Okay i just had the thought would this cross be good?

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All rabbit breeds are fine to eat, mostly it is anchoring traits, selling kits, love for the breed and shows that keep most breeders from crossing breeds. I wouldn't breed a (big) buck to a (much) small(er) doe, but otherwise there is no welfare/health reason not to cross breeds.
 
All rabbit breeds are fine to eat, mostly it is anchoring traits, selling kits, love for the breed and shows that keep most breeders from crossing breeds. I wouldn't breed a (big) buck to a (much) small(er) doe, but otherwise there is no welfare/health reason not to cross breeds.
But would I get more meat than just the single breed? Or dose it depend on the cross also thanksss
 
Both are build for more meat production, so not likely. Also focus not on meat production, but on healthy animals that are good mothers and able to raise the whole litter they give. Production as a breed goal costs you in health, feed and other extra needed care. The same problems are evident in other species production breeds. It is not a road you want to follow for both your own health, costs and more work as well as their health and wellbeing.
 
Both are build for more meat production, so not likely. Also focus not on meat production, but on healthy animals that are good mothers and able to raise the whole litter they give. Production as a breed goal costs you in health, feed and other extra needed care. The same problems are evident in other species production breeds. It is not a road you want to follow for both your own health, costs and more work as well as their health and wellbeing.
Alright I'll focus on the health ofnmy animals and I won't focus on meat production thanks again
 
But would I get more meat than just the single breed? Or dose it depend on the cross also thanksss
It very much depends on the cross.

NZ have been bred for generations to make meat. If you had straight NZ you would get more meat than if you crossed them on a dutch rabbit for instance.

However I have raised American chinchillas and NZ red rabbits, and my NZR grew to butcher weight faster, but my AmChin rabbits get a bit bigger and have a better meat to bone ratio. I don't know if crossing them would necessarily get more meat than either alone, but it is possible. Some people swear by NZ x californian, and I have tried that cross, it was...fine, but not memorable for me.

Your silver foxes were bred to be meat and fur rabbits like my AmChins. Likely they will be great if you are starting with great stock. But if you have less great stock, with small litter sizes and slow grow outs, you might want a NZ doe just for extra meat production, so that you can save all your purebred stock for show and breeding...you can grow your purebreds out to larger roaster size and evaluate them later if you have the cage space.
 
Both are build for more meat production, so not likely.
Actually, there are some breeding programs resulting in rabbits better than either of their purebred parents, assumed to be due to hybrid vigor. (This type of breeding produces cornish cross meat chickens, most of which are gross thanks to Big Ag, but not all crossbreeding results in monsters!) In rabbits, a Californian x New Zealand cross is frequently used in this way, though its success very much depends on which genetic lines of cals and NZs are used.

There are also breeding programs called terminal cross breeding, in which the animals produced by crossbreeding are bred with a third breed; the offspring are the terminal crosses, which outperform all the original breeds but will not breed true themselves.

Also focus not on meat production, but on healthy animals that are good mothers and able to raise the whole litter they give. Production as a breed goal costs you in health, feed and other extra needed care. The same problems are evident in other species production breeds. It is not a road you want to follow for both your own health, costs and more work as well as their health and wellbeing.
You can select for both meat production and health; it is not necessary to choose one at the loss of the other, at least over time. It's true that focusing on the most important characteristic to you, one at a time, is the fastest way to fix that characteristic. However, if I had a healthy doe that consistently produced litters of only 2-3, that would not be the only doe I kept if I was breeding for meat! The trick is to juggle the best of several characteristics. When you have more than a couple breeding does, you can compromise lightly on some things and use the strengths of particular does as counters to the weaknesses of others. It does take time and patience, but it can certainly be done.

Many of our original Satins were jumpy and aggressive, had litters of 6-8, with some of the bunnies having tendencies to weaning enteritis and nest box eye, took 12-16 weeks to reach 4-5 lbs, and the does were pretty much done producing by their third year. Granted, it's been 13 years, but our rabbits now produce huge litters (10-16 kits) for about two years, are able to raise most or all of them (I do foster out some bunnies from the litters of 12-16), continue producing litters of 6-8 kits into their 4th year, and have health problems very rarely or not at all. The growouts make fryer weight by 8-9 weeks. In addition, our rabbits have extremely good temperaments, also a result of selection. In fact that is what I prioritized first, and is my only non-negotiable requirement. A calm, gentle rabbit will also be healthier and grow better than a psycho scared rabbit; plus, I am not willing to deal with a rabbit that attacks me no matter how pretty she is!
 
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