UNDERSTAND what you’re looking for and MAKE SURE what you’re getting is what you need!

Way too often these things do not align. People send me pictures all the time and say hey im getting this rabbit o what do you think of it. and if they are talking breeding (which is 90% of the time the goal), they are usually surprised when i ask for pictures of the rabbit they already own and plan to breed to.

Typically when you are buying a rabbit its not perfect… if it was the breeder would keep it lol. But like all things breeding, usually it has pieces, as a BREEDER your job is to evaluate what you have and find a mate that will make superior offspring. Granted to a certain extent its a crap shoot, but at the same time, if you breed to pancake rabbits together, don’t be surprized if you have a litter of pancakes!

Understand the difference between brood, show, proven and pet… PET should never be bred! There is a reason a breeder deemed it pet, usually its crappy quality but a sweet animal other wise most people will cull. other times its because the animal is a crappy parent, or has been linked to a genetic flaw.. maybe it wont show up in your line the first generation, but maybe 3 generations later its all across your rabbitry and lord knows how many else.

BROOD, this is the quality that most jrs SHOULD be sold as (you have no idea what a jr will finish as so to advertise a jr as show quality is just questionable!). Brood will also apply to ex show stock that has finished its show career and is in baby making. maybe the breeder used it once and got what they needed and decided to move it on. Bucks have a longer show career in general then does, but not always. Brood can also mean a jr/sr that has alot going for it, but the breeder knows it wont do well on the table, but will probably produce well in a program.

SHOW prospects… this ones tricky…. and very subjective! first of all, the true show prospects should be as close to sr if not sr so as to avoid surprizes (hell i’ve had a 4 month old rock the table and by 6 months old it was a cull, some rabbits just fall appart!). Show rabbits need more then colour and pattern!!! They need type and fur!!! Nothing makes a judge pissier then when his/her table fills up with “pretty culls” As i’ve heard more then one judge say. Its really easy on a tri to get the colour and the pattern, but to get it on a strong typed rabbit that also has fur! thats the challange!!

PROVEN stock is sometimes brood and sometimes show, but always refers to if they have (in a bucks case) sired litters, and (in does cases) raised a live litter (barring nature). I have heard of people selling bad moms who kill their litters as proven does, but thats unethical as the doe has not proven herself as a mother, just that biology works.

ONE LAST THING!
understand that not all areas are equal. A GC rabbit from one show region might be kicked off the table first in another region and vice versa, a rabbit with no legs in your area might kill it elsewhere.

As a BUYER, it is your responsibility to know what you need, and know what you are looking for, a good breeder will help you with that, but ultimately its your responsibility. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS!!! trust your gut, if something sounds fishy or you get a bad vibe, walk away.

As a BREEDER….. EAT MORE RABBIT!!! If you are not selling a rabbit you can be proud of you probably shouldn’t be selling it. Average 1 keeper in a litter, 2-3 brood/sale, and rest are cull eat. Thats an average, I’ve had whole litters be phenomenal, and i’ve had whole litters be write offs (more the latter -_- ) Keep the best eat the rest.