We're looking at a buck and two does tomorrow. What do you look for when you evaluate rabbits to add to your rabbitry?

You should spend a good several days researching this if you want a serious start in rabbits rather than picking up whatever to practice on at first because it depends on the breed and often a hands on knowledge. We can't just verbally tell you the perfect rabbit. Preferably you should go to rabbit shows and ask breeders about breeds you are interested in so they can show you various faults.

Meat rabbits are generally commercial type and they would be similar to the rules for a mini rex which are the easiest to find when judging them http://cottonwoodfarms.tripod.com/pencil.html However not everything of that shape is the best meat rabbit. Each breed will have slight differences and sometimes mandolin shaped rabbits and even other shapes like adding some giant arch breed (we added a little checkered giant to ours) is used for meat mutts making the body shape slightly different. You should feel a rabbit for weight and how much meat it's carrying beyond just what it looks like. It should seem heavy and thick for it's frame. What's heavy for the frame? Well you'd have to go handle a bunch of rabbits both with poor muscle tone and with good which would require finding breeders or going to shows. A rabbit can also carry lots of internal fat making it feel heavy when it lacks muscle tone across the rest of the body so you need to know what good muscle tone feels like not just weight. You can't always feel if a rabbit is just fatter than another since fat is not obvious on the surface most of the time.

Basically without having gone out to research you are going to have to rely on the breeder to tell you the truth, compare rabbits for you, and sell you good rabbits.

1. Obvious good health: bright, clear eyes, good coat, alert and inquisitive.
2. Free of signs of trouble such as sneezing, discharge from eyes or nose, head tilt.
3. Good teeth.
4. Well-furred feet with no sign of sore hocks.
5. Nice disposition... easy to handle, no aggression.
6. Good meaty body... especially in the loin and hindquarters.

Thanks. This is everything we've been looking for and it's good to know we haven't missed anything. My boyfriend is very good at evaluating livestock. I, however, am nervous and like to make sure I have all my bases covered.

This is something we've been working towards for well over a year. It's nice to get feedback.

Akane is right that it takes more than a quick check-list to choose top-notch rabbits, but we all have to start somewhere. Make sure you know what good teeth look like... Google image searches are great for this kind of thing.

If you are allowed into the rabbitry, take note of how the animals are cared for... Is the air good or are your eyes watering from ammonia build-up? Are the cages clean? Water and feed containers clean? Listen to your gut... If there are "bad vibes", pay attention. Don't listen to excuses from the breeder about sneezing or watery eyes.

Ask questions. Are you looking for promising youngsters to grow out and breed or proven breeders? Knowing what you want will help you to ask the right questions. A reputable breeder will welcome questions as an indication that his rabbits are going to people who care.

Nearly every rabbit breeder I've talked to has a story of how they went to buy rabbits knowing only the basics of a healthy rabbit and little about breeds or type for different purposes and what a good rabbit for meat or show should look or feel like. They then ended up with one or many useless rabbits they spent generations trying to breed in with other rabbits to get good rabbits or scrapped the whole group and replaced them after a couple years. Sure a list for picking healthy rabbits can be given but you can go to a pet store and use that list and you obviously won't get a rabbit that produces meat efficiently. That was my point. Nearly everyone makes that mistake of not looking at rabbits hands on or at least doing lots of research with pictures before picking out their starting herd.

Type,color,age .health.