no one has wanted it so far.

Once I have a generation from my original SF, there won't be a "cheaper" w/o papers version. Same with my Cali's.

At Akane's post below mine;
None that are papered can go cheaper just because they ask for no papers.
I also hate when that is an option. I only have the option based on if I have papers for the pair. If they have papers, the offspring will all have papers no matter what.

 

[akane]

You pay more for the animal not a separate fee for the papers. People don't say I'll sell you this horse unpapered for this much and papers for this much. The horse is worth x amount because it is a purebred papered horse whether you turn down the papers or not. It's the worth of the animal not the papers that adds to the cost. It's only every now and then we've sold a horse off claiming no papers and taking a lower fee for various reasons like an accidental son x mother breeding we didn't want to claim and the fee wasn't lowered because of the cost of the papers but the fact the horse was no longer proven or considered to be purebred and registered lowering it's value.

 

[cmabb]

I have found this also to be a annoying problem. When we bought my husband Flemish she was $65 dollars. Later when we did decide to get into show rabbits and breed when we asked for her papers we had to pay an additional $60 for her papers. Really?!?! Gag me please! Hubby and I have papered mini rex and flemish and when we sell the pedigree will go with the rabbit automatically with no extra cost. It's really a problem I've noticed and it stupid and it makes me mad. Why charge for a simple piece of paper that really worth .50 cents with ink on it. It's not like you'll never have that paper again. If you smart you keep that pedigree on file. Sorry for the rant... it just really bothers me.

 

[rittert3]

I agree with mamasheepdog. This is what the breeder I bought from told me and that he wanted compensated for his time to print them off. He also said that for the higher quality rabbits in their herd he didn't want to give away his 20 yrs of breeding and genetics to a new breeder.

 

[Bill]

The pedigree isn't just a cheap piece of paper. It's the hard work, time, heartbreak and knowledge the breeder(s) of that rabbit has put into it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good point, Bill. Not only the record keeping, but the thought that goes into each pairing of rabbits. I have sold to 3 different buyers- one didn't think she would ever show, but the other two intend to. All animals were bought to be bred. I haven't sold without a pedigree, and I intend to charge based on the rabbit, with a pedigree, and if they want to burn the thing, or feed it to their rabbit, the choice is theirs!

 

[ottersatin]

The pedigree isn't just a cheap piece of paper. It's the hard work, time, heartbreak and knowledge the breeder(s) of that rabbit has put into it.

I agree Bill that the Pedigree is a record of
what you the breeder have done with the rabbit and those behind it.
I do not believe that such a "HIGH" price should be attached to the Pedigree:
The price of the rabbit should include the pedigree.
If the rabbit is worth "X" amount it should be that price with or without the Pedigree.
My rabbits are sold with Pedigree at the price agreed upon.
It's just the way I do things.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[MaggieJ]

This is likely a minority opinion but I think that any seller of anything has the right to make decisions as to price and what it includes. The buyer can say yes or no. The buyer can ask if the seller will change his mind. But the final decision on what the price is and what it includes has to be the seller's.

 

[a7736100]

My old computer crashed so I don't have pedigrees. I certainly don't have family trees in my head.

 

[skysthelimit]

I'm with Random Rabbit, if it's not worth breeding or showing, it doesn't get sold. Anyone who wants a pet is welcome to something I would either breed or show, and if it's top quality show, then it goes to a breeder or I keep it myself. So either way, you get the pedigree if you want it, and no one is going to get $10 rabbits here, because being pedigree is at least worth more than that. I guess in some ways, that is like paying for the pedigree.

 

[akane]

It's the hard work, time, heartbreak and knowledge the breeder(s) of that rabbit has put into it.

All of that should be in the rabbit with or without that piece of paper though. The rabbit should show all that and the pedigree is just frosting to show the ancestry so someone can continue the record keeping and register the rabbit if they want. Mine cost the same whether you want a pedigree or not the same as my horses. This rabbit is of this quality and therefore is this price and like said if they want to burn the pedigree or feed it to their rabbit then go ahead. The rabbit is still the same quality and the pedigree is included in the price for that reason just like larger livestock always come with their papers with no extra fee. You know and advertise them as papered and put a price on them based on that and letting people turn down the pedigree just takes away some of the money you would have gotten for all that work and knowledge you mention because you still put the same amount in to the rabbit and it is the still the same quality rabbit.

 

[ladysown]

what is at stake, in the minds of some breeders, is the quality of the rabbit and the reputation of the person who bred that rabbit.

ERGO... some breeders will choose NOT to sell a rabbit with a pedigree. Others will simply make a choice to sell the rabbit, regardless of quality, with a pedigree. It's no never mind in my opinion.

My choice is sell with a pedigree IF the person wants it.
IF they don't, that's fine. If they ask for it later.. then they need to pay for my time in searching through my records to figure that information out.

Do I understand the reasoning of worrying about one's reputation based on rabbits that may or may not have your herd name on it? Not really as even the best of rabbits can throw junk. Even the best of rabbits can be crossed with a less than stellar rabbit. And many rabbits simply don't remain in the original home they were sold into. Ergo it all becomes a moot point.

But not everyone thinks the same and therein lies the discrepancies one finds from one breeder to the next. I won't pay extra for pedigree myself. I simply want to know the price inclusive.

 

[SarahMelisse]

The pedigree isn't just a cheap piece of paper. It's the hard work, time, heartbreak and knowledge the breeder(s) of that rabbit has put into it.

I agree Bill that the Pedigree is a record of
what you the breeder have done with the rabbit and those behind it.
I do not believe that such a "HIGH" price should be attached to the Pedigree:
The price of the rabbit should include the pedigree.
If the rabbit is worth "X" amount it should be that price with or without the Pedigree.
My rabbits are sold with Pedigree at the price agreed upon.
It's just the way I do things.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

Well said! I am selling my rabbits with papers because I have that information to give. My rabbits cost the same whether you want the papers or not... it's based on the worth of the rabbit.

 

[currituckbun]

I am on the fence on this one. I had a litter not too long ago that had two SF that should have been good examples of their breed but they were not. The fur was not right. I am not sure why but it was light at the roots. We had played with them a lot and I did not want to FC them. I offered them as pets without papers. By birthright they were just as good as their brothers and sisters they were just a poor example of their breed. I told the buyers that they would not have pedigree. For record sake I guess I should have given some sort of unofficial record.