Searching for tips for rabbit breeders? Here is a list of the top 10 tips that every rabbit breeder and enthusiast should follow.
In the last article of this rabbit informational series we discussed connecting with rabbit breeders. If you haven’t yet begun raising rabbits be sure to check out the the article on; How to Become a Rabbit Breeder.
10 Tips for Rabbit Breeders
I have taken part in raising rabbits ever since I was ten years of age. In the seventh grade I attended my very first rabbit show in the state of Texas and took 13th place with my rabbit meat pen! My first show success helped spur my interest in rabbit raising to a whole different level. Soon… I had a Large Texas Rabbitry consisting of several hundred rabbits. Over the years I have noticed that certain things help contribute to a rabbit breeder’s success, so below I have assembled a list of ten tips that every rabbit breeder should consider…
Tip #1 – Do your Research!: Too many rabbit enthusiasts make the mistake of jumping into the rabbit industry too quick. Many of these people go out and buy a bunch of rabbits with the hopes of starting a successful rabbitry. If this describes you, I commend you for your enthusiasm however I recommend that you sit down for a moment and “think”. Most successful rabbit raisers that I know today, started out small and gradually built up their “dream rabbitry”. These people took the time to RESEARCH before diving in. I recommend that you sit down for a moment and order a quality rabbit book to help you get started the right way. Don’t risk the long term success of your rabbitry, by failing to do the appropriate research. The good news is that there are several really nice rabbit books on the market which help teach you everything you need to know about raising and breeding rabbits. I recommend that you grab a copy of Raising Rabbits 101: http://raisingrabbits.us/ – This is a pretty cool (163 page) rabbit book which has been labeled by many rabbit enthusiasts as being the “Ultimate Guide to Raising Rabbits”. Click here to grab your copy of Raising Rabbits 101 for a discounted price.
Tip #2- Begin Small and Gradually Grow: As I mentioned above, many rabbit eager rabbit enthusiasts make the mistake of starting off too big. I believe it is important to start your rabbitry out small and gradually grow. Back when I was in the sixth grade I started my rabbitry out with a trio of californian rabbits consisting of two does and 1 buck. If I would have started out with a large number of rabbits, I doubt I would have been able to build up the successful rabbitry that I have today. As you go along you will naturally gain more knowledge and expertise about raising and breeding rabbits, when starting out small your knowledge and rabbit expertise will have a chance to grow alongside your rabbit herd.
Tip #3- Select a Rabbit Breed Carefully: As you will learn sometime or other, some rabbit breeds are better suited for certain rabbit raisers. Your rabbitry’s purpose should play an important role in determining the rabbit breed that you select. Note: Raising Rabbits 101 has a whole section dedicated to helping you select the right rabbit breed.
Tip #4- Purchase from a reputable rabbit breeder: Some of the best advice that I can give you if you are just getting started with your rabbit project is to try your best to purchase your rabbits from a reputable rabbit breeder. For more information on locating rabbit breeders check out the following article: How to Locate a Rabbit Breeder .
Tip #5- Get the Best Buck that you Can: When starting out I recommend that you try to buy the best buck that you can. Ideally you want all of your original rabbits to be high quality however if you have to comprise get the awesome buck rather than the awesome doe. The reason behind this recommendation is the fact that your buck will most likely be breeding more than one doe and producing more offspring than a single doe would.
Tip #6- Keep Quality Rabbit Records: One of the most important things you can do to help effectively manage your rabbitry is to keep up with your rabbitry records. You ideally should be keeping finance, breeding, management, health and pedigree records on your rabbits. Keeping good pedigree and ancestry records will make it easier in the long run to sell rabbits to other breeders.
Tip #7- Attend Rabbit Shows: You can learn a lot about raising and showing rabbits by just attending local rabbit shows held in your area. At rabbit shows you will have the chance to meet other rabbit enthusiasts which will most likely serve as valuable contacts when you are looking for rabbit advice.
Tip #8- Keep your Rabbitry Clean: If you are serious about raising rabbits the right way, then you should put high emphasis on keeping a clean rabbit barn. A clean well ventilated rabbit barn is a great place to produce quality rabbits. Don’t make the mistake of comprising the cleanliness of your barn in order to save maintenance time! I know cleaning up after your rabbits isn’t necessarily the most glorious task in the world however it is essential to maintaining the health of your rabbits and the reputation of your rabbitry.
Tip #9- Be Kind to Others: Kindness goes a long way in helping determine the reputation of your rabbitry. Even you have the best rabbits in the world, if you aren’t nice to people your rabbitry’s reputation will stay mediocre at best. Offer to help other people out and be reasonable when coming up with rabbit prices. Also be sure to give an honest evaluation of the rabbits you are selling if asked to do so. Point out faults along with the strengths on each of the rabbits that you are selling.
Tip #10- List your Rabbitry in our Breeders Directory: Lastly once you have an established rabbitry be sure to list it in our rabbit breeders list. To list your rabbitry, first be sure to sign up for our free newsletter. You can sign up using the Submit your Rabbitry tab on this site’s navigation toolbar. Once you sign up and confirm your subscription to our newsletter you will be sent an automated email with instructions on how to submit your rabbitry to our ever-growing rabbit breeders directory.
This is the final article in our 7 Part Rabbit Breeders Article Series, if I get the chance I will be adding more articles to this series sometime in the future.
Since you were dedicated enough to read through this article series and continue all the way to the end I have a special gift for you! 🙂
As I said before I recommend that every rabbit breeder grab their copy of Raising Rabbits 101– “The Ultimate Guide to Raising Rabbits”. The 163 page “Rabbit Bible”, is currently on sale for $17/copy.
Here is a special coupon code from me which will allow a limited number of people to grab Raising Rabbits 101 for an additional 25% OFF: rabbittips
Grab your copy now: http://raisingrabbits.us/
Happy Rabbit Raising + Talk Soon!
-Aaron-