29/12/2025
This is a post that I honestly feel that breeders not just rabbit and guinea pig breeders but weather you do horses, dogs, cats, sheep, fish, goats anything need to speak about really and I'm honestly expecting back lash from this but I also feel like it's so important especially when people say it's too expensive I can get cheaper elsewhere so here it goes:
Whether you breed small domestic pets or your large livestock animals I feel this topic doesn't get talked about enough!
People look at your advert and think oh cute baby ask you a million questions personally don't mind! But then ask to drop the price let's admit we all do but then get stroppy when you won't lower the price on the animal you have advertised then say they can get cheaper but why?
The cheaper babies probably haven't haven't had the parent's health tests haven't carefully minutes who the dad will be and jumped at the first one maybe a back yard breeder who won't let you see mum with babies maybe a quick money earner and I'm not saying any baby wasn't raised with love as they more than likely are.
Now what breeders don't talk about is the losses weather it's the mum or babies you lose.amd all I can say is that these losses never get any easier . When we carefully plan the matings ensuring the parent's health are paramount and you always prepare for C-Sections and sort of complications and you some what you prepare for loses then all babies are on the ground all seems well, your happy but you don't seem to relax and then it happens you lose a baby no warning nothing mares without foals, a bitch without a pup a sow without her piglet and this is the same babies rely onto their mummies so when they lose the only thing they have known its unbelievably sad to witness not only do you feel the loss of you beloved pet who end up like family you feel the grief for the others who lost their young or lost their mummy
I'm putting this post out here because we had our first litter of guinea pigs born nearly 4 weeks ago and unfortunately we have lost all 3 pups and now an extremely sad mummy who doesn't know why you babies are no longer with her (4 weeks tomorrow) we have also lost rabbits at 6 weeks most of us do not know what causes these losses as lot of animals can hide illness and pain very well so it makes it harder for us to notice sooner and when we do notice it's too late
So please when you message about all these cute babies and they haggle the price down please take a step back and please think of the time, love, patience, money and everything else we put into producing good quality babies and to better our breeds a lot of us never do this for money we do it to better the breed so they live long happy lives or for showing.
So please any breeders out there please please please be open about your losses, it's always so hard when we lose a mummy animal or baby it's always hard but this is always a side that people never talk about if there is a cause speak about it it can help other breeders learn too.
