NZW vs NZR vs NZBs- Difference in weight/quality?

[LauraNJ]

I am considering getting some NZ. I know a breeder who has whites, blacks, blues and reds. I know the reds are usually slightly smaller.

How do the blacks and blues compare?

I am trying to figure out if I should just stick to buying whites and wondering if I do get reds or blues if they are less hardy, more difficult than the whites who have been really perfected by meat popularity as far as ease of breeding, kindling,and just general hardiness.

Just looking for opinions as I seem to gravitate towards the more challenging road sometimes and am trying to stay focused on the end result, meat rabbits with possible showing for the kids.

 

[Dood]

If the breeder shows her whites they may not have the same production qualities of commercial stock.

I would ask the breeder which line has the largest litters, best growth rate and feed conversion. if she doesn't know or says they are all the same then look elsewhere.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

If the breeder shows her whites they may not have the same production qualities of commercial stock.

I would ask the breeder which line has the largest litters, best growth rate and feed conversion. if she doesn't know or says they are all the same then look elsewhere.

ditto.

from what i've heard the whites tend to be the best for meat because the other colors are being bred for show mostly. so they dont breed for large litters that grow fast and big and meaty or the faster breed backs. they breed for perfect color, perfect show body type, perfect show babies, usually only bred a couple times in their lives because they are for showing, tend to be smaller litters,...

reds and blacks are newer then whites for recognized show colors, but i've heard are only a tad behind the whites.

and as with any breed you have to make sure you are getting from lines for qualities you want. if you want for show and then culls for freezer then that may be fine for you.
but if you just want to produce meat for freezer then you may need to look around more and buy lines for meatiness and handle faster breed backs and have larger litters, etc.

best of luck.

 

[LauraNJ]

So it is true that the show lines have smaller litters, slower growth overall?

The breeder I am thinking of has show lines but doesn't show himself. He does raise them for meat and for selling so I will ask him about which produce larger litters, faster growth.

Any opinions on how the various colored NZs compare to the whites in respect to litter size and growth?

 

[Dood]

Well, nothing comes close to consistently producing litters of 8 or more, fast growth and good feed conversion of the commercial NZW and Californians.

I believe the best meat colours in NZ's are as follows; whites, then the blacks, blues and finally reds.

NZW can be any colour under their REW genes so you can focus on production traits, meanwhile red can only be bred to red or you lose good colour. Whites, black and blue can all be interbred so you can out-cross to improve type.

Rarer colours will be more inbred and they are bred for show qualities and not necessarily production traits. A show doe with a litter of 8 may not be able to feed them as well and smaller litters are often prefered so the 4 kits get twice the milk and grow well. Most meat breeders strive for a meaty 5lb fryer in 8 weeks but a show person will get 6 months to get reach senior so a fast growth rate is not necessarily as important.

 

[LauraNJ]

Thanks for the great info. I was thinking you had to keep the whites separate from the blacks and blues (my duh moment) but since you can interbreed them that is intriguing.

So perhaps a few of the white, blue and black. I think the kids would find the various colors interesting. I wonder if the NZ can produce chocolate or lavender like the beverans?

So, if I got a blue nz that came from smaller litters and I bred it to a white that came from fast growing prolific lines, back to a blue or black, then back to a white. I would assume the white should be the doe since she determines litter size?

Eventually I should be able to get larger litters from the blues and blacks if I choose wisely with what I keep. Perhaps keep a few, breed and see how they do each generation. Does that sound like it would work in theory?

 

[skysthelimit]

So it is true that the show lines have smaller litters, slower growth overall?

The breeder I am thinking of has show lines but doesn't show himself. He does raise them for meat and for selling so I will ask him about which produce larger litters, faster growth.

Any opinions on how the various colored NZs compare to the whites in respect to litter size and growth?

So I'm back on my show horse again.

No one waits for 6 mos to show their rabbits. There is a jr weight and a senior weight. Jr weight is 4lb for Rex, and a lot get a 5lb Rex at 12 weeks, and my show line Silver Fox were 6.6lb at 7 weeks. Show people do want faster growing buns, the faster, the bigger, the better. I don't know a single show person who culls down litters, and all of my show line Rex kindle 9-12 kits. So show people need a doe with good milking abilities. I consistently cull does that have less than 7 kits, the more kits, the more show prospects. I cull does that can't take care of their litters, Isis had 10, I only culled two because she crushed them. Otherwise I would have expected her to raise the 10 with no supplements. I don't use Calf Manna... Mola raised 9, and two of the ones I kept are at the 5lb mark around 14 weeks. Rex are going to grow slower no matter what, but that is pretty good. Even my Jersey Wooly had six kits. I don't play that game with my dwarfs.

You need to ask each breeder, tell them exactly what you want, show or otherwise, don't just assume. There is no blanket for all show breeders. MOST people breeding meat breeds for show know they are breeding meat breeds, and breed accordingly. Remember what is good on the show table is supposed to be a reflection of what is good on the dinner table.

As far as color, other breeds were bred in to get the colors in some of the NZ, so that takes away from the fast NZ grow rate seen in whites. It's a common assumption that some colors grow faster/slower, have weaker immune systems than other colors, because of lack of diversity, like breeding dilutes to dilutes.

 

[fogcity]

It all depends on what your goals are. Are they to show, make money, produce meat for your family? How many are you going to get? How much time do you want to spend with your rabbits each day? I suggest figuring out your goals and then it will be easy to determine what type of rabbit to get. For example, if your goal is to make money you will want the whites, because they are more marketable.

 

[Dood]

I didn't say 'all' show breeders, but you are right, you must ask the breeder but people lie, often, just to sell a rabbit.

There are many people very happy with the meat their show culls produce. I mostly focus on meat traits and do some showing on the side. I picked a meat breed I liked and cross them with a Gold tipped steel NZ cross to get some colour, but it turned out that these mutts had the better grow out so now I have a show line of AmChins and my mutts that I am developing for meat.

You specifically asked about NZ so of course you must make the distinction between commercial fuglies and their perfectly proportioned show cousins who 'may' have smaller litters, less milk or slower grow outs.  There are also many casual breeders who keep does based on which ones their kids like, I doubt they would be as productive or cost efficient as commercial stock but still be good enough to meet the families needs.

It is s hobby, so I  don't  count the cost of housing, water, electricity, or labour  like commercial operations do. If my rabbits pay for their monthy feed bill in sales or as meat for the family then I am happy.

 

[GBov]

I have reds, blues, rew, broken reds, broken blues and broken blacks right now.

The temperament of some of the reds I bought is iffy and they are smaller than all the others but I am working with my other colors and home produced reds to get better temperaments. The broken reds are sweet hearts and bigger than the solid reds.

But I have a question as to only breed red to red, I bred gold tipped steel to hidden steel (looks black) and got good strong red, red eyed white and gold tipped steel kits.

So I will breed a nice large REW doe to my red buck to see if it helps size and temperament and yet still get me reds.

If you like the colors and the breeder, go for it, you can always eat them if you decide you like a different color later The really nice thing about rabbits is how fast you can improve your herd, just cull hard for what you want!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

So I'm back on my show horse again.

You should save your response in a file so you can just copy and paste as needed. It sure would save you a lot of typing- your fingers must have the keystrokes memorized by now! :roll:

 

[Dood]

You breed red to red to keep the non extension gene and high rufus factors, other wise you get chestnut which is not showable colour in NZ (actually only REW, black, red and broken can be shown) and Rufus hides in black and white rabbits so you cannot tell who to keep for breeding.

Your gold tipped steel likely had a red parent to be a carrier of non extension, and the same is true of your super steel (false black). Show people don't mix colours because there is the possibility that your entire litter was a non showable colour, you just got lucky that your two non red NZ both had the non extension gene.

 

[GBov]

You breed red to red to keep the non extension gene and high rufus factors, other wise you get chestnut which is not showable colour in NZ (actually only REW, black, red and broken can be shown) and Rufus hides in black and white rabbits so you cannot tell who to keep for breeding.

Your gold tipped steel likely had a red parent to be a carrier of non extension, and the same is true of your super steel (false black). Show people don't mix colours because there is the possibility that your entire litter was a non showable colour, you just got lucky that your two non red NZ both had the non extension gene.

Dead lucky, esp. as neither of them had red in their background, at least as far as their owners could tell me :shock: The doe was shown as black - picked her up for $5 due to her age, she was five then but is now seven and going strong - and the buck was in with a litter of steel and rew. No idea where the strong red came from but it was a nice surprise :lol:

I have to admit, the REWs are nice and big but I love the colors and the brokens best of all! I can handle a pound or two less for the super soft fur and happy go lucky temperaments.

Is it just me or do the blues and brokens have a softer fluffier fur than the reds and rews?