Rabbit Breeders?

nerdrock

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
971
Purraise
34
I know there are a couple of rabbit people on here so I thought I'd ask...

My friend and her fiance want to get a rabbit, they've been talking about it for the past few years and know what kind they want, they have the space, time and money for it as well. They've researched the breed and want to get one from a breeder, rather than someone that just slaps two rabbits together and then sells them (would that be called a rabbit mill?).

Anyways, she's asked for my help in finding a breeder - we have a few that we've found online. They show their rabbits and have good references on their websites, but other than that... I honestly have no idea what to look for in a rabbit breeder. Is there any testing that should be done? Should we ask to see pedigrees even though we don't know what we'd be look at with them? Attend a rabbit show, if there's one around and we're both not working?

She wants to get a French Lop, does anyone have any advice on this particular breed? They also have two medium sized dogs - Australian Shepherd/Lab mixes that are 2 1/2 years old (littermates). Both dogs are hyper, but have literally no prey drive or herding instincts - trust me, I've tried to bring it out in them, lol. Regardless, they wouldn't have access to the rabbit anyways.

The rabbit will have pretty much free run of their finished basement, where they spend quite a bit of time and is pretty much a dog free zone. I'm going over there in a few days to help her rabbit proof the place - make sure wires are out of reach, anything she doesn't want gnawed on it up, etc.

She has been in contact with one breeder and has been asking questions about the breed - one thing we haven't received a straight forward answer with is whether it's better to get one or two rabbits. She's read various thing on both - some say with one rabbit it will bond more with people, but if left alone too long can become destructive, if you get two they keep each other company but don't bond as well with people, one rabbit is fine by itself, two rabbits are better, etc. The breeder seems indifferent on this and doesn't seem to mind if they go with another or by themselves. Any input?

She may have the answers to some of this but it's late and she's not online right now... so I thought I'd ask incase she's missed it.

Thanks!!
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
I'm not a breeder. . .I have 2 spayed females. And I got one from PetCo and one from an oops litter, so I don't know much about finding a breeder.

But, from what I've seen, even if you buy from a breeder, most rabbit breeders don't breed for good pet characteristics. . .they breed for show qualities. And they tend to be a bit blasè about placing their bunnies, because a lot of them do go for snake food (or people food!). It's not really the same as breeding dogs or cats. So I don't see much difference between buying from a show breeder vs getting one from an oops litter, shelter, or even a pet store (although I would recommend avoiding those from Marshall Farms, which is where PetCo gets theirs, or other big-box store suppliers. Small pet stores usually get theirs from local breeders). If I bought from a breeder, I would want to support a breeder who really seems to care about their rabbits individually, instead of only being concerned with showing.

I do think that rabbits are happier in multiples. They are social creatures and don't like to be alone. A mixed-gender pair usually does best (both altered, of course!), but if they're raised together, same-gender pairs usually do fine if altered before sexual maturity. Unspayed females might get along (it's iffy), but unneutered males will fight.

This is my best resource for all rabbit info: www.rabbit.org
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

nerdrock

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
971
Purraise
34
Thanks! I'll tell her about the link tonight (we're working together).

I had sent her a link to a breeder late last night that I thought looked good - they show their rabbits but also breed for temperament because they have kids. Not sure how old the kids are, but they must not be too young because the daughter raises and breeds another kind of rabbit.

I had thought that about smaller pet stores as well.. when I was younger I had guinea pigs (I got them about 10 years ago, the last one passed about 2 years ago). One I bought at a small pet store - she was extremely friendly and well socialized, the other I bought at Petsmart, he was extremely scared and skittish. I worked with him a lot but he never did get much better. Unfortunately, where I live now, all the small pet stores that sell rabbits also sell puppies and kittens. I refuse to let her buy one from there because of where they get their puppies/kittens (and probably small animals too), the only other option is to get one from Petsmart and based on my experiences with my guinea pig, rats, hamsters and gerbils from there, I don't think it's a good idea. I also highly doubt that their rabbits come from local breeders. I was friends with a girl in high school that got a rabbit from Petsmart - he was the meanest thing I've ever seen. He would charge at you and try to bite all the time, it was horrible. No matter what she did with him he never got much better and as a result ended up spending most of his time in his cage
This is something that I want to avoid at all costs with Kat (my friend) if possible. She also wants a specific breed and I've never seen them around here in pet stores - they all tend to sell the dwarf or mini breeds.

