Question about breeding a new breeding in your local area

[ckcs]

I have been thinking about breeding English or Velveteen Lops. I have been unable to find any closer than about 300 miles to me. I was curious about others experiences with introducing a new breed in their local area. Specifically about competition. Do you do anything to limit the spread of the breed to other breeders in your immediate area? The English Lops are the breed I love the most. Once I started breeding I'd still have a 6 month jump on anyone else and that is sufficient time for me to recover my initial costs. After that I'm happy to just have enough money to cover ownership costs. For the most part I am not worried about the competition. I'd be lying though if I said I wouldn't enjoy the competition free sales.

 

[Whipple]

We are getting a few new breeds in our area, as it seems the rabbit population is increasing. No way to tell how long you would be competition free, but unless you are selling for pets only, you will eventually have someone breeding. But with elops, you have to be careful who you sell to.

I love elops, and there are a few breeders in my area, but still hardly any kits available.

 

[Secuono]

SF were hard to find in my area, but not impossible. Couple hours away, clearly not far enough. Now there's a flood of them, no one cares, always a cheaper rabbit somewhere else. I shouldn't of bothered getting them. Love them, but if time travel was possible, I'd stop myself and get another breed.
I'm having the same issue with NZR and Rex. There are a few NZR fairly close, so I know I cannot bother driving far or paying a lot, soon they will be everywhere. Rex are all 5hrs it seems, but I won't drive that far, not worth it. They'll soon enough be near by.

 

[Bad Habit]

I find that as far as selling goes, if you are promoting and presenting yourself appropriately, it doesn't matter how many other ads there are out there. The market around here is flooded with lionheads, many of them priced cheaper than mine, and yet I hardly have an issue selling young stock, most of them at up to twice the price of cheaper rabbits. I also have a lot of people providing word of mouth advertisement - people who have seen the rabbits at market and thought they were sweet and well mannered, and people who have bought rabbits from me in the past, and are pleased with their family members.

I actually anticipate having a harder time selling my Vlops than I do the lionheads. I will be one of 4 breeders I know of in my entire province, the closest one being about 2hrs away, but people won't know about the breed, and they have a different look than the cute and fluffy lionheads.

I don't think that the best way to decide on a breed is to look at the available market in your area. If your first question is "am I going to make money on this", then you're not focusing on the right thing. You should be breeding because you love the breed and want to help promote and advance it, not because you think it will be easy to sell them. I do think, however, that it would be easier for one who shows to sell their rabbits as they will be able to network with other breeders and make sales that way, to other like minded breeders.

I would suggest you go with the Elops, only because you show, and they are a recognized breed. Vlops won't even have their first presentation until 2014, so they are a long way from being recognized, registerable and able to get legs. You're also going to have an easier time promoting them to other breeders, rather than a breed that's so far from getting accepted. The only reason I went with the Vlops myself is the size, I don't care for large rabbits, and Vlops are around 5.5lbs, while Elops are around 10lbs(I believe).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I find that as far as selling goes, if you are promoting and presenting yourself appropriately, it doesn't matter how many other ads there are out there.

^^^ This!

I don't sell many rabbits, but I do sell Aussie Border collie/Queensland pups. I know it is my ads that make a difference. I take individual pictures of all of the pups (not all in a pen together like most ads) and the written portion of my ad is extensive. I ask people to "Please include a brief description of the home you can provide, including other dogs and animals, children, and the role you expect the puppy to fill."

 

[Bad Habit]

I find that as far as selling goes, if you are promoting and presenting yourself appropriately, it doesn't matter how many other ads there are out there.

^^^ This!

I don't sell many rabbits, but I do sell Aussie Border collie/Queensland pups. I know it is my ads that make a difference. I take individual pictures of all of the pups (not all in a pen together like most ads) and the written portion of my ad is extensive. I ask people to "Please include a brief description of the home you can provide, including other dogs and animals, children, and the role you expect the puppy to fill."

THIS!!! A thousand times this. I have gotten rabbits for free because the owner could not sell them, and when I went to rehome them afterwards(I make sure the people I take rabbits from KNOW that there is a good chance I am just a brief lay over to the rabbit's hopefully forever home), I posted nice clear pictures of the rabbit and had them sold within days. Take 100 pictures even if you only need one, so that you can find that one that's perfect and makes you go D'AWWWWWWWWWWW.

