choosing a breed... Help?

[dewey]

I hope they all taste the same! I think I'll end up getting californian and new zealands, and experimenting with some crosses from those. I'm not looking for purebred. BUT I do want the kits to pretty much look alike so that way I won't get attached to any! I'm a bit of a sucker for furries.

Those breeds and their crosses are excellent choices for meat production, as are several others, including their crosses. Breeds that have been carefully bred for their great meat production is the safest bet...something that's been proven over and over for generations in show meat pens. It's usually a significant delay, in time and cost, at the very least, trying to line or inbreed total unknown multi-breed crosses to try to eventually improve or create a good meat stock line when good quality meat breeding stock is available to start with, also usually at a significant cost savings.

 

[Holachicka]

I have worked at UCD Veterinary Pathology Dept.. For reseach purposes, I had personally bred ( into the thausands) an allready inbred line of mice for 29 generations ( father x daughter, son x mother, brother x sister) with no ill effects. So probably over 100 generations. The resulting offspring were virtual genetic clones of each other. This was in the days before actual cloning was even possible. I inbred ( into the high hundreds) a line of guinea pigs for 20 generations, again no ill effects. I have inbred ( into the thausands) a line of rabbits for 15 generations with no ill effects. Yes, we necropsied them and examined their cell tissues under microscopes. The only time one will run into a difficulty is only if there is a genetic fault in the original parent stock, failure to ruthlessly cull any obveous deformed or unthrifty offspring and their parents, or a new faulty mutation that spontaniously may pop up. A large animal example in inbreeding is the Morgan horse breed. All of them descend from ONE original stallion... Justin Morgan. How do you think new species are formed? A new mutation in a single individual that when it's offspring then has an competative advantage to survival in their environment over their original counterparts. Or an environmental change in an isolated area that kills off any individual or group that can't adjust to the new change, then the survivors will breed on. Or an isolated group invades a new territory and interbreeds with a closely related group, which then has a genetic advantage for survival for that environment.

I know It's pretty ignorant of me, but it still gives me the creeps! It's good to know though because whatever I end up getting will most likely have some inbreeding.

 

[Holachicka]

I hope they all taste the same! I think I'll end up getting californian and new zealands, and experimenting with some crosses from those. I'm not looking for purebred. BUT I do want the kits to pretty much look alike so that way I won't get attached to any! I'm a bit of a sucker for furries.

Those breeds and their crosses are excellent choices for meat production, as are several others, including their crosses. Breeds that have been carefully bred for their great meat production is the safest bet...something that's been proven over and over for generations in show meat pens. It's usually a significant delay, in time and cost, at the very least, trying to line or inbreed total unknown multi-breed crosses to try to eventually improve or create a good meat stock line when good quality meat breeding stock is available to start with, also usually at a significant cost savings.

I definately want to stick with the meat breeds or their crosses. I've read that "Pet" breeds can be faty, and the advantage of the fast growth and bone to meat ratio of the meat breeds really appeals to me. The longer the kits hang around, the harder it will be to not become attached.

 

[rabbitgeek]

Line breeding is controlled in-breeding. It's used to reinforce genetic traits. So when you have a great rabbit, it's a proven way to almost "clone" that rabbit. But care must be taken to cull any rabbits that don't meet the mark since any undesireable traits will also be reinforced by linebreeding. Line breeding is common in many types of livestock.

That's why the animals used in labs are linebred and inbred. To have consistent genetic traits during testing.

Have a good day!

 

[rabbitgeek]

I hope they all taste the same! I think I'll end up getting californian and new zealands, and experimenting with some crosses from those. I'm not looking for purebred. BUT I do want the kits to pretty much look alike so that way I won't get attached to any! I'm a bit of a sucker for furries.

Some people say that white rabbits taste different from black fur rabbits. The meat on dark fur rabbits is noticeably darker, but I can't say they taste any different.

Getting purebred meat rabbits means that one is buying genetics with consistent results. Showbunny breeders have to select what to keep and what to remove (cull) from the breeding program. The culls are sent to the meat processor.

So a show breeder can have an incentive to select for bone/meat ratio, feed conversion, litter size, mothering ablity to raise a high percentage of the litter to weaning, have consistent butcher weight.

I know showbreeders who even keep two separate herds. One for show and one for meat production.

The meat herd will have heads that are not the right shape or an ear that flops down. But they will throw litters of 10 to 12 kits and raise them all.

There is even a contest in rabbit shows for meat pens and fryers. The meat pen and fryer competition is a demonstration of the breeders' ability to produce a market animal of consistent size and quality.

Many fairs have meat pen competition where the wining animals are sent to auction and the money raised goes to the breeder, usually a youth exhibitor.

You can read more about raising meat pens on my website
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/meatpennotes.html

The American Rabbit Breeder's Association was created by breeders who ate rabbit! It's not just showbunnies. It's about Food, Fur, and Fancy.

By the way, my favorite meat rabbit is the Dutch. I know. They're cute. But the cobby bodies are like little meat bricks with a 55% carcass weight after processing.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

 

[Holachicka]

Thanks Franco! By the way, hi neighbor, I'm in Folsom CA!

 

[dewey]

I hope they all taste the same! I think I'll end up getting californian and new zealands, and experimenting with some crosses from those. I'm not looking for purebred. BUT I do want the kits to pretty much look alike so that way I won't get attached to any! I'm a bit of a sucker for furries.

Those breeds and their crosses are excellent choices for meat production, as are several others, including their crosses. Breeds that have been carefully bred for their great meat production is the safest bet...something that's been proven over and over for generations in show meat pens. It's usually a significant delay, in time and cost, at the very least, trying to line or inbreed total unknown multi-breed crosses to try to eventually improve or create a good meat stock line when good quality meat breeding stock is available to start with, also usually at a significant cost savings.

I definately want to stick with the meat breeds or their crosses. I've read that "Pet" breeds can be faty, and the advantage of the fast growth and bone to meat ratio of the meat breeds really appeals to me. The longer the kits hang around, the harder it will be to not become attached.

...another good reason to have fast growing breeds or crosses.

But seriously, placing attachments towards your keepers or the ones to be sold is the way to go. LOL

My kits are kept with the doe until processing at 8 weeks or so, and handled only as needed. They go straight from the does pen to processing. My keepers are usually known much earlier than that, so those are handled as much as possible.

But, when you have several does you'd be surprised how little time there is to handle all the kits a lot in the first place...which is actually a good thing when they're being raised for the dinner table.

 

[Holachicka]

Good point! I plan on making my breeders pets so that the kids will be able to play with them, but also so they have an understanding of where our food comes from. I know that many friends will call me mean, eating these poor sweet bunnies, but I don't see it that way. Plus, I LOVE RABBIT!

I've gotten so ahead of myself, I havn't even convinced DH to let me do this yet! ! I'd love any tips on that as well!

 

[dewey]

Good point! I plan on making my breeders pets so that the kids will be able to play with them, but also so they have an understanding of where our food comes from. I know that many friends will call me mean, eating these poor sweet bunnies, but I don't see it that way. Plus, I LOVE RABBIT!

I've gotten so ahead of myself, I havn't even convinced DH to let me do this yet! ! I'd love any tips on that as well!

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. I'd simply inform of the fact...but maybe that's just me. haha

 

[Boyd]

I raise cals, and silver fox.. and I cross both for my meat and pelt needs...