Second Life is a huge place with tons of things to explore and discover.
One of the areas I’ve never really explored is breedables.
Most of what I remember from breedables is old – back when they were script-laden, lag-inducing nightmares.
I must confess, breedables leave me scratching my head.
I’ve seen them, I’ve heard people talk of them, but I’ve never really owned one.
Well, I own a cat – but it does not have the ability to breed, so technically I’ve never owned one. 😛
I actually own three cats, but after a recent move, I don’t see them coming out of my inventory often (if at all).
One of my neighbors (*waves at Winnie*) has breedable horses, so I asked her some questions about them.
I understand breeding for desirable traits and then selling them for profit.
I’ve seen horses, I’ve seen cats, I’ve seen dogs, I’ve seen rabbits – I started wondering what else is out there.
So I did a quick search on Marketplace to see what came up.
Breedables is its own category – something I had never noticed before.
Over 16K items, so clearly it’s a popular market.
I saw Meeroos, Snuffles, Zooby’s, KittyCats, FennuX, and on and on.
There was even a ‘Beginner’s Guide’ for Meeroos.
Someone please explain the appeal of breeding to me.
Is it strictly a for-profit business for most?
Why would someone want to own a breedable?
I get the appeal of having a pet or a companion, but most breedables have to be fed, yes?
So there’s an on-going maintenance cost – what are the benefits?
Why have a breedable rather than just a ‘wearable’ or scripted pet?
Is it the fun/challenge of breeding new or desirable traits?
Do they require a lot of prims?
Can you trade them?
Soooo many questions!
There is also apparently on-going litigation between Amaretto Ranch Breedable Horses and Ozimals regarding DMCA.
I have enough lawyers in my RL, I don’t need to add them into my SL!
A Kat and A Mouse 
I have one breedable dog (set not to breed) which I have to feed it forever or send it to dog heaven. I do have other dogs which I bought as “pets” so no feeding. Someone gave me two breedable (also set not to breed) cats years ago but they need feeding too. Every time their bowl gets almost empty I swear I am going to take them into inventory. But then I cave and go buy more food. I don’t even like cats in RL or SL.
I think breedables are a way for the CREATORS to make money from selling food. Period. I suppose some people made money selling the progeny at one time but they soon fall out of favour as the next breedable comes along.
You can see I don’t get it either. 🙂
I think my cats will stay in inventory for the time being. Instead I used the prims to decorate a little corner of my new skybox so my poor hubby has a place to sit when he logs in. 🙂
After doing a bit of research about the breedables (including Dwarfins), I can see the appeal, new traits, interactions, etc. But yes, the ongoing cost is certainly a factor. Food is ridiculously expensive – thank goodness I turned off breeding and could make it last over twice as long with the kitties!
From what I understand the are good sized communities around most breedables. I belive my missus does Papillions for fun (self regulating butterflys and plants, silly cheap). She also does Meeroos which make her some money. For a virtual world, there are not that many ‘games’ in Second Life. I reckon breedables fill that spot a little bit.
Perhaps that is a large part of the appeal, something I forgot to consider – the community aspect. Everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere, maybe breedables is how they accomplish that. 🙂
I have kittycats that I don’t breed, but I do breed my horses, but I don’t sell them. I really just like to see what traits I can breed, I find it fun. The food thing does make me bonkers, but if you’ve been in my coffee house and seen the unbreedable, unfeedable dog that climbs vertically up the walls, well, the breedables are much better quality. You can also ride the Amaretto horses and I’ve been known to go barrel racing or cruise Route 7 or ride around some of the riding sims which are quite gorgeous. If you choose not to breed, you can buy pet food which is much less expensive than breeding food and lasts a lot longer. I have times when I pick them up into inventory too. Most breeders allow you to trade in unborn babies or older pets for some sort of monetary compensation which allows you to put that toward your food, so that’s what I do if my pet is too old to breed or the unborn baby doesn’t have cool enough traits.