Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not posting more on the Bunny Blog. If you haven't already seen the announcement on my rabbitry group on Facebook then you probably don't know what's currently going on. Sadly I was involved in a hit and run accident the day before Mother's Day. Since then, I haven't really been myself lately and I am struggling to getting back to my "normal". I am still undergoing treatment and slowly getting better daily. I am just staring my breeding programs back up and slowly working towards my goals again. Please be patient as I try to get things back on track.
Thanks, Brittany
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"The secret to getting ahead is to focus your energy not on fixing and fighting yesterday, but on building and growing something new right now."I'm sure most of you may have noticed by now that I have put a stop to selling or offering pets. This decision was not one that was taken lightly but it is a decision that I feel is best for my program. As each generation continues to grow, I have to make the right call for what is best for the animals I produce in my program. Sadly, due to a lot of backlash and bad dealings, I made the decision to stop offering or selling rabbits as pets. Don't get me wrong, I have deal with some amazing pet owners over the years but unfortunately, the bad has outweighed the good. For the past year, I have had rabbits come back extremely malnourished, riddled with infection, people breeding them when they were never rehomed for that purpose and even harassing phone calls, text messages and emails of people demanding I give them a pedigree. I have decided to take an alternative route for rabbits labeled as pets in my programs so that I will no longer have to deal with the stress or concern of if they are in the right homes, homes that are taking care of them. From now on, I will only be offering breeding or show rabbits and that is all. I know that this announcement has come to a blow to some of you that have purchased pets from me. For those that has purchased pets and have been amazing customers, I truly want to thank you. Without you guys, I would have shut down this idea way quicker than I did. You guys have been awesome and I still stand by, "if you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask".
I know some of you are wondering what alternative I have decided to take for the "pets" now and I will not hide it, they will now be terminally culled, correctly so they will never suffer. Their bodies will then be either sent to help feed wildlife at sanctuary's, raw dog food or reptile food. Often we hear or see people upset that responsible breeders won't guarantee rabbits, especially to those who are seeking certain colors, genders and type. Let me break it down for you so you can have a glimpse on what we deal with...
Most people think that we just throw two rabbits together and in 30 days, tada! Babies. Nope, this is not that simple. You know that saying, “breeding like rabbits”? Well, whoever created that saying obviously didn't breed to a specific standard. Breeding for a quality animal that also falls within the breed standard is difficult and some breeds make it even more difficult than what one can imagine. Trust me, if you think you are getting frustrated with us not guaranteeing you an animal, try breeding for a show program for yourself, talk about truly frustrating. I am going to attempt to break this down as simply as I can with each subject having its own bullet. Are you ready? Here we go!
Mentioned above is just some things that us breeders go through. We do not just throw two rabbits together. We often are studying our animals almost daily and carefully selecting which two rabbits should help out one another's faults, are compatible and have good bloodlines, but even that is never a guarantee. You can breed together two Grand Champion animals and still get crap quality. We carefully select who is bred to who for the best possible outcome. Breeding definitely isn't for the faint of heart. Breeders face a lot of frustrations, blood, sweat and tears, this isn't even including dealing with impatient buyer's. We will never sell you our best as those animals are required to help our next generation of animals. Basically, I ask that all of those interested in purchasing or even breeding yourself, take note of what I have written. I ask that buyer's understand that responsible breeders put forth a lot of effort into our programs. We willing accept the challenges we are going to face in this hobby because we appreciate and accept our passion more. We don't do this for money, we do this because it is something we love. There are a lot of people how are starting into their breeding adventures daily and what comes with starting up, is the questions. Some people don't care about showing and are only working on pets, which I would advise against but to each their own. Here's some things you shouldn't do if wanting to start a reputable breeding program.
Hi guys! Sorry for being MIA lately. I was having issues updating my site due to my internet provider however that issue has now been resolved. I have several articles I actually wrote down for the day to come that I can start posting again. Hopefully in the next couple of days I will post some new articles.
