To Breed or Not to Breed? | |||||||||||||||||||
What would happen if you bred your rabbit? Would you find good homes for her litter in advance or give them to simply anyone? If you were to give them good homes you would probably think you were doing the right thing, but consider this: If you put all of the rabbits that you bred in deserving homes, you would be taking away homes for rabbits at a shelter who will be destroyed because they are unwanted. The House Rabbit Society web page on breeding says it best: "Shouldn't those of us who love rabbits take responsibility not just for our own beloved companions but also for the less fortunate ones, waiting at shelters?" The statistics for rabbits ending up dead at shelters are high; one of the descendant's of the rabbits you bred would probably end up in this terrible situation. These are the costs of overpopulation. What if the good homes that your rabbits were put in decide that they can't or don't want to care for the rabbit/s anymore? Where would the rabbits go? Would you take them back or see them go off to an animal shelter? For every new animal that goes into a shelter, one must die to make space for it. As a responsible breeder, you would need to take the rabbit back. You could also spay/neuter the rabbits before you give them out to new homes. Or, simply, you could not breed your rabbit. Rabbit overpopulation is caused because rabbits, because they are prey animals, produce litter after litter in order survive. As domestic animals, this creates overpopulation. Because rabbits reach sexual maturity between three and six months of age, they can start having litters early. Female rabbits ovulate after being mounted by a male. This is the only time that she will produce an egg. After giving birth, if the male is still present, the female can become pregnant within only 24 hours! Many problems may occur when rabbits are pregnant such as the following: If the mother becomes confused, she may not build a nest for her kits; therefore, the kits will die of exposure. If her milk does not drop, the kits will have to be fed by humans by hand. The death rate for hand-fed kits is very high. If the babies are big (this may occur if the father was larger than the mother), she may have trouble giving birth increasing the possibility that the mother and the kits won't survive. The mother may also become sick from stress caused by the birth. |
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