Hi, I just got a rabbit hutch and I want to raise PET rabbits. I don't want to eat them, just raise and sell them. Does anyone have any good pet breed suggestions? I'd appreciate any tips.

-- Kelly (Abamek@AOL.com), May 27, 2000

Answers

Kelly, you probably don't want to sell angoras as pets. They need a lot of grooming that pet owners might not want to give them. If you just want "cute", you might try animal shelters for discarded pet rabbits. Do research in your area before investing a lot of time and money in your venture. In many areas, only purebred rabbits sell. In other areas there is little demand except at Easter, and those rabbits frequently don't have good lives. Gerbil

-- Kelly (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), May 27, 2000.

Kelly, Pet rabbits? The dwarf rabbits make good pets and you can sell them to 4-H kida too. Also the Lops are good for pets,look too much like a dog to eat. I would get in touch with the American Rabbit Breeders Assoc. for more info and where to find breeders. The New Zealand and California rabbits and also the Giant breeds are meat rabbits. I don't think you want those breeds, I have to confess I love fried rabbit and rabbit meat is low fat and low cholestrol esp. if you cook it right. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), May 28, 2000.

Kelly- You might go to your local county fair this summer and check out the rabbits on display. I was blown away with how many kinds and colours there are! you could talk with the kids in 4-H who raised them and see what they say. (See also what their mothers say...!) Drink upstream from the herd, by which I mean choose maybe a more unusual type to have a specialty market -- a smaller market, but less competition.

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), May 28, 2000.

mini loops are good for what you want. We sell to pet stores, I have bred my mini loops small (the mini in mini loop referes to the length of the ear not the size of the rabbit) Pet stores around here like cute little bunnies that stay cute and little. I have found the dwarfs to fisty. the mini loops are calm and make good pets. Don't buy your rabbits from a pet store for $19.95 or $29.95 they buy from people like you and me for $5.00 each. so find someone with rabbits and buy off of them Grant

-- Grant Eversoll (thegrange@earthlink.net), May 28, 2000.

Hello,

The French harelquins are nice.They come in some Wild colors!!! So are the Satins,, the Satins are sooo shiny you can almost see your face in their fur!! :O)

Oh,, I am also looking for a really nice young Satin doe,, so if anyone knows of any breeders in Western Washington Please let me know.

-- Bergere (autumnhaus@aol.com), May 29, 2000.

I used to show rabbits in 4H. I would suggest if you want to breed rabbits to sell, pick popular ones in your area by checking out the fairs as someone else mentioned. I noticed when showing that some rabbits where more popular in some areas. My personal favorites are Rex, which come in beauiful colors and Satins. I used to raise Siamese Satins; they look like the cats but much better temperment. Both are very well tempered, as compared to New England Whites. I found them to be nasty buggers.

-- Carleen (netorcs@pacbell.net), May 29, 2000.

I mean New Zealand Whites! Sorry. It's a bit early this morning.

-- Carleen (netorcs@pacbell.net), May 29, 2000.

I'll second the "no angoras" advice. They're really cute and have a nice temperament, but taking proper care of them is very difficult and time-consuming...and if one does NOT take proper care, the result is fly-strike, which amounts to maggots eating the bunny. I've had enough of these bunnies brought to our sanctuary that I can say, unequivocally, they are way more work than the typical pet owner wants to deal with.

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), May 29, 2000.

I work in a pet store. I started out selling mixed rabbits. Then I went to Dwarfs which people wanted because they were small. Then I added Mini Rexes. When both litters were put together, people preferred the Mini Rexes over the Dwarfs. (They have really nice coats) Last I got the Mini Lops which I think have the best personality. I just got a Holland Lop that is smaller then a Mini. (opinion is out yet until it is older. Right now it is a sweetheart) Some people believe that because it was a Mini that it would be as small as a Dwarf. The Dwarf can be nasty, especially the female. (They are very vocal too with their grunts and squeals) The Mini Rexes gave me more babies then the Dwarf or Mini Lop with more color variations.(Pet stores like that. They don't like 6 blacks rabbits) I tried to stop with the Dwarfs but people kept asking for them. This is why I have 11 rabbits (one Harliquin Rex that is to be an experiment) The Mini Rexes have nice personalities.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), May 30, 2000.

