Rabbit Breeder Basics

Keriann
Jan 29, 2023
5 min read

Updated: Feb 14

Breeding rabbits requires responsibility, dedication, respect and education. This is an informative guide for those who are new to breeding or want to get into it. What this is not is an encouragement to get into it, you must be educated and dedicated. Ethics Ethical breeding includes responsibility and education. Learning about how to care for rabbits as well as educating yourself on the breed's history are important for getting started. Breeding is not for those who are in it for the money, it is not a multi million dollar business. Responsibly breeding means you've done your breed research of what breeds can be and shouldn't be crossed. Responsible breeding includes understanding that when you have a doe, she must be the same size or bigger than the buck. Treating animals with respect for what they provide us (companionship, meat, etc) is important in the process of being an ethical breeder. The treatment of breeding animals reflects the type of person the breeder is. These are creatures who think and feel, have personalities and love so we must treat them as such. Being sure you put effort into finding the kits forever homes is part of being ethical. Making sure that they homes are safe and committed to their new pet by providing your pet owners with educational information and the availability to contact you if they need anything. Allowing your adopters to return the rabbits to you helps prevent dumped domestic rabbits in the wild as well as overflowing rabbit sanctuaries and shelters. Housing Providing them with ideal housing, access to hay and water as well as treats and veggies are important to their success as pets, show or therapy rabbits. Many homesteaders and show breeders prefer to use cages that save space with wire bottoms and it is very common for rabbit enthusiasts to be against wire bottoms as it can create sore hocks. However, as long as the rabbits are getting adequate time outside of that cage, sore hocks will not happen. It can be prevented. Hutches, plastic bottom cages and dog pens/xpens are more ideal setups and what is recommended for pet owners but it can make a world of a difference for homesteaders who breed for show or hobby. It is common for pet owners and breeders to house their rabbits outside year round (if you have great weather all year) but what do we do if we get snow and low temperatures? Winterizing your outdoor setup (hutches or a shed usually) improves their wellbeing. Covering any openings like chicken wire windows with cardboard, plywood or clear shower curtains can help prevent the elements from getting inside as well as protect from harsh winds. Adding straw (used in horse stalls) can add warmth for the rabbits and if you have more than one, coupling your buns will help create more warmth as they can huddle together. Be sure to only pair male with male and female with female when not actively breeding. Diet + Enrichment If you are a breeder, you are already very familiar with a rabbits diet. Making sure you have enough stock for your herd is important especially in the winter because they need extra water/hay to keep their temperature regulated. Oxbow is a favourite here for hay, snacks and supplements.

Providing your rabbits (whether for meat, show, or pets) with enrichment is important for the overall wellbeing and happiness. This can be in the form of chew toys and hideouts in their space or unconventional toys like stacking cups for toddlers or cat toys. Oxbow creates wonderful enrichment toys for example. Small pet beds and cat tents/tunnels are also great options for when you are socializing your rabbits. Rabbits instinctively want a place to hide and relax so being sure you can provide that when they get their time outside their shelter is important.

If you have your rabbits outdoors, be sure to have these enrichment items inside and bring your rabbits indoors for playtime and socializing. It sets them up for success when it comes time to find their forever home if they are socialized and litter trained indoors. Socialization cannot be forgotten as it seems like the easiest part, right? You're always there feeding them, but they need more contact than just that. These creatures are very similar to cats and dogs with their social/activity needs. Rabbit Colors

All colors listed below are ARBA Standard for the breed, however we did choose to include harlequin which is not standard for show in Mini but has been becoming commonly seen. Due to Mini Plush not being a recognized breed yet, none of the colors listed are "show quality" but are commonly seen and bred. More rare or sought after colors in the rabbit world include blue eyed white, chocolate and shaded. The Vienna gene is responsible for blue eyes and Vienna carriers will not have dutch-like marking like their Vienna marked counterparts. When beginning a breeding program for a specific color, tortoise can be used with almost anything. Always begin with two does and one buck, more may become a bit confusing and just one doe/one buck may not be enough to make the color program flourish. It is very 50/50 among breeders, breeding broken to broken results in gastrointestinal issues. These rabbits have very minimal broken pattern on them and are referred to as Charlies. For the wellbeing of the rabbit, we do not recommend breeding broken to broken. Our Holland Lop color program focuses on Broken and Agouti groups. Our Mini Lop color program focuses on the Wide Band group.

Our Mini Plush Lop color program focuses on Chocolates.

H O L L A N D L O P S Agouti: Chestnut, Chocolate, Chinchilla, Chocolate Chinchilla, Fox, Lynx, Opal, Squirrel

Broken: Any color with white (includes tri color). Pointed White: Black, Blue Chocolate, Lilac Self: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Ruby Eyed White, Blue Eyed White Shaded: Frosted Pearl, Sable Point, Seal, Siamese Sable, Smoke Pearl, Tortoise Tan: Otter (black, blue, chocolate, lilac) Ticked: Gold Tipped or Silver Tipped Steels in Black, Chocolate, Blue or Lilac Wide Band: Cream, Fawn, Frosty, Harlequin, Orange, Red