Buying from a Breeder

[DallasDelight]

I’m going to Lubbock, TX on Saturday with my parents and I’ve been looking for a rescue anywhere around there for a long while, so I can adopt. I haven’t found a single rabbit rescue, so I came up with a plan B – buy from a breeder. I don’t want to support a pet store, I’m figuring buying from a breeder is better than that at least!
Anyway, I found an ARBA registered breeder in Lubbock, Herring Hoppers(http://www.freewebs.com/herringhoppers/). I sent them an E-mail yesterday and they have quite a few buns for sale. They only have Bucks for sale as of now, though. I’m going to give them a call tomorrow to discuss things easier, and I was wondering if there were any specific questions I should ask them? If yeah, what questions?
I want to write down the questions before I call them

[Nicci607]

hi there!!

I do not recommend buying from a breeder. I went on their website and since they have only ‘bucks’ for sale that means they are trying to get rid of some of their stock. poor bunnies

[well, they probably would be better of with you, tho]

they do not have many pictures on their site. however, some of those poor bunnies don’t even look like a ‘real’ bunny. totally overbred.

I don’t know where Lubbock TX is but I have found at least two rabbit rescues in TX:

http://ntrs.org/index.html

http://www.bunnybuddies.org/

http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=TX826&sort=&preview=1

maybe you can check those out or if you call those rescues they could probably help you with adopting a bunny.

have you checked out petfinder.com or the local newspapers/fleamarkets?

good luck!!

 

[bunnytowne]

Buying from a breeder you know what you are getting.  They normally will not breed bad gene traits like malloclussion for instance.  anyways  and they know their rabbits. 

Well for one thing    do you want a pet quality bun or a pedigree.   There are price differences.   

What breed  or breeds does he have     … how big do they get.     Are they handled young almost from birth?   If you want a calmer bun ask for one like that  if you want a curious explorer ask for one of those.           Breeders usually know the personalities.        How much to feed      Take some of what they are used to eating so that you can alter it’s diet to what  you will be feeding bun.

Ask if you can see the buck along with the doe.   ( the parents)

If you want a certain color I am sure the breeder would have that.   However you may have to choose between color and personality.    For the personality you want may not be in the color you prefer.

[bunnytowne]

As far as mostly having bucks   breeders usually prefer more does than bucks  and breed to meet a breed standard.   Most breeders really love their rabbits.    Though I have seen dirty breeders too.    That would be why I would want to see the rabbittry. The buck and doe.

Some people have a small herd and keep their buns indoors.  Lots of times the kits are handled real real young.  So they are used to interacting with people.  That helps a lot.     I would prefer breeder over petstore for that reason.

[Lion_Lop_Lover]

6 of my rabbits came from breeders, and I would absolutely recommend it. Just make sure they’ve been checked for teeth problems, been handled, and otherwise appear healthy and come with the pedigree.

[jerseygirl]

I posted a response to this in your other thread but I’ve pated it here also:

Just be sure to check them out thoroughly. Not all breeders are responsible or even rabbit savvy amazingly! My problem would be seeing the babies and wanting one of them! There may be a rabbit at the breeders you can sort of rescue – ie, one that is no use to them anymore. Some breeders may even provide temporary homes to rescued rabbits. It’s worth enquiring.

Have you tried something like Petfinder for your area? There may be a pet somewhere close by that someone is wanting to rehome.

Many newspapers are online these days too so you may be able to search the classifieds local to your area that way. I know Texas is a BIG state but on the contrary, it can also be a small world sometimes!

Best of luck of finding a newbie for you and Dallas!

[sweetbluebun]

I agree, adoption is a great way to get a rabbit, but it’s not for everyone. I personally wanted baby dwarf rabbits, and I did check rescues first, but they just didn’t have what I was looking for so I decided to go to a breeder (I didn’t want to buy from a pet store because then you REALLY don’t know what you’re getting). Luckily, I found a wonderful breeder, who seemed to care alot for her buns and ran a very clean establishment. She only bred healthy animals, and her does were only bred 2x a year. Just be sure to find people that aren’t all about the money, in reality breeding rabbits should be considered a hobby, not a business, and it seemed all of her money went back into the care for her rabbits (she had a very nice large barn set up and her rabbits had ALOT of space). Both of the rabbits I got from her were very well socialized and easy to handle. Aside from Guppy’s cecal issue, they’re both pretty healthy. Just be sure to check the place out and get references from the breeder’s vet and from other bunny owners that have purchased from that particular breeder.