As of currently, I have decided to not attend anymore shows for the year due to being immune compromised and for the safety of my herd. I have been tempting to get all does that are of age bred, which several has missed but I will continue to try to rebreed them all. For this year, I have been very strict on what I have kept back from my does meaning that I have sold a lot of super nice animals. I have also added several Holland Lops to the program this year to give my program a huge bump. I want to say that I hope everyone is staying healthy during this time and is taking the precautious to protect their herds from RHD. I want to touch base on RHD. If you see someone knowingly passing through a HOT SPOT, please report them! Please do not support them nor pay them for a service. I know a lot of people want rabbits from the west coast and vice versa but please, for the love and welfare of our hobby, do not rush this! Rabbits will always be available. It is better to be safe than sorry and remember, you wont only be effecting just your herd. Recently I had a friend bring back some rabbits for me that had to stay in lock down for a week because a transporter knowingly went in a hot zone and brought rabbits from there to a show. That entire week had me a wreck knowing that someone so irresponsible can bring this disease to us on the east coast and not care. So I am asking all of you to do your part and not encourage this behavior. Until next time! Please stay safe out there and continue breeding your next generation! Hi guys! Welcome back to the blog! I apologize for being MIA lately, I've been busy getting rabbits back in breeding and also training my dogs. As some of you know, I do have working line German Shepherds and I am training them for shutzhund (protection work) and currently working my older GSD to take over as the SD for my Shiba Inu. Anyways, enough about my dogs, lets have another topic!
I feel like an easy topic to start back with is in regards to pricing. I often get a lot of questions about pricing, how do you price your animals, how do you determine pricing, etc. So, with that being said, there is a lot of thought process that goes into this, its not just “here's a price!” kind of moment that a lot of people like to think. Now, some breeders pricing may be different and that's okay. Also expect that different breeds will have different price points. Now, please keep this in mind that this topic is based off of my experience and my own rabbitry, that being said, also keep in mind that I raise Netherland Dwarfs and Holland Lops, the two most competitive breeds there is and sometimes the hardest to breed, along that is the Belgian Hare. The prices of my breeds are going to be different than those with say Mini Rex who are pretty common. When breeding Netherland Dwarfs especially, you run into issues with small litters, stuck litters, peanuts, max factors and hippos. So say I have a doe give birth to five kits, out of those five kits are three peanuts, that automatically takes me down to two successful babies who may fade as they get older or may be just pets, that's where pricing comes into play. I keep my price points pretty straight across the border. Pets go for $50 to $100 without pedigree and breeding stock can range from $75 and up, show stock is about $150 and up. Now, another thing to keep in mind about pricing is location. Since I am in NY, I compete against some of the higher quality dwarfs that you may find, other than a couple really amazing breeders in California and other states. I've paid $400 just for one brood rabbit and had to have it shipped in, seriously, sometimes this rabbit hobby can be just as expensive as a horse or dog hobby. Now again, some may ask, “why did you spend so much on one rabbit?” The answer is: Because that one rabbit had what I needed to help improve my herd and because of that rabbit, I am correcting what I needed to fix, making my next generation a much stronger herd. Now, I am a FIRM believer that you will never get the perfect rabbit and will constantly need to work towards that goal, although I have seen some really amazing animals, they still have some kind of fault. Do you remember people saying, “you get what you pay for...” that's also true in rabbits. I'm not saying that just because a rabbit is very expensive means a super nice rabbit although I wish that was true. Regardless to price, I will always highly suggest that a buyer studies the SOP before purchasing to ensure that they don't get taken advantage of, yes there is some people out there like that. Another piece to keep in mind when buying from a reputable breeder, their prices will more than likely be more than that of a pet store but when you are purchasing from a breeder, you are not only getting a better quality animal, you are also getting a much healthier one too. Part of being a rabbitry is not only bettering the quality of your animals, but also breeding only those who have superb health as well and are hardy. Anything that has a weak immune system is often removed from a breeding program, regardless of their quality. Anyways, please always be kind and do not be rude. We as breeders deal with a lot already, we don't really need to deal with individuals who are blatantly rude and disrespectful. Hi guys! This is not going to be like my normal blog posts that I have been posting. We have been busy trying to stay up with orders, breeding and staying up with all the new info regarding the COVID 19 virus. Sadly with the spread of the virus, a lot of shows that we were going to be attending are cancelling. I will still be going to the shows that do not cancel and I am meeting a transporter for rabbits in the beginning of May.
Please be sure to stay healthy and keep watching our page for more info, tips, discussions and more! One of the most common questions that I get often is: do you supplement and if so, with what?
There are several breeders that do supplement. One of the most commonly use supplements that are used is BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds), Calf Manna, Flax Seed, Old Fashioned Oats and more. So there really isn't a right or wrong answer, it really depends on your thoughts and opinions on the fact. I personally do not supplement. You should be breeding a rabbit to better its type and sometimes when people supplement, it kind of masks their real condition. I will on occasion give my rabbits plain shredded wheat, cheerios, fruits and veggies but it's more of a snack or a treat than a supplement. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion. If you do decide to supplement, please be sure to do your research on the supplement that you are thinking of using. Some supplements will cause the rabbits to go off feed if you run out and this can cause some serious issues if you do not watch it closely. Oxygen has been known to cause issues with a rabbit going off feed if it runs out of the supplement and some people have lost their rabbits due to it. So I am betting that you are curious to read what I am currently typing due to the headline. No, I am not getting out of rabbits but with the most recent high rise in breeders selling out, I figured this topic would be one of interests. I am not one to say that I have never cut my losses before as I have, this may include cutting breeding programs in your breeds or even breeds entirely. Everyone has a reason for their decision to cut programs or breeds, this may be due to financial issues, lack of attention, lack of time, loss of interests, life changes, etc. If you are feeling like it may be time to move on, then this article is for you.
