"Backyard Breeding"

[icygirl]

It's 2 am here and my brain has been pondering again... So here goes...

I see the term "backyard breeding" tossed around craigslist all the time. I'm assuming this is an offensive term for people who are not *real* breeders but do it for either fun, fascination, or profit, and then try to sell off the animals. It's unclear to me exactly how much this term applies to snakes or reptiles in general, but for the sake of this post I will assume that it applies.

I've never bred snakes, but I maybe would want to someday. Of course, that would make me a backyard breeder, right? But, don't all breeders start out like that? Maybe it's a natural process in keeping animals... First you own one, figure out its husbandry and feeding patterns until you have them down. Then, maybe you pick up a few more of them to add to the collection. Then you wonder if you could try your hand at successfully breeding, so you start doing the research...

I'd like to survey the crowd here... What do you think about the term "backyard breeding"? When is breeding snakes appropriate, and when is it not?

[claytonfaulkner]

no you got it all wrong, backyard breeding is when you train your snake how to find its way back to its cage come feeding time and to breed the animal your just let it go in the backyard and it goes and finds another snakey to hookup with and after shes carrying his love juice she comes back to the cage for feeding time. its a cheaper alternative than having to buy males only downside is you never know what your getting

[spix14]

I reserve the term "backyard breeder" for those who breed animals solely for profit, without keeping them in proper conditions, without giving them health care, and a lack of knowledge about the animals themselves. In other words people who just breed for the sake of breeding and are just trying to make a quick buck. The kind of people who will sell you a sickly animal and then disappear off the face of the earth when you try to contact them.

People who are breeding for the love of the animals and give them the proper care are not, in my estimation, backyard breeders. They are just beginners who haven't made a name for themselves yet. I'll be joining those ranks in a year or two.

[BastianUSA]

no you got it all wrong, backyard breeding is when you train your snake how to find its way back to its cage come feeding time and to breed the animal your just let it go in the backyard and it goes and finds another snakey to hookup with and after shes carrying his love juice she comes back to the cage for feeding time. its a cheaper alternative than having to buy males only downside is you never know what your getting

LOL

[boost3d05]

I reserve the term "backyard breeder" for those who breed animals solely for profit, without keeping them in proper conditions, without giving them health care, and a lack of knowledge about the animals themselves. In other words people who just breed for the sake of breeding and are just trying to make a quick buck. The kind of people who will sell you a sickly animal and then disappear off the face of the earth when you try to contact them.

People who are breeding for the love of the animals and give them the proper care are not, in my estimation, backyard breeders. They are just beginners who haven't made a name for themselves yet. I'll be joining those ranks in a year or two.

yea, i agree with you spix...i am offended by the word if it would ever be used @ me. although i am not a breeder right now, i do love my snakes and trying to grow my collection for that special day.

i am sure someone on craigslist had a real bad experience and wanted to make it known to others about the inexperience and lack of care/passion that these snakes need to be happy and healthy.

i work @ the local pet store, and i am distgusted almost everyday that i work there the lack of care/knowledge people want to take in and absorb and actually go through with it....so I'm not really suprised that there are a lot of people out there trying to breed some cool morphs to make a buck, meanwhile the snake is miserable and couped up in a small container without heat or water

[mrmertz]

Dittos. No matter what type of animal it is, "backyard breeders" are in it purely for the most profit in the shortest amount of time. And that's with disregard to the care and well-being of the animals at hand and to the future of the particular species itself.

In Catalina, AZ just up the road from us Pima Animal Control and the Pima County Sheriff's department raided a property with over 700 dogs on the premises. They were breeding them for dog fighting.

[boost3d05]

wow man^ thats horrible....thats prob a lose-lose situation b/c a lot of the dogs prob have diseases (bc of poor living conditions) and might have to be put down

[Gloryhound]

I reserve the term "backyard breeder" for those who breed animals solely for profit, without keeping them in proper conditions, without giving them health care, and a lack of knowledge about the animals themselves. In other words people who just breed for the sake of breeding and are just trying to make a quick buck. The kind of people who will sell you a sickly animal and then disappear off the face of the earth when you try to contact them.

People who are breeding for the love of the animals and give them the proper care are not, in my estimation, backyard breeders. They are just beginners who haven't made a name for themselves yet. I'll be joining those ranks in a year or two.

Very good definition! I believe the care and health of the animals should be the first priority if you are just a collector or you are a breeder. Also as a breeder you need to be ready to take care of each baby that is born for as long as it takes. You may have plans to sell them, but they may never sell! At this point a responsible is ready to feed and care for those snakes properly. Also regardless of the situation I don't think a breeder should sell a sick snake even if in person and the buyer knows what they are getting into. This is just a bad practice that should be avoided at all costs.

[Subzero]

Ok so when you see a newscast on someone being arrested for animal abuse, (lady in a trailer with 400 Shi'-tzu's) (breeding). Thats backyard breeding.

Another version of it, breeding a pair, then breeding the same male back to all of his own offspring, over and over again, untill you get spider head wobbles.

[filly77]

400 dogs ugh, i'd say would be classified as a hoarder or a puppymill or both lol

My idea of a BYB are people who just breed because all they see is "hey my dogs cute and it's a purebred, lets breed it" or "my dog has papers, lets breed it" they think to themselves, we can make cute puppies and a little bit of money.

Mills are the ones who do it solely for the profit-whether they have 2 dogs or 100's! Not the love of the animals, which is evident enough by looking at the deplorable conditions the animals are kept in, they live in their own feces, small cages their whole lives and never even know what love from a human is like, they are lucky if they are fed right, never mind vetted!! Most of the time BYB's do care about their family pet, but just aren't educated enough to know any better, they just assume because their dog appears healthy, that it is. Maybe it is, but what genes does it carry? Yes Im sure there are many that just don't care about the animals they are producing as all they'd see is "cute puppies & a little profit".

Mills & BYB's do not have them tested for genetic flaws or std's such as Brucellosis, they are usually not aware of their background. BYB's will breed a dog that came from a pet store (mill dog) or another BYB, they will disregard the breeds ACK, UKC, CKC standards, if the dogs are too large or too small, it usually leads to problems, which is why I can't tell people enough, their are standards for a reason.

But most people assume just because their dog is papered, it makes their dog a higher quality dog, which is the furthest from the truth!! An AKC dog does not have to be bred to standard or even tested for *anything* (health or temperament) to be allowed to breed, and if both parents even if it's the poorest quality of the breed, are allowed to be papered & bred, then those pups are also allowed to be registered to the AKC. The dogs can be blind, have heart defects, riddled with hip/elbo dysplasia, patellar luxation..the list goes on..

I've heard that many of the american bred GSD's are so weak nerved, they give them sedatives so they can show the dog without it spooking. They are made stand in that very showy stance, it's abnormal. After years of making them stand like that, it's no wonder why they have so many hip & spine problems and are weak in the rear. Their drives were bred out of them. They can't excel at what the breed was originally bred to do.

I wish we were more like the UK, dogs over there have to be tested first! And with the working breeds, they need to be tested for genetic flaws, temperament tested and also titled in SOMETHING whether its herding, Schtz, Ring Sport, Police work, Shows etc. But testing always comes first, and if they don't pass, they are spayed/neutered right away and legally not allowed to breed or be titled in anything!

it's truly sad to see what we americans (as a whole-don't take offense) have done to the dog breeds. Breeding inferior dogs is allowed but they want to ban transporting snakes across state lines? Unbelievable! It really makes me sick to think about.

well I think i've said my on back yard breeding lol

~Maizie