I am always amazed by the individuals who "Oooh, you must make lot of money from the pit bull puppies". The fact is, if you are doing it right, getting all the necessecary vet checks etc., you rarely make money on a litter. The cost of having a litter of pit bull puppies adds up, even if no complications are encountered.
The cost estimated below for a litter of four pit bull puppies until eight weeks of age are on the low end of normal, especially the cost of the bitch herself. A good breeding-quality bitch (wich for many is the same as a show-quality bitch) can cost between $800 and $2000. The following assumes that you are getting the necessary testing, that you are breeding to a stud of quality that is equal to or better than the bitch, and that everything goes perfectly with the pregnancy and delivery.
Item Estimated Cost Prior to breeding Purchase of bitch (adult) $800.00 one year of food, shots, etc. $300.00 supplies: crate, toys, etc. $100.00 OFA check $125.00 vWD check $140.00 Thyroid check $50.00 Eye check $25.00 Total prior to breeding $1540.00
At time of breeding brucellosis and culture $70.00 round-trip shipping of bitch $320.00 stud fee $350.00 Total at time of breeding $740.00
For a litter of four pit bull puppies: extra food/vitamins for dam $50.00 food/vitamins for pit bull puppies $70.00 dewclaw removal $48.00 first shots (at vet's) $50.00 vet check of pit bull puppies $80.00 Total cost for pit bull puppies $298.00 Total cost of litter: $2578.00
This $2578 does not include the cost of of the time you have spent on the litter: the time spent socializing and housebreaking the dam; sleeping beside the welping pen waiting for the pit bull puppies; assisting in the delivery; cleaning the puppy pen; going to the vet for dewclaws,shots,etc,; and interviewing potential buyers for the pit bull puppies.
Now look at the price of pet pit bull puppies in your part of the country. Even if all four pit bull puppies from this litter are sold, would you recover your cost? For example, pet pit bull puppies from reputable breeders here in Phoenix area sell for $400.00. At that price, I would losse $978.00 on this litter. ( And if I kept one puppy from this litter, add another $400.00 to that figure.)
But, you say, I won't have some of these expenses for the second litter--I can make up this dificit by breeding her a second time. Not really. Assuredly, I won't have the purchase price of the bitch, nor even the vWD or OFA testing cost. But I will have everything else. THese expenses total $1413.00, again not accounting for the time I put into this endeavor. Again, if I sold all four pit bull puppies for $400.00, I would get $1600.00--a profit of $187.00. At this rate, I would recoup the loss from the first breeding on this bitch's seventh litter and have a total profit of $56.00.
There are only two ways to make a profit breeding pit bulls. One way is to reduce costs. Yes, I can learn to do some things myself, such as give shots to the dam and her pit bull puppies myself and do the dewclaws myself. Many reputable breeders do these things for themselves. This will reduce my cost a tad.
I could also not get the OFA, Eye, Thyroid, vWD, brucellosis or cultures done. That would save me quite a bit of money. But then, how would both I and the purchaser know that these pit bull puppies did not inherit a genetic dissorder? These are not the actions of a reputable breeder.
This second method of making a profit would be to establish a reputation of breeding top quality show pit bulls and selling show prospects and show-quality older pit bulls for an increased price. However, this really does entail more work and expense because I would first have to demonstrate that my pit bulls do win in the show ring on a consistent basis. Ah, but this would involve paying entry fees, handlers or traveling to the shows myself, buying grooming supplies, paying for photos of my wins and advertising these wins etc., etc., etc.
Is there really any profit to be made in breeding pit bulls?
www.pitbull.co.nr
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