just had a litter from a new doe ,, waiting to see if the other 2 does are ready ,, one is acting like she is,,so,,,we'll see. EAster BUnnies sell for 5 bucks each,, and I usually cant keep enough

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 11, 2002

Answers

Stan:

Sorry, but my old MBA is kicking in again. Do you just sell a bunny or a complete package, such as the bunny, cage, feeder, waterbowl, an initial bag of feed, salt spool and perhaps a one-page information sheet on caring for a young rabbit? Instead of netting say $3, you might net considerably more that way.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 11, 2002.

Sorry, but the animal protectionist in me wants to point out that Easter bunnies are one of those "impulse pets" who are abandoned in droves about a month after the holiday. (Along with baby ducks and chicks.) Their lives are typically brief & neglected. You wouldn't believe the condition of these little things by the time they get to the sanctuary or other shelter. Pisses me off every single year. No offense to you personally, Stan, but I hope that you do something to educate your customers about what it means to keep a pet rabbit. A hand-out of some sort, that describes basic care? And I like Ken's idea of offering supplies for sale. At least that way you'd know you were sending the animal away with a reasonable chance for a decent life. Also, you should consider allowing the bunnies to be returned to you once the parents and the kids get sick of them. That way, you'd have a constant supply of bunnies, and it would also probably reduce the number who are banished to a cage behind the garage, or who are "set free" to face a miserable death.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 11, 2002.

Hmm, when I sell a rabbit, I always stress the facts of good upkeep. I wont (intentionally) sell to someone with snakes. At our rabbitry, we offer a free return policy that states: if you want to return the rabbit at any time in its life, you may. We will take him/ her back, but cannot give a refund (unless the rabbit was unhealthy when you bought it from us and dies within 48 hours of purchase). This way- if anyone buys an "amusement" and it quickly loses its appeal, they can return it to a better environment, I try to appeal to their compassionate side. So far, we have had 3 or so returns like that.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), February 11, 2002.

With all due respect to someone who needs to make a living, Stan, I absolutely must agree with Shannon, because

I get all my rabbits from Humane Society, garage sales, and classified ads (bunny and cage, all food & toys). These are "castaway" toys that children no longer have interest in and mom's tired of feeding and cleaning and saying "no, don't twirl the bunny by his back legs" "oh, he bit me, get him out of here" or cleaning up urine and manure balls from the utility room where the bunny has been banished, forgotten, and most likely unfed. Or worse, left outside in his cage with no water, foul weather, and the family dog. The local humane society now calls me first when they take one in, cause they've "inspected" (dear friend, word of mouth to the big guys) my place and know the animals will live out their lives in comfort.

NO No, I don't kill them.

I position their 36"x48" HUTCHES (not cages) around my food garden, grape vines, and roses to provide continuous fertilization without a lot of work. Manure will not burn, urine does not directly impact plants due to heavy mulching and irrigation system.

And I do NOT breed them. Each hutch is divided so two to a hutch, same gender, for company. And each has access to sunshine, grassy ground, as well as good fresh food and plenty of water. And love from all my family. Some need LOTS of taming and some are never good with children for the above stated reasons. They live good, comfortable long lives. But I wish with all my heart that people COULD NOT buy rabbits, chicks, ducks at Easter unless they could prove that the animals would be well housed and cared for.

Got my dogs the same way, but that's another story. Off my soapbox now.

-- Michaela (flhomestead@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

I send them off in a cardboard box,, with food for a few days,, tell them it needs a cage,, and care ect. I WONT take them back,, because of deises from whatever pet they already have. If they dont sell,,Ill eat them. I have extra cages and dishes for sale,, but have never sold one,, most say,,,I have one already,,or Im making one now.

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 11, 2002.

I raise plenty of rabbits but will not sell to the Easter parade of buyers. Many times these bunnies are not cared for and end up abuse, abandoned and dead! I would rather not sell them and see this happen. I'll raise them up and butcher them for meat, but I know they are cared for and treated well. I have only sold 2 pets in the past ten years and these were people that contacted me for several months prior to getting a rabbit, one lived to be 8 years old and died of old age the other is still a very much cared for family pet. Just my opinion. Denise

-- Denise (Rabbitmom2@webbworks.com), February 11, 2002.

