The Sell Out Blues

A LOT of folks have been selling out lately- some due to financial reasons, some due to stress reasons and some for both.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to give some ideas on how to reduce the money you put in to the hobby, the time commitment etc.

Multiple Breeds
If you have multiple breeds, pare it down. It hurts, but it'll hurt less in the long run. Get rid of the breed you are the weakest in, has the most upkeep (ie wooled), the largest... or just your least favorite. Less breeds means less rabbits, which means less time to clean cages, feed lasts longer, etc.

Color Projects
Got a color project on the side? Cut it out- or else make it your main focus.

Sell Cages
Whaaaaat? Oh yes. When you sell some animals, sell some cages as well. I could have 50 cages, get down to 20 rabbits and before I could blink, those 50 cages would be full again because I tend to want to keep EVERYTHING. However, if I sell down to 40 cages, I HAVE to sell animals because I can't keep them otherwise.

Evaluate the Entire Herd
EVERYONE keeps hanger ons. Take a look at your herd and evaluate the quality of every buck and doe. Is that doe one that only has singleton litters and is 2 1/2? SELL HER, unless she's producing BOB Convention type babies. That doe that you need to "fix" a lot on...sell her! That buck is part of every pedigree in your barn- so move him on out.

Cut down shows or show entries
I KNOW it's fun to go to a show every...single...weekend. Or to show every animal in the barn... but if your reasons for selling out are financial, consider cutting back on your shows and your entries! Really, 6 senior bucks in the same class is a waste! Pick the top 2-3 and either show the others next time or consider them in your herd evaluation.

These are just a few suggestions. If you really don't want to deal with rabbits anymore, they aren't going to help. If you're just feeling overloaded and stressed- they definitely will help.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry