Tips for a Newcomer to the Pet Market?

[Nymphadora]

:yeahthat:

I understand breeders who want to sell their rabbits as pets only, but rabbits do have a place in the food chain. A breeder may have an intent or preference, but that's not always followed by the customer. <br /><br /> __________ Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:19 am __________ <br /><br /> Ha, looks like I posted about the same time Cookie did!

 

[Cookie &amp; Co.]

So the take away Dutchess is move your operation to Australia or New Zealand and you will have no trouble selling your rabbits as pets.

Haha, my bottom paragraph is serious advice. And lol maybe you should... <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jun 19, 2016 2:30 am __________ <br /><br />

I understand breeders who want to sell their rabbits as pets only, but rabbits do have a place in the food chain. A breeder may have an intent or preference, but that's not always followed by the customer.

Yep I agree, as long as you aren't hurting the little bunnies I have no objection to breeding for meat, if you keep your bunnies healthy and happy then it's completely fine. I just think there should be a line between pet and meat. however I am quite naive about these things, while I did grow up on a meat and wool farm I am still young and in my mind bunnies are little balls of fluff you just want to squeeze and love. Just be a responsible and humane breeder, however you go about that is up to you.

 

[Preitler]

Our pet market here is - quite flooded. There are a lot of rabbits, mostly small pet breeds, for free on our craiglist equivalent, and there are about 1500 ads for rabbits, anyway, I can sell some of my meat mutt rabbits as pets that way, for about 15€. Purebreds or pet breeds get better prices.

Rabbits are quite common here, in my road are 2 other breeders.

For breeding just for pets without any other uses you would need something very special here, and it's not easy to sell in advance or in the local area.
I can't do that anyway, because I sell only extra friendly rabbits as pets, but I get lots of other personalitys too, I wouldn't plant such a rabbit on some kid, that would be mean and irresponsible.

Projecting own morals on what other people do is quite a source for problems, morals are very relative, and often from another point of view just not applicable.

 

[Olimpia]

It always breaks my heart a little seeing breeders selling dwarf rabbit kits on Kijiji for $10, $15. To me that is a big sign that they might end up as "disposable pets" (though I have seen some small breeders who sell cheap and seem to screen a lot, I mostly see the same people breeding en masse and selling cheap). Personally, I rescued my friend's sister's mini rex, who had been a loved pet for 2 weeks, and then spent 5 years in a small cage alone in the basement with overgrown nails and a wet bum. Thinking this, is the reason I would rather try to sell a rabbit for $70, $50, then cull if no home is found. I don't mind as much selling to breeders, even if the cage is a bit smaller than I would like to see for the rabbit, I know they at least won't get sick and be left to wilt under a breeder's care.
It always bothers me a bit, as well, raising a litter of meat rabbits, and across from them is a litter of my purebreds... one litter will just be eaten in 3 months while the other has pretty good vet benefits and everything, such class division. :lol:

I think the problem is most people have trouble buying an animal for $10 then realizing they have to go to the vet and get it fixed for $400.

 

[alforddm]

Sorry you're right, if you want to breed for meat then go ahead, it's a good idea as it ensures your meat is healthy for you and the animals had a nice life, far far better then most supermarket meats like battery farmed chicken. Plus it isn't bad for the environment, so if I wasn't vegetarian it would be a food source I would consider.
I just mean you shouldn't breed with the intention of selling as pets, then kill for pet food because you bred a little too many. I guess it's not that bad, but still, I find the morals of bringing a rabbit into this world to then just kill it because you aren't responsible a little shaky. But if it's not hurting the rabbits then I guess just say "screw you" and do what you want. Just voicing my opinion, sorry for derailing the thread.

Thank you for clarifying. I can respect that point of view.

 

[golden rabbitry]

BIGGEST TIP OF THE YEAR! CRAIGSLIST! I know it isn't much, but i has 12 people all after 4 bunnies in less than a week. We even had people from 200 miles away just for one bunny. :bunnyhop:

 

[a7736100]

You are lucky. In my area rabbit ads usually get flagged.

 

[akane]

morally you shouldn't breed to then kill.

I disagree with this statement. Rabbits have been used as a source of food for humans and other animals for as long as they have been on the earth. So long as the rabbits are well treated in life and are quickly terminated, there is no reason why they can't be used as pet food or human food.

Sell the best and eat the rest.

I just mean you shouldn't breed with the intention of selling as pets, then kill for pet food because you bred a little too many. I guess it's not that bad, but still, I find the morals of bringing a rabbit into this world to then just kill it because you aren't responsible a little shaky. But if it's not hurting the rabbits then I guess just say "screw you" and do what you want. Just voicing my opinion, sorry for derailing the thread.

Actually I have done basically that quite frequently with more than just rabbits. Even if it's not a good meat animal for humans my dogs, cats, and snakes are carnivores no matter what I'd choose to eat and most kibble is pretty terrible stuff compared to actual whole prey or quite expensive with still factory farmed meat in it. The snakes will need some rodent if it's not my own. Just because you tried to find it a home as a pet first does not mean it served less purpose keeping other animals healthier while not feeding them animals raised in worse conditions. If I'm raising large breed rabbits specifically for meat why should I fill up cages with netherland dwarf that are small for people to eat but ideal meal size for dogs and cats if they fail to make good pets or breeders? They are both rabbit meat, they both aren't going to sell to pet homes, and some large breeds I butchered had better personalities than some of the small breeds. Expand it to some other small animals and I can use what is not going to find a responsible home or I could leave it in a cage serving no purpose while I buy something that had to die instead in order to feed my carnivores. If you don't have a carnivore as some said you can donate a humanely raised feeder animal to raptor or other wildlife care centers where they rehabilitate or care life long for injured and endangered native species.

I was debating on the drive home tonight the fact that most people have this need to draw lines and divide animals into purposes and then to even impose their decided boundaries of purpose on others because if they didn't they wouldn't be able to justify using the meat from anything for themselves or keeping carnivorous pets. Some people do choose a lifestyle like that and some people can view every animal equally and still use them for meat. Even if it's not something of my own I would turn into food or a feeder like the chinchillas and when I had horses I do not care if other people can efficiently and humanely raise large enough numbers that they choose differently what to do with them in another situation. It's a rather lonely path to take though because those who don't see why you'd keep meat animals as pets will scoff at what you put time and money into and those who can't understand eating certain ones will be harsh critiques of the care all your animals receive. Your morals get questioned by pretty much everyone and you end up debating grey areas like these for your own peace of mind often while not having anyone you can talk to about it.



As others have pointed out there is no market like you experience in most of the US. I'm in an agricultural state where everyone has the space for dozens of rabbits if they want and people produce 100s a year even in small rabbitries. Often without much attention paid to temperament or health. You can't get $100 for much of anything that isn't wanted for competitive shows and it will probably be traveling 100s of miles to it's new home. To pick up a common pet rabbit that most are buying they don't want or need to travel, they don't want to expend tons of effort, and they don't need to pay a lot. It's rare for a rabbit outside of a pet store with impulse buyers or shelter where people feel the extra price is worth supporting the rest of the shelter's operations to go for more than $20 and practically no one reserves a rabbit. A few dedicated people will ask for something specific in upcoming litters but if you don't have that they don't want anything out of the litter. You find out after the rabbits are born what could be sold for show, what could be sold for pet and what won't sell. People also have odd views about older animals so if it doesn't sell at that time of year you can't always just wait for a buyer while not breeding anything because you might wait forever. I really don't get why if you are buying something that will live 15+ years it's too old to "tame" at 6months..... I have to discount my chinchillas $50 after about the 4-6month old range when they look full grown. People really can't get the concept that a small animal could live longer than most dogs (up to 30 years for chinchillas) and continue to evolve their personality with their new owners. It's hard to even say what their personality will settle to before 6months and I'd have to double my own age before I can start to guess the average lifespan of my lines. :lol: