Should I sell? NZ Blue

[jpm]

Need some advice, as you can see from my post history we are relatively new to rabbits.

We have a black pure NZ buck (no papers) and a white pure NZ doe (no papers) that were bred and she had 6 kits about 9 weeks ago. One of them is a "blue" doe. We had a friend who knows his rabbits better than us come over and she caught his eye, he really likes her and is even thinking about building a pedigree. I don't know anything about this kind of thing, this little doe was probably destined for the pot. The friend has been honest with us and says that blue NZs are not common.

He wants to buy her. Should I sell and if so what is a fair price?

 

[Marinea]

Totally up to you, but if it was destined for the pot and this person is your friend, I would probably sell it at my regular price.

 

[Zass]

No reason not to sell.

This is mostly rhetorical so you don't actually have to answer these.

If I was thinking of building a pedigree, this is what I'd look at:

How close do the rabbits conform to NZ show standards?

Do they make weight and have nice commercial type?

Is the black a clean black, or are there white spots or scattered white hairs?

If everything in is in order, then I don't see a problem.

A pedigree isn't required to show, but having the proper NZ weight and type are required, and buyers of pedigreed stock generally intend to show.


FYI,
Breeding the blue kit back to her father should produce plenty more blue rabbits to choose from.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Yeah, what Zass said. If you've got the space, keep her and breed her back to the black buck.

You said your friend knows more about rabbits - maybe they can help you / work with you to make some more. Then they can have all they want!

 

[jpm]

Thank you for your replies, they were very helpful! The last thing I should have mentioned is that my kids have become attached to the doe which complicates things. I'm hoping I can work out a deal with the friend to let him have the doe but after breeding her back to the father to get more blues. Maybe he would want one of those.

Thanks again! <br /><br /> __________ Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:18 am __________ <br /><br />

FYI,
Breeding the blue kit back to her father should produce plenty more blue rabbits to choose from.

Quick follow-up question, how likely would it be for that doe and buck to have more blue kits? Is it possible to know?

 

[Zass]

Dilution (blue) is a simple recessive.
Meaning it takes two copies of the recessive gene(dd) to show up on a coat.

The blue doeling has two copies of the gene (dd) , which means both of your NZ rabbits carry it and will produce more if bred together.

The rew doe may have one or two copies (rew hides everything, so you wouldn't know) , but the black must also have just one invisible copy of the gene, since it has to come from both parents. It would be hidden by the dominant non-dilute (Dd)


Statistically,
About 50% of their kits should be blue, and you will very likely see more blue in the future, from any related rabbits <br /><br /> __________ Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:42 pm __________ <br /><br /> Just for fun, a little punett square.

 

[jpm]

Thank you for such a complete answer! It is interesting how the odds play out, the blue doe has 5 siblings. One is black and 4 are white. It is good to know that if we sell (probable outcome) we will most likely have more.

 

[Zass]

Thank you for such a complete answer! It is interesting how the odds play out, the blue doe has 5 siblings. One is black and 4 are white. It is good to know that if we sell (probable outcome) we will most likely have more.

The fun part is that your whites may or may not be genetically blues.

No way to tell without test breeding, since the gene that causes rew hides all of a rabbit's colors.

 

[jpm]

What I really think would be cool is to go for a broken blue NZ. This same friend has broken red NZs and we like how they look. The latest is that our friend is going trade us one of these broken red does for our blue doe. We have a red buck that has broken in him. We will have to figure out how to make a broken blue out of all this! I need to do more digging in the forum archives .

 

[alforddm]

Actually, one of 5 is very close to the 1 in 4 ration you should get off both parents carry one copy of the recessive gene. Plus, like Zass said it's possible for the REWs to house blue as well.