National Federation of Flemish Giant

Rabbit Breeders, Inc.

By Allen Bush, Secretary

   The following article is one of many outstanding ones in our new guidebook.  We have an excellent blend of experienced breeders and great youth members.  For membership info see our website www.nffgrb.com.

Purchasing a Flemish Giant(s) to start your breeding program is probably the most important activity a newer member will have during the first several years of his or her career in Flemish.  I would like to take this time to share some of my experiences and opinions on this very important topic.  Tammy and I started in Flemish Giants in the early 1990’s.  We contacted the breed secretary and asked him for a person who could best help us to get a start in Flemish.  Roger Dent, without hesitation, recommended Harold May.  We contacted Harold and drove 600 miles to his Rabbitry in our Chevrolet Corsica.  We were both extremely excited on the trip.  We wondered what Harold’s Rabbitry would look like and how many rabbits he had.  When we arrived at Harold’s home and started in his Rabbitry we were truly amazed.  It was far beyond any of our expectations.

Harold’s first question to us was “What are you looking for?”  I replied that I wanted some rabbits that I could breed and help us to get started.  I explained to him that we did not want to purchase rabbits for showing.  We wanted to develop our own breeding program.  I saw a smile cross his face when I humbly told him that we wanted to learn and he should pick out some rabbits that he thought would help us to get started.  We wound up leaving Harold’s Rabbitry with several nice animals which formed the foundation of our start in Flemish.  Harold spent several hours going over his rabbits.  For the first ten years of our membership into Flemish we have never shown an animal that did not have our tattoo in its ear number.  We are going to end this tradition with a few animals in 2003 which we have traded for some of our own stock.  With this brief background into our start, I would like to list a few of my thoughts in purchasing your first Flemish.

 

1. It is best to attend a couple of Flemish shows before you actually purchase a Flemish Giant
2. Study the show reports and determine who the experienced and successful breeders are at the time you are getting started.
3. Pick a successful breeder or breeder(s) and visit their rabbitries to make your first purchase(s).
4. When asked what you are looking for, make sure that you do not come off like you know everything, or you are just interested in purchasing a rabbit that will win right away at the next show.  This is probably the one thing you can do which will alienate almost every experienced breeder.
5. Try to let the experienced breeder pick out rabbits that he or she thinks will be able to help you get started.  An experienced breeder knows their rabbits better than anyone and will be the best judge of what may work to help you get started.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on how the rabbits are being cared for.  This should include environment, housing, cleaning and feed.
7. Remember to bring plenty of carriers when you start your trip.  You will usually end up purchasing more rabbits than you originally had planned on.
8. Make sure that the animals you are purchasing do not have sore feet.  A breeder may have some animals that he or she has not actually taken out of the cage in a while.  An animal can develop sore feet and still be cared for in an excellent manor.  Normally, the breeder will be more than willing to pick another animal for you in this situation.
9. If you purchase an animal and have bad luck with it, call the breeder and ask to purchase a replacement.  Normally, the breeder will sell you two for the price of one the next time, or may even give you a replacement.  Do not accuse an experienced breeder of selling you a sick animal.  Most all experienced breeders do not have sick animals.  A rabbit can develop any type of problem when it is moved to a new environment.  Usually, it is not the breeder’s fault.  It is just something that happens when you raise animals.
10. The most important thing is to be very respectful to the “Experienced Flemish Breeders.”  It can take several years to be established as an “Experienced Flemish Breeder.”  However, you can experience success right away with the proper breeding stock and caring for your rabbits.  Please keep in mind that even the most “Experienced Flemish Breeder” can still learn something new about raising Flemish Giants every day.