Recently I have had a couple newer breeders contact me in regards to already possibly selling out of their programs; now when I say "newer", I mean someone who has 2 years or less in the hobby. This hobby isn't for everyone and not everyone can deal with the calls that may need to be required to make when breeding animals. It is our responsibility to make sure the animals are properly cared for, that includes when to make the decision to have the animal put down as well. Sometimes people get to that point where they can no longer make a responsible decision for their animals so they sell out. Whatever the case may be and if you are feeling on the edge of doing this yourself, then this blog post is for you. Now like every breeder including myself, we get frustrated and contemplate about removing a breeding program from our herd, sometimes that means complete sell outs for some. I was at that point in January this year with my Holland Lops. Now everyone knows that I keep my programs very small, smaller than normal for most breeders. I keep my Holland Lop Herd around 10 animals total, by doing this, it allows me to be rather strict with my breeding program and allows me to focus on what faults I want to correct which really works for me. Last year I was plagued with no litters except for one from my does and I was beyond frustrated. I tried everything including treating for Vent Disease thinking that maybe the new rabbits I had brought in may have brought it with them too. After treating my entire herd, changing out bucks, buying new does, etc, I finally started getting litters when I was on the verge to sell them all out of complete frustration. I am really happy I didn't as I am loving my new generations that I am producing. It took multiple breeder friends to talk me out of the decision of selling the Hollands and I am really glad I gave it another go. Why am I telling you this? Because I get it. Some breeds are a lot harder than others and it isnt always easy but isn't that the main reason why we selected the breed we did? We wanted a challenge didn't we? Sometimes those challenges are a lot harder to succeed at but in the end, it is so very worth it if we want to keep going. Now let's discuss when to make the decision to cut your losses. At this point and if you have read my About Me page, then you know that I have raised over 30 of the ARBA Recognized breeds over the years that I have been in rabbits. With that being said, I have obviously sold out a lot of breeds to focus on just the Netherland Dwarfs and the Holland Lops. How did I make this decision? It didn't come lightly and it shouldn't for most of us. The passion was there but lack of cage space, lack of concentration on breeding programs, etc definitely played a major role. Sometimes you just need to sit back and think, "what are my goals for my breeding program(s) for the next year and what do I need to do to ensure that I am successful in reaching that goal?" This may or may not include cutting breeds so that you can focus. I reached that point when I had my commercial rabbits. I loved the big, goofy things but the fact was, meat rabbits was not the direction I wanted to go and I could add more cage space by removing the large cages needed to make sure they had adequate space and replacing them with "dwarf size" cages. Now this may be opposite for you, maybe the commercial rabbits is really your thing and you want to cut the smaller rabbits. Then again, maybe you need to cut your current breed completely and start over with an entirely different breed, this is fine as well and it never hurts to explore all your options. I also cannot condemn anyone for just wanting to sell out completely and be done with this hobby, it happens. I did this as well for a couple years and ended up coming back when I said I never would and after I sold almost everything. That's okay too. Maybe you just need a completely new start entirely if that is something you want to do. If your breeding program isn't going in the direction you want it to, then starting over isn't a horrible idea. The bottom line is this, do what makes you happy. If you don't have the passion and drive to breed rabbits, then this isn't the hobby for you. If you think you are going to get into this hobby and make thousands of dollars your first year or make money really at all, then this hobby isn't for you. This hobby is for those of us who are passionate about breeding to the breed standard and striving to be the best, no matter the sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears we have to endure. We make decisions that are absolutely necessary that no one wants to do and again, it is OUR responsibility that we provide adequate care for our animals and find them homes when necessary that will care for them as well as we have if not better. So to those of you that are contemplating selling out, I encourage you to rethink about that decision but at the end of the day, do what is best for you. One of the most common questions that I receive from people who are just starting out is, "what should I expect when attending my first ARBA Show?" Depending on what type of show you are attending for your first, rather it be on a smaller scale or a larger scale like Nationals or Convention, you can always expect several things to happen.
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AuthorBrittany is an Open A.R.B.A. exhibitor that raises and shows Pedigreed Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarfs. She started breeding rabbits in 2002 and American Cavies in 2005. Archives
June 2022
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