what do you wish you had known...

[BlueHaven]

BEFORE you bought your first show/breeding rabbits? Trying to limit stupid mistakes.
About to buy my first rex chocolates.

 

[ottersatin]

I wish I had known how quickly,
having just ONE Rabbit! Would turn into:
An uncontrollable DISEASE!!
At least it is not too debilitating.
I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way!
Sort of like eating Potato Chips, You can't just have ONE! :twisted:
Ottersatin ldtimer:

 

[bikegurl]

I wish I had known how serious a little sneezing/snot was. Now I know! DO NOT buy a rabbit if it is sneezing or has snot around its nose.

I had to cull my whole herd with that mistake...

 

[BlueHaven]

Thanks for both warnings. I was so totally sure I wanted only chocolate rabbits (for the fur) but today I saw a broken castor and it was just the prettiest thing.....

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

OtterSatin tried to warn you!

:lol:

 

[Random Rabbit]

It is easy to fall into the oooo pretty... must have some of Each color variety and breed.

Buying the Best stock one can locate and afford.. Will pay off in the long run. The $5 auction rabbit... most likely will Not go far on the show table. Yes.... "sometimes" one finds a winner... but reality.. the odds are against it.

Take the time and learn. Be willing to make mistakes and learn. Talk with the experienced people in the breed(s) You are interested in and learn.
Never ... Ever ... stop Learning.

 

[fhjmom]

Ditto what Random said! I wish we had started with fewer, better-quality rabbits. What we are finding though is that is it difficult to find the quality we want until you have built relationships with breeders, and it is hard to build those relationships if you aren't out there showing, so it becomes a challenge.

I also agree with the advice to avoid the "one of every color" trap. My kids show Netherlands so there are quite a large number of varieties to choose from. We did stay with a few that will work well together in a breeding program, not necessarily because we planned it that way (didn't really know what we were doing at that point) but because that was what was available from the breeder we were buying from.

 

[BlueHaven]

I am going to stand firm on the chocolates because I think it will help me NOT to personalize them. I want to be tough on only keeping
the best ones I can. This will make culling them easier if they are all the same color.
I am also only going to call them by numbers and not names. For me its going to be
about conformation, fur, Production, and meat. At least that what I am telling myself.
I plan on keeping most of my young till four or five months for the best fur.

 

[dangerbunny]

Really learn the breed standard before you buy, take your time learning about the breed and choosing a breeder.
No breeder sells their best stock, but their cull stock can be better than your best.
Buy the best rabbits you can afford, and budget in spending more later. Better to have a trio of nice ones over double that of meh ones.
Herd buck will have most genetic contribution in your herd so must be top notch.
Quarantine is not an optional step!

 

[SatinsRule]

Buy the best rabbits in terms of bloodlines that you can reasonably afford. Start off marginal and it will be a difficult road to the top of competing on a consistent basis.

Be humble enough to listen to and heed the advice of experienced breeders. They're trying to help you, not hurt you.

Learn to trust your best judgment. If it feels wrong, chances are it probably is.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

 

[Zass]

What I wish I had known:

The most expensive rabbits are not always the best quality. It takes time to learn what makes a good rabbit. A show is the best place to learn.
If possible, buy from a breeder who loves the breed.

 

[akane]

If attempting purebred rabbits close to standard do not buy the mini rex down the road. Some rabbit people are crazy. To avoid crazy don't buy the rabbits down the road. Some rabbits are crazy. To avoid demon rabbits don't buy the rabbits down the road. Yes, the rabbits down the road were that bad. Then I drove 4 hrs to wisconsin and then to chicago. Problem solved.

 

[Deer Heart]

Hahaha @ akane - good advice. :lol:

As for me, I wish I'd known location and setup had such an impact on what breeds to consider. I figured as long as I liked how that breed looked I'd be good. WRONG. I started out with Rex, market here is so saturated with no one buying that I was literally just breeding more and more pets for myself. I wound up eating almost all of my stock when I was temporarily unemployed, since otherwise I had to give them away for free (they were so non self sustaining that I couldn't afford to feed them almost right away :/) This made them such a burden and left me so heartbroken that I swore off of rabbits for years.

3 years later; this time I actually RESEARCHED my market while considering breed. I picked a breed I liked, people WANTED, and far better suited my needs versus my wants. Rex are pretty with amazing pelts, but sore hocks did not suit my set up and people in my area simply didn't want them. At all.

 

[alforddm]

If attempting purebred rabbits close to standard do not buy the mini rex down the road. Some rabbit people are crazy. To avoid crazy don't buy the rabbits down the road. Some rabbits are crazy. To avoid demon rabbits don't buy the rabbits down the road. Yes, the rabbits down the road were that bad. Then I drove 4 hrs to wisconsin and then to chicago. Problem solved.

Well, It's not always that way. The rabbits I got from down the road have been really good for me. Just on the small side. Meat mutts who are heat tolerant, seem to be extremely resistant to disease and have cast iron stomachs. I would be completely in love with them if the doe weighted 9 or 10 lbs instead of 5lbs.

I will admit though I got really lucky. I had no idea what I was doing just knew I wanted rabbits.

 

[Zass]

If attempting purebred rabbits close to standard do not buy the mini rex down the road. Some rabbit people are crazy. To avoid crazy don't buy the rabbits down the road. Some rabbits are crazy. To avoid demon rabbits don't buy the rabbits down the road. Yes, the rabbits down the road were that bad. Then I drove 4 hrs to wisconsin and then to chicago. Problem solved.

Well, It's not always that way. The rabbits I got from down the road have been really good for me. Just on the small side. Meat mutts who are heat tolerant, seem to be extremely resistant to disease and have cast iron stomachs. I would be completely in love with them if the doe weighted 9 or 10 lbs instead of 5lbs.

I will admit though I got really lucky. I had no idea what I was doing just knew I wanted rabbits.

I agree about the meat mutt bit, the meat mutts down the road are often going to preform the job of freezer filling as well or better than the purebred NZ show stock someone has.

For show stock though, I agree with Akane, don't buy based on convenience of location. Look around on facebook, webpages or at shows, find a breeder with exactly what you want, even if it's quite a drive, even if you have to wait until there is a show near you...(Breeders come from all over the country to attend shows, and will usually bring for-sale rabbits with them on request)

 

[akane]

Shows around here are scattered. There's only 3, maybe 4, a year that are closer to me than than the borders of eastern Iowa and breeders shortly over the state line. It makes it difficult to pick up stock at a show and kind of stagnates some breeds in the state. I am hesitant of any stock within the state now. Some states have a lot higher population of breeders and shows and a lot less trouble finding quality animals. Of course if you want mutts they sure aren't hard to find. I spent some time just throwing together whatever I could get cheaply or buying for other purposes as well to make my meat mutts. In the end they were mini rex, creme d'argent, champagne d'argent, NZ, checked giant mixes. :lol:

 

[SatinsRule]

Shows around here are scattered. There's only 3, maybe 4, a year that are closer to me than than the borders of eastern Iowa and breeders shortly over the state line. It makes it difficult to pick up stock at a show and kind of stagnates some breeds in the state. I am hesitant of any stock within the state now. Some states have a lot higher population of breeders and shows and a lot less trouble finding quality animals. Of course if you want mutts they sure aren't hard to find. I spent some time just throwing together whatever I could get cheaply or buying for other purposes as well to make my meat mutts. In the end they were mini rex, creme d'argent, champagne d'argent, NZ, checked giant mixes. :lol:

I wish we had that many here in Arkansas. There is hardly a show I travel to which doesn't require me to drive a minimum of 300 miles each way.