Hi, Sorry I didn't have time to add to this thread until now.

I raise Angoras and also what my hubby laughingly calls "good-for-nothing" rabbits. I get a lot of those "extra" rabbits from people who buy or get them for Easter and then decide they don't want to spend the time raising them...But one of my favorite pets is a brown, lop-eared bunny! We bought him at a flea marker and the man said he though his mother was a lop but he wasn't sure what the dad was...well for the longest time, this little bunny had one ear that stood STRAIGHT up and the other that hung down...he was SO FUNNY looking! Now they both hang down. He is spoiled. When I open his hutch to feed him he hops out on the ground and nibbles the grass (I wouldn't dare let my other bunnies do this unless they're in a screened area) but when Tadpole is spooked, instead of running under the barn or under the porch, he simply hops back into his hutch to hide!!! But I NEVER leave him out unless I'm right there with him.

Angoras are really loving but they do require a lot of grooming and shearing. But someone sent me a message a little while ago on this forum and said they had an Angora that lived in their house, used the litter box, and was a male that had been fixed...

Rabbits are generally shy but do respond to love and attention and can grab your heart quickly!!! If you have any direct questions, feel free to e-mail me direct....I hope to let my Angora buck breed one of the Angora does this week so I'm hoping for lovely long haired babies!!!Suzy in 'Bama (P.S. I don't know about the climate where you are but here in 'bama we have to give the bunnies ice bottles in the summer and keep a fan circulating the air in their barn (not directly on them because they don't need a breeze) because of the heat.)

-- Suzy in 'bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 31, 2000.

What about Dutch or Palominoes? I have Kind of been leaning toward the Dutch.

-- Kelly (Abamek@aol.com), June 01, 2000.

I used to raise Dutch and I loved every minute of it.

Dutch are a good choice for pets mainly due to size and personality. Dutch are a medium size rabbit with average sizes ranging from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pounds, this makes them easy to handle even for small children (when my neice was 3 she used to be able to carry around some of my dutch). Dwarf rabbits while smaller tend to have mean personalities and be more hyper than larger rabbits and don't always make the best pets. Out of the fifty or so dutch rabbits I had during my 5 years of raiseing them I only had one mean rabbit. All of the rest of them were cuddle little babies that just wanted attention (of course the little monsters would steal whatever I was holding to get that attention).

One thing to consider before you settle on a breed is wether or not the hutch you have is large enough. A flemish giant needs a much bigger hutch than a Dutch and a Dutch needs a slightly bigger hutch than a dwarf polish.

Good luck, and don't forget to let us know what you decide on.

-- Adam Roberts (aer4529@cs.rit.edu), June 01, 2000.

Hi again,

Remember I work in a pet store so I think I'm able to give a different point here. Dutch are nice and sweet rabbits but again, unless you have a few pet stores or places to sell, a rabbit with more color choices is best. However, if you only want one or two does, you can probably sell the babies no problem. My Dutch doe used to have 8 babies. Since I bred her to a dwarf, I had different colors, dutch and spots. As I said before, I have 11 rabbits (7 does - two each breed and one experiment) and keep the pet store in rabbits pretty much myself. At least this project does well at $10 a bunny. Just my opinion. Good Luck

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 01, 2000.

Thanks so much for all your help, but here's another problem. Since I want to sell them, and I live somewhere where rabbits are mainly used for meat, I need something about medium size (like the Dutch) with a good temperament (also like the Dutch). It would regularly be a no-brainer, but I would like some color variation. Just something out of the ordinary. I have two cages, a moderately sized one for the buck, and a larger one for the doe and, eventually, her babies. If anyone can give me suggestions based on the information given, I'd REALLY appreciate it. Thanks!

