The Ugly

This is the third and final post in this series of three. So far we've talked before about the good stuff- how cute and fun raising rabbits can be. We've also talked about the bad stuff- how crazy and messy raising rabbits can be. Now let's talk about some of the horrid items that rabbit breeders have to deal with as a matter of course- aka the ugly side.

Let's start with a scenario: Someone contacts you to buy a rabbit. They send pictures of their set-up, they seem to have researched what they want/need, have housing and everything, and are ready to buy. Even though you hesitate to part with a rabbit you wanted to keep, you decide that it may help this person get started and go for it. Hey, if no one took a risk with you then how would you have been started, right?

Then when you go to meet them though, they are late.. not five minutes late, but an hour and a half late. They keep calling saying they are almost there while you sit around waiting.

Alright, they've arrived. They seem nice and you second guess your concerns about selling even though a few statements they make about the breed you need to correct. No problem. You go over your care sheet, provide food hay for the transition, answer questions, go over items like nail clipping. All is well and they leave.. but the very next day they contact you and are concerned because the rabbit isn't eating all of a sudden. You find out that they ignored all of your instructions, stressed the new rabbit out with tons of family, and then fed fruit/vegetables on the DO NOT FEED list you provided. You try to provide more information, emphasize that they should never offer that food item, and encourage them to contact a vet or even come back and meet you again.

They swear they will contact a vet and they say they already have one. But, they don't. Should I mention that instead of the vet they decide to call you at all hours of the night? You tell them the hours you are available, but find that even the questions asked are the same ones answered on the care sheet like what kind of hay to offer. A good start would be the hay that you already provided, right? The problems just keep coming. Now you have spent a good twelve hours talking to them off and on at all hours of the day and night, not to mention the time in e-mail... all for a $25 rabbit that you reduced the price to just $15 on to save the family a little bit of money. By the way, in the meantime the rabbit has been eating and doing fine when they finally started the rabbit on the right track.

Then you get the call a few months later (while the questions continue in the meantime) that they don't want the rabbit anymore because rabbits aren't what they expected after all. They don't want a shy prey animal- they want a puppy! Will you take the rabbit back and give them a refund? Oh and it has to be today and they are already on their way over to your town.

Yes, one ugly aspect of raising rabbits is that you will have buyers that you will swear exist for the sole purpose of driving you crazy! And then there are the actual crazy people that pose as buyers but are in fact PETA animal rights activists that are trying to find a way to access your rabbits to "free them." (One of the reasons I won't meet people at my house anymore.) Or the buyers that suddenly produce a dozen litters locally that look just like the pet rabbit you sold them even though they swore the pet rabbit they purchased was scheduled to be neutered.

You aren't safe from liars and cheaters if you don't sell to the public because breeders aren't exempt from this either and you have to get your starting stock from somewhere. To give you an example, I purchased a group of rabbits from a breeder that was supposed to be reputable. Because of this and because I still had the newbie mentality to trust a stranger in rabbits, I purchased them based on pictures and a friend transported them to my state after a show. Let me just say simply that they were grossly misrepresented. And I don't mean in just a case of poor type or something- I mean they were sick culls that I paid money for and ended up having to euthanize. Do you know what the seller did? Nothing. She didn't refund me a dime and continues to sell poor culls to newbies while enjoying a good reputation in the community as a successful exhibitor. Ugly? Yes, but it happens and more often than people think. 

Another ugly item that I already briefly mentioned is that there will be people that think you are the devil for raising rabbits and may try to sabotage you or your property. Some people are just against breeders of any species for any reason and make it their life's mission to stop you. Others think all rabbits should be free. Even ignoring for a second that domestic rabbits probably won't survive in the wild regardless, a third group are really just trouble-makers as sad as it is. They might live nearby and report you to AC because they are bored. Or be a disgruntled family member or friend. Or even a show competitor that is jealous of your win. Even if AC shows up and finds no problems at all in a perfect rabbitry, this can be a stressful event and occurs for no other reason than someone is being ugly.

If you are reading this post, then you probably have animals of some kind, likely rabbits. To me the most ugly part of having any animal, but especially smaller animals like rabbits is that they inevitably take a turn and sooner than you are ready for (are you ever really ready though?). If you are fortunate then they may pass away in their sleep, but much more likely than that is that you will have to make the decision to humanely euthanize them to prevent unwanted pain and suffering and/or a poor quality of life.

Now if you compound this with raising rabbits, then not only will you have to deal with death and sickness from a pet standpoint, but you will have to deal with several other items like protecting your herd from illness, preventing an inferior or malformed rabbit from passing along defective genes, and even something like population control if there is no other outlet for culls. In translation, it means that as a breeder while someone gets to enjoy the aspects of having life around like new kits in the nestbox, they also have to take responsibility for every rabbit born or purchased in the form of death dealing. Yes, the ugly fact is that rabbit breeders not only deal with life, but become very well acquainted with death as well. This is an uncomfortable and often distressing aspect of raising rabbits. Even meat breeders post all the time about how difficult it is when slaughter day arrives and how they struggle to rationalize feeding their families with wholesome home-grown meat even knowing that it comes from the babies they so carefully raised. Are you ready to be the hand that makes the appointment, the finger that pulls the trigger? This is a very serious consideration.

Death is ugly.

And so are several other items we've discussed. I really wish someone would have told me about all of the good, bad, and ugly parts of raising rabbits before I started, but unfortunately some of this literally comes with experience. Although many of these topics are not fun (though some are of course), I hope it has provided insight into raising rabbits for your consideration. Thanks for reading!