How many freeloaders do you have in your herd?

[ckcs]

I have 19 rabbits outside of the babies that I am going to sell. Soon I will have 17 once I sell a breeding pair. 7 of the remaining 17 rabbits are what I affectionately call freeloaders. They are our rabbits that are not part of our breeding stock. Therefore they do not contribute financially to the care of themselves. 2 of the 7 have contributed in the past and might again someday but 5 will certainly never be bred and we will likely keep them until they die.

 

[Schipperkesue]

Oh those lucky freeloaders to have earned a permanent spot in the herd! I have one, but he is a house bunny and the pet of my husband. Buckshot is a black otter Netherland Dwarf. The otter makings make his cheeks look extra fat and especially cute.

 

[Zass]

Well, Mucky was originally our freeloader, but I've since realized that I can plop any jr doeling into her pen for taming, cat/dog/human desensitization, and rabbit socialization. So she's been earning her keep doing a very valuable job...so far as I'm concerned.

Pancake will surely end up a freeloader, and so will Xerx, since I can't imagine myself ever selling him...

I guess I don't have any here CURRENTLY that aren't earning their keep, but I plan on having some if ever they stop being useful?

 

[dayna]

That is the cutest black and white bun I've ever seen!

I have 1 freeloader, Buckaroo. But since I kinda let him "roam" he gets his own food. I give him treats and that's all.

 

[akane]

I had some rabbits I ended up not breeding sometimes for years and I might still have them if I hadn't had to nearly get rid of all my rabbits but I never planned to do nothing with a rabbit. I just never found the right breeding for them. The only 2 I would have retired without butchering died of pastuerella and a noncontagious infection. Kido will probably never go anywhere but you can breed a buck for a long time with no health consequences. His grandson Enki will probably stay with us as well. Those are the only 2 we kept from 60 give or take. Currently not attached enough to the new ND does and I never will be attached to the broken sable. Maybe some of the kits we are hoping for but I'd rather take up the space with another chinchilla than another rabbit. With their small litters and a minimum 6 month wait time from one pregnancy to the next chins are an utterly useless money pit except they are so cute, smart, and personable. Now if only they'd sit still long enough to enjoy their soft fur.

 

[Dood]

Lol

I have 1 current and 1 future free loader.

The current one is that darn doe who only gives me 2 kits per litter. I havent been able to get her pregnant for the last 2 months so i haven't been able to use her as a foster mom and she has basically been free loading. I swear this is her last chance

My future one is my 10 year old, 11 in April :grin: , Flemish x NZ buck. He is currently semi-retired as his arthritis is slowing him down alot with the ladies but he is still very fertile. :mrgreen: He has a forever home here and I will likely bury him in our little pet cemetery at the back of the property.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I currently have no free loaders. Everyone is breeding, will be bred or for show. One doe who was for show never turned out like I wNted, so she'll be sold pending I get another fawn angora from my next litter, but since she still gives me very nice wool while her status is pending I can't necessarily call her a free loader. That's the nice thing about angoras!

Even when my breeding stock is too old too breed, I wouldn't call them free loaders. They'll have more than earned their keep by that time, so they'll just be a happy bunch of geriatric retirees. I do have three rabbits right now (four if hubs has any say over the little NZR doe junior) that will never be sold, though the others will probably find pet homes when they're too old to breed unless I get more cage space. The beauty if it all though is that I know other rabbits in the lines I have are still producing, does as well as bucks, well around 8 years old.

 

[TwoAcreDream]

Currently I don't have any freeloaders. I do not have all the does into production
yet but that is the plan. Some are juniors still growing. So still tweaking the numbers.

One that will have a permanent spot is the holland lop. She has her first litter currently and is doing well with them. I hope to raise a couple of does from her and get them into production. Molly will have to live in the barn. She has a very sweet personality. Plan is to sell her babies as pets. Not show. Her mate, Barney is also good enough to stay.

Actually the more I think about it, I have quite a few that I would keep on as long, as I can. If a old doe is not producing big litters, but will foster babies, then her chances of staying are good. I have some mixed does that are doing very well.

I am going slow with culling. I recently sold 2 mixed does that were bred.
The one was a tad more grumpy than I was comfortable with. The other one was sold to me as bred, but was not. So I got her bred. They were both palpated and are both definitely pregnant. I needed cage space freed up.

I know what works for me, probably won't work for others. I do not show nor do
I want to. The kids used to in 4H. Plan is to sell bunnies as pets. And I want
some sold for breeding animals. I need to get a bigger area for more cages and
then I can have some rabbits for meat. That is why I have the Californians. A few NZ.

It's basically one step at a time. I have sold enough so far to make a dent in
their grain costs. They will be earning their keep shortly. It's not their fault.
I do keep a hard copy book on grain costs, and when does are bred and kindle.
I have been scrambling to bring things together. Most everything I have done is on a shoestring budget. The hubby is retiring soon. I need to be frugal, push the pencil, and to think outside the box a lot.