[Beka27]

like Jerseygirl said, you might be able to “rescue” a female from him who is no longer being used for breeding. this way she’ll be old enough to be spayed right off the bat, there’s a greater chance of the bond working (female/male is usually the easiest pairing) and you’ll be giving her a loving forever home. the older, “retired” buns are more likely to be looked over by people inquring about buying a bunny. if i HAD to go thru a breeder, that’s the only way i would do it…

[DallasDelight]

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

I have honestly exhausted all options of rescues over and over and over. Lubbock is already a 5 hour drive from where we live, anything further is pushing it too far for us to make it in one day(which is what we’re doing this Saturday). I’ve checked craigslist many times, along with the online Lubbock classifieds, also kijiji. I’ve googled sites endlessly. Those shelters you listed are nowhere near us, we’d literally be driving across the entire state, lol. I’ve also, of course, checked Petfinder. Nothing. That’s the bad thing about living in the middle of nowhere!!

Their prices are very reasonable. $25 for pet quality, $40 for show quality. I was disappointed with the pictures of their Rabbitry not showing, and I already planned on asking them to send me pictures of that when I talked to them tomorrow..I’d like to see.

[Thearina]

I post this response over in rescue bunnies under other thread and didn’t see this thread until now or I would have posted this over here. If I’m not suppose to post the answer on more than one thread than I’m VERY sorry. I know that some people will say not to get from a breeder and to adopt, but there are some cases where I think going to  a breeder would be okay. BUT that is not to say that I’m not for adopting. If you can adopt PLEASE do that first before going to a breeder. In my particular case I don’t not for one second regret in any way for getting my 2 rabbits from a breeder and I truly and complete believe with Sophie my jersey wooly retired breeder that I did get from a breeder would more than likely be dead right. I won’t go into more more on Sophie or why I went to that breeder because that is a story for another time and I don’t want to hijack your thread from you.

If you do decide to get a rabbit from a breeder make sure to ask lots of questions about how they actually care for their rabbits.  Whichever rabbit(s) that you are interested in have the breeder handle the rabbit to get an idea of how the rabbit will take to being handled and how much you may have to work with that particular rabbit with being handled later on. If the rabbit has reached sexual maturity see if the rabbit is protective of its cage, but also ask how long that rabbit has been in that particular cage. The reason I say ask this is if the rabbit has been in the cage for a while and has had time to get use to the cage then you would have some idea if that rabbit would be cage protective.

I currently have 4 rabbits (1 male, 3 females). My first 2 male/female are fixed and a bond pair. The last 2 are females that I get from a local breeder at the beginning of december. Both of these rabbits are retired breeder rabbits, one is 10-13 months old and the other is 2-3 years old. The reason I mention this is because you may want to ask any breeders that you go to if they may happen to have any retired breeders for sale. I know that your probably more interested in babies, but I thought that I’d through that idea out there. I’m one of those people that say adopt instead of going to a breeder, but if that not really an option or your looking for a particular breed than I for looking into a breeder. I didn’t really intend to get more than 2 rabbits especially from breeder but sometimes that are good reasons to do so.  The breeder(s) that you talk to my have some retired breeder rabbits that are less than a year old. And to be completely honest with a rabbit that has already reached sexual maturity you will be able to see what its personality is like, unlike with a baby. I’m not saying to not get a baby just that an older rabbit would maybe be something to consider.

Here are the questions I asked the breeder I got my 2 females from (these are good for even baby rabbits not just adults):
– Was the rabbit rabbit born there or didn’t they buy is after if was weaned? (The breeder I got my 2 females from had some 12 week old babies that she got from another breed who had too many babies to find homes for so she got them to sell)
– If born there have they handled them since very young or even when born?
– How often do they handle their babies, everyday etc? (It helps if the babies are handled at a very young age, because the breeder I went to had 3 rabbit she got from an older man who didn’t want to breeder anymore but could see these 3 rabbits because they where very aggressive and wild acting because he never handled them)
– What brand of food do they feed them and do they send some home with the rabbit?
– Do they feed their rabbits any veggies?

Those some of the questions I asked the breeder when I was there looking at her rabbits. I did ask more questions, but those where about the specific rabbit I was looking at. Good luck in finding a buddy for your rabbit. Also if you haven’t already try checking on petfinder and also petharbor. Some animal controls and rescues sometimes only post their animals on one of those and not both.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Agreed-sometimes its just not possible to get a rescue bunny and I’m uber-happy your not doing the petstore thing

Her retirees may even be spayed already (some breeders do that) From the site, the fact that she’s registered with ARBA and shes involved with showing her rabbits, she doesn’t seem like a backyard breeder to me; And if they’re a good breeder their bunnies usually are extremely healthful!

Promise me this-> Pictures when you get your new bunny home! Can’t wait!!

[Puddle Bunny]

Oh boy, talk about tough. I would love to take them all home. I bought a bun from a pet store when I was just 19. Well he only lived for about a year. He was just a sick bunny. But he was such a little lover. I’m glad to hear that you aren’t going the store route.

[MooBunnay]

Since you are going to Lubbock anyways – have you called any local animal shelters or city pounds to see if they get rabbits in? Rabbits are not only at Rabbit specific rescues, but they also get left at general city shelters. Quite often they get rabbits in but don’t even bother putting them up for adoption. I found some Lubbock animal shelters you might want to try (listed below). Some of my friends in rabbit rescue in CA have set up contacts with the pounds so that if a rabbit comes in, they will be contacted instead of the rabbit being put to sleep. Its worth a try!

Haven Animal Care Shelter
4501 N. C.R. 1729
Lubbock, TX 79403
Phone: 806-441-7809
Contact Us:

Humane Society of West Texas
Pets Mart (Every other weekend)
Dog Adoptions: 10-5 Saturdays, 10-4 Sundays
Cat Adoptions: 10-4 Sundays
6801 Slide Road
Lubbock, TX 79424
Phone: 806-799-PETS or 799-7387
Contact Us:

Lubbock Animal Services
401 North Ash
Lubbock, TX 79401
Phone: 806-775-2058
Contact Us:

Morris Safehouse
3240 Nightingale Road
Lubbock, TX 79407
Phone: 806-239-0156

[clevername]

Posted By Nicci607 on 01/01/2009 4:39 PM

“hi there!!

I do not recommend buying from a breeder. I went on their website and since they have only ‘bucks’ for sale that means they are trying to get rid of some of their stock. poor bunnies

[well, they probably would be better of with you, tho]

they do not have many pictures on their site. however, some of those poor bunnies don’t even look like a ‘real’ bunny. totally overbred.”

 

Nicci607,

I understand the outlook of this site, but your statements have made me feel unformfortable.

The rabbits displayed on that site are fine looking and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for statements to be made questioning their breeding practices. Also the fact that they have a lot of bucks is not a red flag for anything negative. Breeders tend to be more picky on the show quality of bucks as opposed to does because they can be bred more often, and that’s it.

I have no problem with critisms of breeding where critism is due, but please don’t jump to conclusions. There ARE some good breeders out there.

[DallasDelight]

Thank you for all the replies, it’s very much appreciated!
I’ve basically settled on a 4mo broken chestnut and white buck. She said he’s, quote, “very snuggly and loving”. She sent me a picture of him and he looks beautiful, shiny coat, shiny eyes and clean/healthy looking. Once I see him in person I’ll make the official decision, but as of now that is who it looks like I’ll be going home with. If I don’t choose him, I’ll probably go with the show quality Fawn buck(not sure of the age, he looks older though) she has. I’m so excited, we’ll be picking him up tomorrow evening!

K&K, I promise pictures of course!! I’ll probably have the pictures up on Sunday morning/afternoon, since we won’t get back until the middle of the night sunday morning. 1 or 2am is my guess.

[Ruffles&Daisy]

Your new bun sounds cute. We almost bought from a holland lop from a breeder. I felt fine about it since I didn’t know how else to get a rabbit besides the pet store, and pet stores aren’t my thing. Luckily I found a rescue and adopted Ruffles. I love lops and sometimes I wish I had one, but we lucked out with our bun and he’s super cute (and hey, $60 for a neutered rabbit was a bonus)

Question: I understand it’s a 5 hour drive, but once you bring him home, are you going to try to bond him to your current rabbit? What if it doesn’t work? I always thought the bunny should choose it’s mate.

[clevername]

congrats on the new bunny. Broken Chestnuts are beautiful.

[2lops]

congrats on finding a bunny! can’t wait to see picks he sounds awesome.

[bunnytowne]

gosh those are some real nice looking lops there at that breeder’s site. Wow.  I dont’ know why breeders get such a bad rap.  Well enjoy your new family member and yes pictures Hurrah.

[Author]

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