 

[Oceanrose]

Totally agree with BH! I am not in the business of selling rabbits, but of course I have to have an outlet for extras. I take photos of my rabbits, make sure to take the time to talk to the buyers, answer any questions, including generic ones, focus on education, and also make sure my rabbits are well handled, quiet, used to people, and excellent representatives of their breed. I refer on if I don't have anything, or what they're looking for, but I have a lot of people choose to wait for a rabbit from me instead, even though my prices are higher. I find the only people who DON'T like the prices are the other breeders. But I register, have brought in top stock from all over the country, and I win at shows. I won't underprice my stock. I'd rather sell them as fiber rabbits, than have them go to someone who devalues them. The funny thing about that is, I will also happily give rabbits to people who convince me they are serious, but not if they try to price gouge me from the start.

If your stock is quality, you stand behind them, and you treat buyers professionally, you will sell your rabbits.

 

[luvabunny]

I did the exact same thing with Elops in my area. No one around here had them.

A very wise old rabbit raiser told me once that it doesn't cost any more to feed, cage, or take care of, a high quality, easily sellable rabbit than it does a mutt.

Taking this to heart, I purchased the best, highest quality stock I could find, from the BOB winner at last years convention. Cost me more in the beginning, but I have never had a problem selling any extra, and always have a waiting list. Of course, I have also done my best to breed a better bunny, get them shown and registered, and keep promoting the best of the breed.

I am about to set up a website and branch out into cross-state sales. Ohio is a long way from Oklahoma, and I am currently looking for transport to this years convention to help this process.

I agree, that if the monetary gain is your only reason for going with a certain breed, that you are looking at it wrong. Besides, if you don't sell any bunnies and have any competition, how are you going to know that you are going the right direction in the breed? On the flip side, if you don't have any competition, will the breed be sanctioned in your area, and will you be able to show enough to win the legs? Is there a demand in your area for the breed? My sister got into both Satins and Silver Fox. Good quality bunnies purchased at shows. She can't sell the pedigreed babies as 5.00 pets. There is no demand for them here.

I would suggest you buy what you love, keep the best and sell the rest and go from there.

 

[Sinnfox]

I talked my husband into getting silver fox by mentioning there were none in the area so I'd have no competition. not why I got into the breed...I'd wanted them for years (fell in love first time I saw a pic...only found out their were none around because I searched for them)before I found any. Shortly after I got my first ones there were suddenly two other breeders near by. ~shrug~ I didn't mind since I finally had my own. hindsight wise...I wish I hadn't gotten them, not because I cant sell any, but because I seem to have gotten the most difficult silver foxes in the world >.< I got a few others from the other breeders that popped up that look really promising but the first few I got soured me on the breed a bit which is sad. Just be aware...if your gonna be the only breeder in the area be sure your first few are amazing cause if they are bad you wont have anywhere to look for replacements.

also if your gonna be the only one do consider that it may be that no one else in the area likes them...i know the rabbits i have that i think are just adorable my friend thinks are hideous...so you never know.

Oh last thing...the way to be sure your the only breeder around, baring someone else willing to go to the same trouble you did...is to only ever sell males. it has been done in a few places and needing to hope back females for your stock is not that unreasonable with you being the first/only breeder in the area. I wouldn't suggest it, not entirely anyway...slim chance something happens and you lose your stock to illness or accident with no one else around...well you get to start from scratch :/ but only selling males unless someone comes to you honestly about wanting to be a breeder as well might be a good plan...so you know who to go to if something does go wrong. I'd prefer honest competition if I had to have competition anyway

 

[skysthelimit]

Well in my view, it's kind of hard to get legs without competition.

And I prefer to have other breeders to trade buns with.

With that being said, I seem to have all the hard breeds to find-Rex, Silver Fox, French Angora. Jersey Woolies are a dime a dozen, can't give those things away, but it also means I can find what ever I want, improve my stock easily, and earn and honest leg. With 32 (34?) colors, I can easily create a niche for myself by raising odd varieties, or by winning on the show table, or by being a friendly, honest breeder.