I keep telling her she should get a Flemish Giant, lol, that's the kind that I want.

Anyways, I guess on Tuesday afternoon after I work, we're going out to see the rabbits at this place. The litter is ready to go in another week or two I believe, so that will give us time to go out there and then really talk about it before she has to make a for sure commitment.

I'll also tell her to look around and call vets to see who does small animals and how much it will cost. I'll also talk to the breeder when we're there to see if she recommends any particular vet, or if they can be spayed/neutered before they leave... if so, I'll get Kat to have that done before. If not, I'll call the vets where my parents live. I remember the name of the place I got my guinea pig neutered and it was pretty cheap - $70. Of course that was almost 10 years ago, so I'm sure it's gone up, but I'd be able to take the rabbit there for her and pick it up the next day. I'll talk to her about that too.

Thanks so much!
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
The exotics vet I use charges the same for a rabbit spay as for a cat spay ($100-ish). Probably the same price scale for males ($75-ish). Most vets who do rabbit spays prefer to wait until she's 6 months old, they tend not to like pediatric spays. They'll usually neuter a male younger, though. So if she gets a mixed pair, probably the male will have to be done first. If you look throught the Yellow Pages and find a vet who advertises being an avian specialist, usually that vet will also be knowledgeable about other exotics.

I don't think Petsmart sells rabbits anymore (the one here doesn't anyway, and they have a poster about adopting that says they don't sell rabbits, but they will let a rabbit rescue use their adoption space), but, yeah, my PetCo bunny is mean
. And the mixed-breed I raised from 8 weeks old is skittish. . .so I don't know if I'm just bad at raising bunnies or if it's all genetic. It would be nice to have a friendly bunny, though. Buying from a breeder that concentrates on temperment is a good idea if they really want the best chances of having a nice pet rabbit.

I don't know much about the breeds. My PetCo girl is a Lionhead (about 4 pounds), and my oops-litter girl is supposedly a Dutch/French Lop mix. She's about 6-7 pounds. She just looks like an extra-spotty Dutch, though. I was hoping she'd have one lop ear (that's how it was when she was a baby), but they both stood up after a while.
 

myia09

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
Messages
26
Purraise
2
Location
Arizona
If she adopts instead of buys, the rabbits already come spayed/nuetered, vet checked, and microchipped
The rescue can also tell you the temperament of the rabbit as well, and may have pairs already available. (And rabbits do better in pairs as well as previously said)

It is important to get them spayed because European rabbits have a genetic 30% chance of uritine cancer. Unspayed, it TRIPLES. It also promotes good litter box habits, less aggression, and no marking.

Rabbits are the #3 most dumped pets out there; I work for a rabbit rescue. We have over 150, and the humane society and the other 2 rabbit rescues here we have about 500 awaiting homes.

Many rescues will also have lops to chose from. I would highly recommend checking out rescues before buying.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

nerdrock

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
971
Purraise
34
Originally Posted by Myia09

If she adopts instead of buys, the rabbits already come spayed/nuetered, vet checked, and microchipped
The rescue can also tell you the temperament of the rabbit as well, and may have pairs already available. (And rabbits do better in pairs as well as previously said)

It is important to get them spayed because European rabbits have a genetic 30% chance of uritine cancer. Unspayed, it TRIPLES. It also promotes good litter box habits, less aggression, and no marking.

Rabbits are the #3 most dumped pets out there; I work for a rabbit rescue. We have over 150, and the humane society and the other 2 rabbit rescues here we have about 500 awaiting homes.

Many rescues will also have lops to chose from. I would highly recommend checking out rescues before buying.
We did check out the ones within a reasonable driving distance last week, they didn't have what she was looking for
It was the first thing I suggested to her.

I'll check Petfinder when I get home tonight though, I hadn't thought of checking on there for private groups/ones not through the SPCA.
 

myia09

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
Messages
26
Purraise
2
Location
Arizona
That's great
and maybe try reminding her it isn't the breed..a breed doesn't make for a good rabbit or a wonderful companion. The rabbit's personality does
 
Top