If my rabbits can earn their keep and give me enjoyment, then it's all good

 

[michaels4gardens]

I don't have any freeloaders, but I may consider one of my Does an extra if she keeps pulling her expensive alfalfa hay out of the manger and dropping it through the bottom wire, - I put a chicken in the cage under her just so I could try to convince myself it was not a huge waste , because the extra rooster is eating a lot of it.
I have 12 does and 3 bucks, and only one that wastes feed, but-- she weened an average of 7.5 last year-- so I kind-of want to keep her around until I am sure she has a better replacement , or see what she does this year. I have a notion that bad behavior is inherited to some extent-- so usually don't keep any replacements from does with bad habbits.
But I guess she is not a "freeloader", but- she is becoming aggravating.

 

[mystang89]

I have 4 atm. Three are males that I kept for a long time for the purpose of mass breeding and the other is a female SF that has had 1 litter in 1 year and has obstinately refused to get pregnant since then. (About 9 months or so.) She will be "leaving" our breeding program very shortly and replaced by....something that actually contributes. The males will be leaving as well but not as quick as that rotten SF.

 

[the reluctant farmer]

I have one who has absolutely no job. He is a compact meat runt who was the smallest of the group--less than 1/2 the size of the other kits. My oldest soon immediately identified with him. Two other kits who were undersized but bigger than him died, but he hung on. He was kicked and cut badly on his leg by the doe when I did a forced feeding, yet tenaciously hung in there. When it was feeding time he'd jump in with all his scrawny might and would burrow & shove the Big Boys out of the way to get to his food. At one point he grabbed on to a spinach leaf that another bun was eating, and he refused to let go. The other rabbit tried to shake him off but he wouldn't let go, so he was pulled around the cage until the leaf ripped. He also has worked hard for pet status--running up to the door when you approach, lifting so you can pick him up, and snuggling. He worked us over good. At this point, after watching him fight so hard to be here, I don't have the heart to do anything other than let him be a pet. Maybe he does have a job: Ambassador of Tenacity and Good Will.

 

[KKRabbitry]

We have tried really hard to get rid of all our "free loaders" over the past few months, to make the rabbitry more economical.
We are pretty strict with the "3 strikes and your out" rule, for both bucks and does.

But currently we still have 3 free loaders. 1 little infertile Holland buck. He is a sweetie so I am hoping to rehome him as a pet to the right family soon.
Then there is my Mom's English Angora doe.....she is just a pet. Everyone who walks into the rabbitry is just amazed over how huge and fluffy she is....we joke that she is our showpiece.
Finally a retired Mini Lop doe who screwed up her teeth....she lives out in the yard most of the year, and enjoys making tunnels and eating grass. That's the life.

 

[Fernie]

Currently we have 12 that need to go to freezer camp. 2 that are freeloading but they are being cleaned up for new home (s) Currently I have

14 freeloading rabbits
5 freeloading cats
1 freeloading chicken

 

[amandainohio24]

We currently only have 1 that is not being used for breeding, our Thrianta. We will see how he does at a few shows coming up in March. If he does well enough he will be a keeper, otherwise he will be sold off as a pet since he has a great personality.

 

[Miss M]

I have two freeloaders:

Our first buck, Thumper, who gave us our first litter, from which we kept a doe (Squeak) and a replacement buck (Pinto). He needed replacing, because he was too much of a gentleman with the ladies. :lol: He's still in the rabbitry, but has no job other than looking cute and being petted. Both of which he does well, as he's a sweet little minilop.

Our second buck, Pinto, who contracted wry neck. He now spend his days in a cushy existence in the house, where he's almost my mom's therapy bunny.

My NZW doe, Fluffy (original, I know, but I didn't name her) is a freeloader sometimes. She gives me good litters, but is terribly prone to sore hocks. I just bred her, though.

 

[ckcs]

Zass, Mucky is adorable. One of my freeloaders is a mini lop doe. I bred her before to my Holland expecting lop ears. I was surprised that none looked like they were going to fully lop. Although she was a great mom she was very aggressive during pregnancy. Since then she has been an absolute sweetheart. I'd be interested in seeing if she could homeschool another doe lol. I may eventually pick up a mini lop buck and try breeding her again. It is wonderful to read the stories of why many have freeloaders.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I CAN say I don't have any free loaders as of yet

 

[Ramjet]

None .... If they don't contribute they go to the freezer camp or are sold as pets.

My space is very limited with only 11 holes. I just don't have space for freeloaders.

If it were up to my kids , they would all be freeloaders ....

 

[Sinnfox]

I have...1? freeloader. A little buck that can't breed. I can't bare the thought of getting rid of him, has the personality of a very happy purring kitten and a teddy bear combined. Other then that no real freeloaders, though my friends seem to think other wise (recently was able to show why I keep another buck around even though he seems like a freeloader most days). granted a few months ago the freeloader number would have been higher, I have been trying to get my herd more efficient lately so all the not great rabbits have been being moved on.

 

[HoppinHalfPints]

4, 1 pet doe and 3 pet bucks.

Oh and Zass, I have a V. Lop buck that looks exactly like Mucky! If only he could visit her. :mrgreen: