06/19/2026
This post is not about any particular rabbit or breed but a common practice.
You will often see people list rabbits as pedigreed. They usually state this to give any prospective buyers the idea that the rabbit is special or more valuable.
I bring this up because I have seen people pay far too much for a rabbit that is pedigreed, only to get something of average or inferior quality. Or I’ve seen people pay extra just for the pedigree.
Keeping track of a rabbit’s ancestors is, in my view, a fairly basic bare-minimum practice. But a pedigree says absolutely nothing about the quality of the animal. And missing history is not necessarily a deal breaker either.
The primary purpose of a pedigree is to maintain a record of the rabbit’s ancestors in terms of their names and any unique identification (which can include ear tags, registration IDs, and in some cases a Grand Champion ID). It should also note the breed of each animal, the variety of each animal, and the weight of each animal. The more information it contains, the more likely it is that the line is a quality line, but missing information is not a deal breaker.
In order for a rabbit to be registered, the rabbit in question must have all the ARBA-required information, as well as its ancestors, and the animal itself must be show quality. Not all of the ancestors have to be show quality—they just have to be properly documented. Having a full pedigree, however, does not tell you if the animal is a quality animal. A registered pedigree does at least demonstrate that the animal is showable and that it has complete ancestry.
Regardless, none of these things will tell you what is in that bloodline. Recording genotype is not a required part of the pedigree, nor are genotypes listed on pedigrees always accurate. You don’t know if rabbits in that pedigree were horrible animals. You know nothing about structure, temperament, or health. And this is an inherent problem with pedigrees. Yes, all good breeders should track their breeding and create pedigrees, but pedigrees are not a good way to advertise or promote the quality of an animal. Registered pedigrees are better because they produce a permanent and verifiable record and demonstrate good record-keeping, plus the fact that the subject animal meets basic breed standards without any serious problems.
Many pedigrees will report “legs,” which are qualifying wins at sanctioned shows. Rabbits with lots of legs are rabbits that have won shows. While not perfect, this is a far better indicator of a quality animal than a simple pedigree. Even then, a lot of award winners on the pedigree does not mean the rabbit in question is a good animal.
At the end of the day, a lot boils down to the reputation of the breeder. Good breeders will breed to the standard and be honest about what they sell and what standards they are striving for. A good breeder will not jeopardize their reputation for a quick buck.
Beware of buyers that charge high prices for pedigreed rabbits without the reputation to go with it. Beware of breeders that claim they acquired their rabbits from “show lines”. Not everything that comes out of show lines is quality, and all too many breeders will sell inferior rabbits based on pedigree alone. Even good lines do not always produce good show quality results and no one should pay as much or more for rabbits that don’t meet the standards.
