What do I look for when looking for breeders?

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dandee

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I'm anxious to get my rabbits and start my herd.

Most of what I see available are craiglist ads. some crosses of meat breeds some purebred and pedigreed.

Do I need to go pure or pedigreed?

What kinds of traits do I look for when looking at rabbits for purchase? I have no idea how to cull or what to look for..

how much should i spend? I got my two NZ's for $10. I'm looking at an ad for purebred Cal bucks at $40 each. is that too high? I want to breed a cal buck with my NZ doe.

did I mention I want to start breeding rabbits yesterday? lol
 
Hello Dandee,
I would look for purebred stock if you are ever thinking of showing your rabbits.
Those ten dollar rabbits are fine if you are only breeding for meat,
but I would not use them as the mainstay of a possible Show herd.
$40.00 is an acceptable price for purebred stock in fact it is on the low end
price wise. Why not stick with one breed or two breeds but keep them pure?
Try to deal with a breeder who has been doing it for awhile and will still
be around when you might need a helping hand question wise.
Make sure you have plenty of cages so you will be able to wean the kits and
save a few offspring to bild your herd as you go. This will give you a chance
to gain knowledge through experience. You cannot learn everything over the internet!
Seek out breeders with experience, purchase a few really good books on rabbit keeping/raising.
See my website and click on all the links you might find a few good things that will help you.
Dennis, C.V.R.
 
it all depends on what you want to breed for.

do you want to breed for meat on the table? If so.. look for a buck that is meaty and wide. Look for does that come from good stock. A meat doe part of a litter of six or a meat doe that part of a litter of 10? I'd go for litter of 10. and from stock that cares for their young. That's a helpful trait to have as well. A kind rabbit vs ah well...eat your hand type of rabbit.

do you want to breed to eventually show? then purchase the best, meatiest, typiest, kindest that you can afford. Do you need to buy the $150 rabbits? No. You can get the $40 rabbits and do okay.

it's called shopping around to find what you'd like. Know how far you are willing to travel. and look and feel the rabbits that you are going to buy. and have fun doing the rabbit chatter thing. :)
 
Since you are just getting into rabbits, it is natural to be uncertain what to look for. If you are planning to breed them for meat, then I agree with getting a moderate priced wide meaty buck. The Cal buck for $40 sounds about right. You may find something similar a little cheaper if you shop around, but what is important is getting a healthy, fairly young, vigorous buck with a good meat shape.

Many people start with acceptable meat rabbits and then, as they gain experience and start to have preferences among the breeds, gradually bring in new stock. I think there is a lot to be said for moderately priced "learner rabbits" to start with.
 
I think I got my learner rabbits lol!

I'm bonding with them, one more than the other (and i can't remember which is which)

They have been seperated since I got them, although, this morning I put them in a run together to do a couple things and they started rubbing up on eachother and one (who I thought was the female) started mounting the other's head. I don' t want to or intend to breed these two together because they are bro and sis. (actually, i'm confused about line breeding).
I don't plan on showing. just growing for meat and for sale. And I want to have some nice rabbits, too. My aspirations are getting ahead of me and I think I should start with some good stock for future ideas ;)

I'd like some basic meat rabbits, and I had read that a cal buck and an NZ doe make a good pair. So, I thought I'd try that. BUT, then I get all twitterpated over breeding purebreds! I'd like to do both. I don't want to do Cals, though, just that one cross. I heart the black otter rex's!
Those giant rabbits sure are cool to look at but I had read that they are big boned and meat to bone ratio doesn't pan out.
I have Alot of seperate spaces and extra lrg cages, too. I'm getting an idea learning from your posts and seeing a few setups of others. I think my rabbits will have it pretty good and I'll be flush with expansion housing and space as needed. That's one reason I'm chomping at the bit! I have all this great stuff and greens, ready to put some rabbits in.
 
You'll enjoy your rabbits more if you don't go too fast. And when and if problems crop up, they are easier to deal with if you are not already overextended. Only you can decide how much you can handle, how quickly.

