You are set! You know you want to buy rabbits. But what now?
How do you know if you are buying the right ones or if you are paying a fair price?
There are some key things you need to know off-hand before you start looking to buy rabbits to make sure you get animals that are going to help you reach your rabbitry goals.
It’s easy to get excited to bring home a new animal that was “just the cutest thing ever” but then end up with buyer’s remorse the next day.
Know Your Goals For The Animal AND Your Rabbitry
There are two aspects to this. When you are ready to buy rabbits you need to know your goals for the animal you plan to purchase and how it fits into your goals for the rabbitry overall.
I would love to bring home a few different breeds to play around with. But that would take space and feed from my goals in the rabbitry with the french lops.
When it comes to your herd as a whole. What part of your rabbits are you trying to improve on? Is it size, fur, color, bone, or overall body type?
NEVER sacrifice the overall quality of the animal for one good part of the rabbit. Here is what I mean. For my breed, the skull and head shape is very important. If I was trying to improve on the head or crown of my herd I would not buy a rabbit if had poor conformation in every other respect no matter how nice the head is.
There is this idea out there that if you breed two animals together that have good aspects where the other is lacking you will somehow get good or at least decent offspring….. Um. No sorry. The genes don’t know “we should only use these parts of each parent to make good babies” You could end up with REALLY BAD animals all around.
If you are just getting started then think about what qualities are most important to you and start with those.
AND think about what conformation would cause you to say no if the animal does not meet your standards. Get those standards in your mind so you can spot them without hesitation.
Be Able To Spot Irregularities
If you are familiar with the breed you will also be able to spot an animal that might be a mixed breed. Or just know when something is not quite up to par even if it is not the fault of the seller.
A perfect example in the rabbit world is people will mistake a rabbit being registered with simply having a pedigree. For dogs that is the case if they have a pedigree, they have been registered (in most cases). But rabbits can have a pedigree made by the breeder. Its not the same as being registered.
So if someone doesn’t know any better it may not the that they are trying to hide something but simply they don’t know. So if you see this kind of thing you know to double check other areas.
Know The Expected Temperament
Talk to a few breeders and ask what is “normal” for that breed. Some are a little more grouchy or jumpy than others. Even if it is a meat rabbit 12 weeks can seem like an eternity if it is trying to take your arm off every time you try to feed it.
Every animal/breed was meant to do something. There are many aspects that are affected by the genetic makeup of the rabbit including the temperament. Both good and bad.
Purebreds are not important to everyone and that’s ok. But for me, I like to know what is normal for a specific breed and what is bad behavior. This will also help you know where the animal is coming from and how you can correct the issues.
My Must Have Rabbitry Supplies
Know What Is A Good Price And Physical Value
I want you to do a little research to figure out what is the average price for the animal you are looking to buy.
Do some research in your area to see what is the highest price you can find and the lowest price you can find. But also pay attention to the animal itself. You can buy a thoroughbred for a few thousand dollars but you are going to see a very different price tag on a colt for sale at the Kentucky Horse Park. Make sense?
The quality is different.
Try to keep your search to the area around you. I know in the rabbit world the location has a big effect on the price. Further west you are going to pay a high price for almost any breed. Here in the eastern half of the country rabbits are not so scarce.
Whether your goal is to just buy a pet, 4-H animal, or to show in breed competitions. Look into the body type for that breed as well as if it has a complete pedigree. This is one of the top factors in pricing for an animal.
Know what is poor quality and what is top-notch. This will take some time to learn and one day it will just click. When you study a breed long enough you will be able to see the parts that could be tweaked.
Do they have a pedigree or registration papers? Some people will word this by saying “they have papers” this could mean a lot of things. Some people think because an animal has a pedigree they are registered which is not the case for rabbits. For some species, they can have a pedigree but not be registered like I mentioned earlier about rabbits.
Can The Rabbit Still Produce?
It is not likely that you will find someone willing to sell a proven rabbit that is still on the young side. With rabbits, there is this small window of where they are still young enough to keep producing but not as old as the hills and past producing.
I know there are some amazing animals that would still produce some great babies even after their prime. So if you are looking to get a few really nice babies out of them with the idea that they will retire soon. The give it a try if you have the budget. Just make sure that you are able to get some value to offset what you are paying for them.
As harsh as that sounds to have a sustainable rabbitry you have to think of it as a business. If you let your heart make all of the decisions you will be in over your paycheck.
