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Yeah, sometimes bucks do that; I suspect it's a marking behavior. (Ugh.) I definitely wouldn't send him to auction... Do unto others, etc. The only way I'd sell him was to someone looking for meat who would butcher right away, or to someone looking for a pet who knew what they were getting...

If it's growth rate you're after, keep track of bunny weights (at least weekly) and choose the ones with the fastest growth for your next generation breeders. Note that those may not be the very biggest bunnies. Of course you don't want to keep runts (which sometimes have a significant growth...

Ah, that's helpful. I think the current "weird" kit is a double-maned (lionhead) kit. Double-maned kits have those interesting pink wedges on their sides and hindquarters. Both of the parents look like they're single-maned, so it would make sense. So it could be a double-maned seal...

When a rabbit has serious sore hocks, it's too miserable to do much of anything, so it will very often lose condition pretty dramatically. And when it goes off its feed, its gut gets upset, which makes it even more uncomfortable, and so it goes... Add to that the above-mentioned tendency to...

They're meat rabbits, so he's not necessarily spending extra time or resources. The OP's already got the NZ and Rex stock, and he'll be breeding and feeding rabbits no matter what. He said has been raising NZs for over 10 yrs (it actually said 10 hrs, but I'm guessing that's a typo! :ROFLMAO:)...

It's probably not going to be that simple or quick. Like as not, the fastest-growing F3 bunnies will be the ones that don't get the rex coats... Expect to spend a few generations moving toward your goal, and a few more to get it set in your stock so they produce fast-growing rex-coated kits...

If you have a solid-bottomed cage you could keep him in for a while, that would probably be the best bet. Fill it with a generous, thick layer of soft wood or paper shavings and keep them very clean; figure out where he pees and give him a litter tray, change it often and make sure his cage...

Yes, photos would be good, of both the kits and the parents. Did the sire produce sable points with the same doe you described above? (Incidentally, if she's c(chl)c(chl) she's a seal point.) Since both parents are selfs, all of the babies must be, too. Any time I see strange shading and/or...

I agree with @Lil Acorn Acres Farm about the tiny teats. But you CAN find Nigerian Dwarf goats with reasonably-sized teats that won't instantly give you carpal tunnel syndrome, so you should be able to find Nigoras with teats bigger than your little toe... just maybe not in the near vicinity...

My daughter is trying this right now with a Californian doe and a Rex buck. She's not looking for growth rate improvements, rather better depth and loin width in her Rex, but the principle is the same. The first thing to realize is that you get what you breed, so yes, it's possible to succeed...

The chocolate tri in the last generation (I'm assuming you mean the rabbit's great-grandparent) means there's a chance that your rabbit carries it; you'll need a test breeding to know for sure, which you'll achieve by breeding her to your choc magpie buck. The only way you'd know for sure right...

Unless one of your other rabbits carries chocolate, you won't get chocolate anything in the first generation. The ideal would be to breed him with another chocolate magpie. Second best would be a chocolate harlequin, or a black magpie. Unfortunately, unless there are hidden alleles at certain...

Hansi is <AaB_C_D_Ee>, agouti carrying self and non-extension. An orange doe (out of him and your solid agouti doe) would be <A_B_C_D_ee>. So if you breed her back to him, you could get: agouti <A_B_C_D_Ee> orange <A_B_C_D_ee> self black <aaB_C_D_E_> is possible if the doe is <Aa> rather than...

Yes, some does don't have dewlaps, especially ones from the smaller breeds. In fact it's a disqualification for Polish, Britannia Petite, Dwarf Hotot, Himalayan, Netherland Dwarf, Silver, and Tan rabbits to have dewlaps. Several other breed standards consider it a fault. Most of our Polish...

Did you give them colostrum as well as formula? If not, that might have factored into their inability to thrive. What a bummer, butchering pregnant does. It happened here...once, but that was one too many! 😞

Yes, the orange ones with black shading are torts. They are basically self black <aaB_> rabbits (like their black sibling) but they have two copies of the non-extension gene <ee> that prevent the black pigment that would normally extend up the length of the hairshaft, allowing to show through...

The ARBA Standard of Perfection for Polish says that seniors can weigh as much as 3.5 pounds, but that the ideal is 2.5lbs. So your doe is right on. :)

Nice job on helping them along!!! :love: If they're bothering the young does a lot trying to nurse, you might consider upping their supplement a little. They do eat more as they get bigger, and it looks like they might be a little hollow (I can see their hips in the photo). Although maybe...

That sounds pretty normal. Mine often dig in the corners of their wire cages trying to make a "nest." Some does just like to start nesting earlier than others; some of my Polish have a perfect tunnel of a nest ready a week before they're due, while some of my Satins wait till hours before...

I am not aware of any gene having been identified that causes more or less white on the ears of a broken. I always like to think of the broken allele <En> as if it's a pail of whitewash tossed in the direction of a colored rabbit, one pail for broken <En_> and two pails for Charlie <EnEn>. In...