Finding treasure in the rabbitry

[3mina]

I sorted through my 7 week litters today and had a few very pleasant surprises...short shoulders! :cheer2: :cheer1: in both my tri litter and the otter litter, bucks and does both! Long shoulders have been the bane of my existence since I started this herd and these are the first litters where I have easily seen short shoulders.

The icing on the cake though is the one or two youngsters with actual depth, like two and a half to three fingers between the top of the hip and the topline. There's only a couple but it's a start, usually I have a flatter arch than these and I'm very happy to see them.

On a side note, I've found another use for Blu Kote- it makes a fantastic marker that doesn't go away immediately. That's more than I can say for everything else I've tried. All my does are able to take Sharpie or anything else off overnight, which makes tagging keepers interesting to say the least :shock:

 

[TF3]

Congrats!!
Better than the treasure I found in mine-- mama Red Squirrel and her 3 kids, accessing the attic of the house from the rabbitry!

 

[Dood]

That is terrific news 3mina

It's so nice when you can see your hard work pay off and obvious improvements in your rabbits

 

[alforddm]

Why are short shoulders desired?

Thanks!

 

[skysthelimit]

If the shoulder is too long, the rabbit peaks too far back, the deepest, point is too far back behind the hips, The space that should contain the bulk of the meat is too short and there is less meat on the rabbit. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:33 am __________ <br /><br /> Congrats on the battle against long shoulders!!!!

 

[3mina]

I still have a long road before I'd consider that battle over but I'm making headway at least

I'm just sad I had to cull one of the bucks that those shoulders came from but I can't let snot get a foothold. I'm going to have to reconsider my policies a bit regarding freezer filler from other sources. I'm going to end up losing several important rabbits as things stand right now

 

[Rabbitdog]

If the shoulder is too long, the rabbit peaks too far back, the deepest, point is too far back behind the hips, The space that should contain the bulk of the meat is too short and there is less meat on the rabbit.

__________ Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:33 am __________

Congrats on the battle against long shoulders!!!!

Wow, that's interesting! I would have never have dreamed of that selection process. I guess, I would go the other way because I have always considered the shoulders to be the absolute best tasting part of the rabbit. In fact, I've often mentioned the excellent taste of a shoulder at the dinner table and then lamented the fact that they were so small. But, you are right about the back (tenderloin). Anything that gets you more of that, has got to be good! Maybe sometime, you could post pics of long shoulders vs. short (both before and after skinning)?

 

[ladysown]

[quote}I'm going to have to reconsider my policies a bit regarding freezer filler from other sources.[/quote]

what are you doing right now with this?

One thing I do with freezer filler... is I bring them in and then cull them far from the rabbitry... making sure I am wearing NOTHING that goes near the rabbitry. Then shower and change etc before going to rabbits. Any cages used to hold them stay far from the rabbitry for three days in the sun before being used by rabbits again.

 

[Miss M]

I guess, I would go the other way because I have always considered the shoulders to be the absolute best tasting part of the rabbit. In fact, I've often mentioned the excellent taste of a shoulder at the dinner table and then lamented the fact that they were so small.

If I understand correctly (I'm just getting around to understanding the long shoulder thing), it is short, deep shoulders rather than long shoulders that would get you more meat on the shoulders and front legs. Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, I do hope.

 

[skysthelimit]

Can't make any comparison about taste, just about quantity of meat.

Short and tall is what you want, with a gentle rise to the peak at the proper place, rounding down to the bottom. Pretty early I can tell if I got a litter of no necks, or long shoulders. If it's long it doesn't get better with age for me.


I can show you pictures of before, I don't have any after skinning. I rarely skin my rabbits, dogs like them fur on.

this is a longish shoulder,

that doe is long and low.


This is what I'd rather see

 

[grumpy]

I've always tried for "width" between the front shoulders. And that width
carries back while widening across the top of the loin and maximizes at
the crest of the hips. Of course.....I know absolutely nothing about the
proper terms when talking of rabbit nomenclature.

Only, I try to describe what I feel makes the best market rabbit "before"
the skin is removed. After that, it's a matter of numbers concerning "live-
weight" versus "dressed-weight" and the dress-out percentage between the
two. Which, in my herd has increased over the past several years and it now
in the 57.5 to 60.5 percentile averages. I processed a litter of 7 purebreds that finished @ 62.+% last week. I was surprised.

Like I said, I know nothing about show-terms. But, the one rabbit looks to
be posed in a more "stretched-out" stance than the one below it. But again,
what do I know about such things.

My apologies if this post is off course.

grumpy.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've always tried for "width" between the front shoulders. And that width
carries back while widening across the top of the loin and maximizes at
the crest of the hips. Of course.....I know absolutely nothing about the
proper terms when talking of rabbit nomenclature.

Only, I try to describe what I feel makes the best market rabbit "before"
the skin is removed. After that, it's a matter of numbers concerning "live-
weight" versus "dressed-weight" and the dress-out percentage between the
two. Which, in my herd has increased over the past several years and it now
in the 57.5 to 60.5 percentile averages. I processed a litter of 7 purebreds that finished @ 62.+% last week. I was surprised.

Like I said, I know nothing about show-terms. But, the one rabbit looks to
be posed in a more "stretched-out" stance than the one below it. But again,
what do I know about such things.

My apologies if this post is off course.

grumpy.

Sounds like the same thing to me, lol. I couldn't figure out how to describe it, it's like it should widen from neck to rear, as wide as it is tall, and the shoulder rises gently from the base of the head to the peak over the hips.

If the first rabbit above was a bit more scrunched, she would look like a ski slop, the long shoulder shows up like a big dip. I kept her because of what Grumpy said, the shoulder is long and low, but it is wide.

If she had a narrow shoulder as well, it would have been off to freezer camp.

The chin doe is a shorter doe all around. The white spot you see is the space between her elbow and the tip of her toes. Rex description allows for 15-17 inches, which can be a big difference. As the Rex get bigger they tend to get longer.

 

[3mina]

At the moment I can tell who's going to have long shoulders while they're still in the nestbox. If I can feel a space over their shoulder blades the kit will have long shoulders, I can't tell how bad but I can literally cull for it by the litter is a week old. I don't take them out of the nest but they're only ever meat.

Grumpy, I don't think you have the ability to push a thread off course.
Since I'm raising for meat first and foremost those short, wide shoulders are going to put more meat in the freezer over time and improve my dress out percentages as well

 

[Rabbitdog]

... After that, it's a matter of numbers concerning "live-
weight" versus "dressed-weight" and the dress-out percentage between the
two...
grumpy.

I agree completely with that statement. I'm going to start checking my percentages this fall. I think I remember a thread back last year where you explained your calculations and procedure. I'll try to mimic that.

My point was simply that I consider the shoulders to be the best tasting part of the rabbit. I've been aware of the taste difference every since I was a youngster shooting wild rabbits with my grandfather. If I could breed a rabbit that had bigger shoulders than hams, I would do it in a second. In most other animals, I don't consider the shoulder to be prime meat. Maybe I'm the only one .... Mama always said I wuz speshal.