You can breed brother and sister if you are just raising for meat. You might not want to select future breeding stock from their offspring, however. It's a personal choice. What inbreeding does is accentuate both good and bad characteristics. Flaws will show more and so will desirable characteristics. Inbreeding is not the problem with rabbits that it can be in other species.

The number one rule, IMO, is "Keep the best and eat the rest."
 
A good idea is to get the Standard of Perfection from the American Rabbit Breeders Association (I don't know if it's wiser to wait until the new one comes out in November - probably is), or find the national/american (whichever, hehe) breed clubs, and study up on the standards for the breeds you intend on raising.

Studying the standards (which tells what a good rabbit of their breed should look & feel like) will let you know which ones to keep versus which ones to eat. In the SOP, there's also a section on meat rabbits specifically (I just found this recently, at the fair, when we had to judge fryers for our judging contest, so I don't know too much about it, but it did help me to judge the pen on their quality as meat rabbits). I'm sure one of us can copy it down for you, and then you can read thru it and get a better feel of what the standard calls for in meat rabbits. ;)

It'll be a bit hard to figure things out, since you're new to rabbit terms, which is why I suggested purchasing the SOP, since it has a helpful dictionary, and gives definitions that can help you get an understanding of what exactly such & such is, etc. :)

I'm sure a quick search of Amazon.com, or even going to your local feed store, you could find some books specifically on raising rabbits for meat. I suggest the book Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, I bought my copy of it at Dels Farm Supply, can't remember for how much, though, but it has a very good section on meat rabbits (which, up until this point, I've avoided, but now I think I'll go check it out, seeing as how I'm getting into meat rabbits myself, haha.)

Hope this helps ya! :)

Emily
Blue Camas Rabbitry
 
don't forget the library! ours has storey's guide--"raising rabbits the modern way" and other books more aimed to pet owners, but still interesting. I'm kinda cheap.
 
^^^who me? Whaaaa?! I have seperate hutches and cages for all four rabbits. none of them have been together in a space for a single second. I still have 6 cages/2 hutches left for my new two coming in a couple weeks and another xx-large cage for growout. and 3 seperate play yards. BUT, my new two does that I'm getting in a week or so will hopefully be knocked up! ;)
 
dandee":ylulz2pm said:
I think I got my learner rabbits lol!

I'm bonding with them, one more than the other (and i can't remember which is which)

They have been seperated since I got them, although, this morning I put them in a run together to do a couple things and they started rubbing up on eachother and one (who I thought was the female) started mounting the other's head. I don' t want to or intend to breed these two together because they are bro and sis. (actually, i'm confused about line breeding).
I don't plan on showing. just growing for meat and for sale. And I want to have some nice rabbits, too. My aspirations are getting ahead of me and I think I should start with some good stock for future ideas ;)

.
Click to expand...
Sorry I was referring to this part of your post.. maybe I misread it.
 
Devon's Mom Lauren":jtspecdx said:
dandee":jtspecdx said:
I think I got my learner rabbits lol!

I'm bonding with them, one more than the other (and i can't remember which is which)

They have been seperated since I got them, although, this morning I put them in a run together to do a couple things and they started rubbing up on eachother and one (who I thought was the female) started mounting the other's head. I don' t want to or intend to breed these two together because they are bro and sis. (actually, i'm confused about line breeding).
I don't plan on showing. just growing for meat and for sale. And I want to have some nice rabbits, too. My aspirations are getting ahead of me and I think I should start with some good stock for future ideas ;)

.
Click to expand...
Sorry I was referring to this part of your post.. maybe I misread it.
Click to expand...

Ah! yes, you're right. it was for that one second, lol! but, I was right there next to them adjusting the latch on the other play yard. he just kinda rubbed up on her head, no connection of the nether regions! lol
 
Rabbits will mount each other in a show of dominance.
Bucks will mount Bucks and Does will mount Does.
A young Buck will mount it's Dam prior to weaning
they are just putting on a show for their litter mates.
"Look out for me, I am the KING".
From a sibling breeding it is possible to produce
a super rabbit. One that has received all the best genes
from the Sire and Dam. When this happens I would
retain that rabbit as a breeder be it a Buck or Doe.
I would not breed it to a sibling but a more distant relative
would not be out of question.
Dennis, C.V.R.
 

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