I also refuse to sell to the Easter Bunny crowd....and I seldom sell to anyone who wants a pet for their child....

Bunnies make good pets but they can also make messes and they also require special care.

I did GIVE a bunny away last year to a place where i knew it would have a good home, but that also included a cage, water bottle, feed dish, and enough feed to last a couple of weeks....and the bunny was given away with the idea if it didn't work out they could return it....(you can always isolate that bunny for about two weeks to keep from bringing in diseases to your other rabbits). That bunny is thriving. She was not a fiber bunny but is a beautiful bunny just the same.

I now have 26 rabbits that I raise for fiber and I want to make sure that others treat their rabbits with the same respect that I do.

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), February 11, 2002.

We have a fellow locally who raises rabbits. He sells "Easter Bunnies" and pet rabbits. $5 each. He also guarantees that he'll buy your rabbit back from you any time you get tired of it -- for $5. He gets a good number of them back. Think about it.

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

think about paying to get them back?? why sell them in the first place?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 11, 2002.

Oops - left out an important part of the equation. This man raised meat rabbits for market. It worked for him.

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

if I could find someone with snales that wanted rabbits,,,, Id sell them in a heart beat. I stress good keeping,, but ,, once its sold,, not my responsibility,, if they want to mistreat their animals,, thats up to them,,I raise rabbits to sell, and for meat,, the only market I have ,,is for bunnies,, mostly as pets. Every kid needs to kill at least ONE pet,, fine by me if they buy it from me.

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 11, 2002.

Bernie's post reminds me of an old story:

Seems a school teacher couple from Boston rented the same summer cottage in Maine each year. Since it had a pig pen, they would buy a feeder pig off of a local farmer and lavishly feed it all summer on kitchen scraps, garden trimmings, fallen fruit and pig feed. At the end of the summer the farmer bought it back. Back in Boston they would tell their friends, "Isn't it wonderful. We have use of that pig all summer and the farmer will still give us back what we paid for it."

That guy is basically letting someone else grow out the rabbits.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 12, 2002.

Stan your making it hard to love you again !

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

Stan,I like the way you think. :>) Daryll

-- Daryll in NW FLA (twincrk@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

Stan, I agree with you. As a person getting in to raising rabbits for PROFIT, what happens to them after they leave me is not my problem. Now before I start getting FLAMED, giving a general care sheet and info is a good idea. You can access lots of info on the net and print out some pages. Also Stan, email me privatley, I have been looking into the snake market and can give you a few tips on where to advertise for free. I have found some people already and they are paying up to $2.00 per pound. Also BARF people want rabbits. As far as buying back. I would offer to take them back but would not pay. If you look at it from a business point of view, if you were to pay $5.00 for a fully grown rabbit, say 8 lbs, the process plant will only pay .65 per pound because they are not considered prime. At .65 cents a pound you would receive $5.20. You would not stay in business long operating like that. JMHO

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), February 12, 2002.

Tracy:

I think you missed one aspect. He isn't buying the rabbit back from them, just refunding their money. They took a bunny and returned a grown rabbit he can now sell. It cost him something to produce the bunny, say $2. So basically he only has $2 tied up in the rabbit he got back. Still near his original profit of $3.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 12, 2002.

Here comes another opinion-LOL! I don't think we have the right to jump on Stan for selling his goods. He is in the rabbit business and this is his money making time of the year. He shouldn't have to check up on each rabbit sold to see if it is living a good life. I wouldn't expect the beef, chicken, pork, or lamb farmers to do this either. There are a lot of HAPPY Easter bunnies still out in the pet world. Best wishes!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

My daughter's 'Easter Bunny' was called Hassenpheffer (sp) which is German for rabbit stew. We had him for a couple of years, and when she left for university, we gave him to a little cousin of mine. Dustin couldn't say Hassenpfeffer, so the rabbit's new name was Stewie. He has been one spoiled bunny rabbit, and is the boss of their barn - even keeping the cats in line. He does tricks, and Dustin had him trained to a leash for a while. But his name still indicates what he just might be someday.

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.