Please help me understand "selecting for improvement".

[rtower]

At present I have two senior does, both with litters about two weeks old. Also have a junior doe that will be six months old around mid-August. Have one senior buck.

These are all registered Florida Whites. I purchased them a few weeks ago from a respected breeder. He knew my plans to raise meat rabbits for our own use and I believe he selected stock with that in mind. Both does have proven to be excellent mothers, just as he said.

Now I need help understanding what I should do to work toward maintaining the quality stock I have and, if possible, improving my herd in the future.

I'm guessing we'll probably use around 80 to 100 rabbits per year for meat. Also guessing average litter will produce five or six freezer camp candidates. (Florida Whites mature at around 5 lbs. so their litters are smaller than, say New Zealands.) So around 16 to 20 litters per year?

If I breed each doe back when her kits are six weeks old (weaning bucklings at four to five weeks and doelings at six to seven weeks?) then one doe could potentially produce five litters per year, or twenty-five "campers" annually. So I probably need four actively-breeding does, breeding two at a time on the same day (in case of fostering).

Have I got that correct?

Then, how do I go about identifying those "better" young rabbits to keep back for potential breeding stock? And how exactly do I make decisions that will lead to herd improvement?

I'm trying my best to learn and greatly appreciate the help I'm getting here on RabbitTalk. Please don't hesitate to "educate" me. Any corrections or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Frecs]

I still consider myself a rookie so I'm not the best to answer your question but will do what I can and hope others with more experience will chime in to advise us both.

Yes, you are going to need at least two more breeding does plus you will want to have a couple of "ladies in waiting" to fill in as needed and potentially to replace the older does if they prove to be superior to the older does.

To improve your herd you need to have one or more goals be it bigger rabbits, faster grow-out rates, better confirmation to breed standard...whatever is important to you. You will then select offspring that appear to meet that target goal to keep as potential breeders. As they mature you will re-evaluate to see if they actually do improve your herd and if so, then you need to decide which older doe or buck they should replace.

The other thing is to "breed to your husbandry practices". Meaning, selecting rabbits that do best with the food you have/are feeding whether you feed pellets only or forage/fodder and that handles the weather/housing conditions you have. For example, selecting for rabbits that can handle heat and humidity better of you live in the Southeast.

 

[Zass]

My first bit of advice for a very small scale rabbitrys looking to improve would be to grow out at least twice what you intend to keep.
It's not practical to do on a large scale, but with a very small genetic pool it REALLY helps with selection towards improvement. I can't count the amount of times I simply culled everything I grewout from one reason or another. :lol:

As, for whom to growout, start by looking at only the healthiest, fastest growing kits. With a good body type, of course.
Like Frecs was talking about, those are the ones who thrive in the conditions you have set up.

Then start finding reasons to eat them too.

Don't even consider one that had any medical or behavioral problems at any point.
It's often said around here: "A rabbit is only as good as it's worst day as a youngster!" You will eventually send too many perfectly healthy kits to freezer camp to worry about weaklings.

Don't consider any with any kind of physical fault, like pinched hips or weak shoulders.
It's infinitely easier to simply not breed something in than it is to breed it back out.

With florida whites, they need to stop growing too or else you will end up with an oversized line.

 

[Dood]

Then, how do I go about identifying those "better" young rabbits to keep back for potential breeding stock?

A lot of paper work :cheesysmile: and time filling out those papers with weights and measurements and production data of your stock

And how exactly do I make decisions that will lead to herd improvement?

That's totally up to you

Someone breeding for show may place emphasis on conformation and not care if their rabbits have small litters or poor milk production

Someone breeding for pets may select for sweet temperaments or colours that the public likes

Someone breeding for meat may select for fast growth, good feed efficiency, large litters and good mothering skills but not care if their rabbits ears are too long or if they are aggressive to people since they don't need to be handled that often

Someone breeding in a colony might select for good social traits and disease resistance so their rabbits can live in harmony and not be as sensitive to parasites which are difficult to eradicate in there set ups

There is no "best" rabbit, just rabbits that are best for you

 

[Frecs]

A lot of paper work :cheesysmile: and time filling out those papers with weights and measurements and production data of your stock

What measurements? what data?

Details, we need details.

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

 

[alforddm]

A lot of paper work :cheesysmile: and time filling out those papers with weights and measurements and production data of your stock

What measurements? what data?

Details, we need details.

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

It will depend on where you want to improve. Decide what you want them start keeping track of those traits.

 

[wamplercathy]

I use the windows Access 2013, had to buy it for class :x , but excel works too.
I have 6 tables set up.

Temps:
shows all the possible info on the weather by date. (time consuming but very informative)

Stores:
a list of stores with addresses, phone numbers, and websites that can be pulled up when purchases are made in the expenses table (only stores that I have made a purchase at go here, not a complete list of all stores :x that would be tooooo much :lol: )

Expenses 2015:
list all purchases buy date, price, # of items purchased, and total (nice to have this so I can keep tabs on total expenses for each year, also nice for taxes, but for that you might want to scan and place receipts in a folder in a cabinet, and on your computer)

Rabbits:
list of rabbits in the barn, where they came from, sire, dam, ear # or cage #, date of birth, date acquired. (it's nice to know where your stock came from so you remember if that seller, sells good or bad stock)

Litters:
doe, buck, date breed, date kindled, # kindled(litter size), #of does, #of bucks, sales made. (just started with this one and might make changes)

Rabbit Weights 2015:
rabbit, date, weight, target, and comments (this one gets a lot of focus, animals need to be in the right weight to be breed, raise litters, and for overall health)

That's my set up. Plus I keep a spiral notebook in the house that is more like a dairy, and a pocket agenda in the rabbit barn to track temps in the barn, which will later be added to the temp log.

Overall the temp log, expenses 2015 log, and the weights log are the 3 I've use the most at this time. I'm hoping that the litters log will get some activity soon. :twisted: :lol: :lol: :lol: It all depends on what your wanting to achieve. For me information is power. :twisted: :lol: It's best to have it and not need it; then to need it and not have it. :mrgreen:

Hope this helps. I tend to go overboard. :twisted: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:

 

[skysthelimit]

I like to reference to this chart again. It's 4H so it tracks all kinds of things, for meat and show breeders alike.

Track as much as you can, but don't try to change too many things at once.

You will notice too, that some things if changed, throw the whole thing off whack. You might have to live with those, or that means it's time to replace some stock.

For instance, a lot of times, better fur on Rex feet means a coarser fur over the body. Or it requires better bone all over, and bigger Rex sometimes means longer Rex in my line. I couldn't breed it so I had to buy it.

Faster growth for me meant reducing litter numbers, or choosing heavy milkers. I am not about to lose large litter size. So... despite type, I chose heavily milkers instead of the pretty does, and culled those who couldn't keep a large litter fed despite their conformation.