-- Kelly Ballou (Abamek@aol.com), June 02, 2000.

If you like the dutch markings, you can get a variety of colors of dutch. Dutch always have a white front end, but the hindquarters and the checks come in different colors. If you wanted a vareity of colors in the babys get two different colors to breed together. Say a blue buck and a tort doe. For even greater variety try and get rabbits that had different color parents themselves and you can get throw backs in most litters.

Good luck.

-- Adam Roberts (aer4529@cs.rit.edu), June 02, 2000.

Okay Kelly, lets face it, you have your heart set on Dutch. So get a Dutch buck and doe. If your second hutch is large enough, two young does can be raised together. So then get another different doe (I still suggest a Mini Rex, not solid but with spots. A Dwarf would be too small to have a Dutch father and she would die) Do not seperate them at time of birth or they cannot be put back together without fighting. My does take care of each other's young with grooming and care. (three does together) If the hutch is not large enough, get the Dutch. They are sweet rabbits and you want them. That is what counts. It isn't as if you are going into large scale breeding. (yet)

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 02, 2000.

Ok, I do want Dutch, I've known that for a while. I admit it! But can I keep the bucks that were born together all in one cage seperate from the father and mother, or would they get into fights and injure each other? Also, is it neccesary to have a seperate carrying cage for each, or can I just use a box for each gender?

-- Kelly Ballou (Abamek@aol.com), June 03, 2000.

well, im coming on this thread a bit late,but if anyone is still reading this thread here i go... i currently raise holland lops,mini rex and 1 english lop.. I am interested in the dutch rabbits, so i will be buying some at the next show i go to. i raise my rabbits for show. So far i love every breed i have. they are all gentle and lovey dovey.All rabbits have diferent personalitys. i have a real sweet holland lop doe,and another holland doe that doesnt really like to be held. I like the dutch rabbits color and markings.plus they arent too big. i have an english lop that is 9 lbs and is a big eater. im not breeding him,he is just for shows.But I admit he is the biggest cuddle bunny out of the bunch. anyone who loves rabbits and wants to chat about them,feel free to email me. i can answer questions too.

-- natalie (natbug78@juno.com), March 22, 2002.

BREEDING MIXED BREED RABBITS?!?!?! No! Don't do this! I know this message is very late but rabbits are far too common to be bred as mixed breeds! This is a VERY bad idea! Ugh! Just go check out your shelter and see how many buns are abandoned each year after Easter!!!! NEVER NEVER NEVER breed mixed breeds purposely!!!

-- Sam (itacootie@aol.com), March 23, 2002.

I have been breeding show rabbits for 12 years and I didn't hear anyone mention that rabbit raising isn't an easy task. You have to have the guts to deal with babies being aborted, born on the wire, and the horrifying part of mothers canabalizing their newborns. It's not all cute and cuddly, so if you want to breed rabbits you need to do your homework on more than just what type to breed. Rabbits don't handle stress and with a new mom, any change in enviroment can cause adverse reactions from a frightened doe. I don't want to discourage anyone from breeding this wonderful creature, I just hope you understand that it takes more than just putting the Doe in the Buck's cage. And One more thing, For those of you who dislike New Zealands I have a rabbitry full of New Zealands and I think they're a wonderful breed and very affectionate. I don't have one mean one because If one gets mean I don't breed that into my line (unless the doe is aggresive because she's ready to be bred which is natural for adolescent does) Although I love my breed very much, I agree with not reccommending it for pets. You want Something cute and cuddly. But to be perfectly honest, I agree with a previous comment that breeding for pet stock means that mom's and dad's buy their kids a cute little bunny for Easter and by the time it's two or three months old, everyone has forgotten about it. At least if you sell a purebred to a breeder, you know it'll be taken care of. thanks for your time -Kendra

-- Kendra Gill (rosco93932@aol.com), April 25, 2002.