Breeding Family?

Heritage Homestead · Apr 26, 2012

Okay, I don't know if this is the right spot to post this, but I didn't think any of the other forums would be right for this question.

I am looking to keep the does from this first litter and I came across a question that the books haven't answered really well.
This litter is in no way related to my head buck, but the offspring from them would be his daughters. So my main question is, how close do you all think it is safe to breed relations? And why/why not?
Thanks,

MamaSheepdog · Apr 26, 2012

I started my herd with 2 does and 2 bucks from the same breeder, so they share some relatives. One of the bucks died before I bred him (I wanted to compare litter outcomes of the two bucks, so bred both does to the same buck- oops!)- so my entire herd is sired by the same buck out of two does. The breeder is several hundred miles away, and we haven't been able to coordinate getting a replacement yet. I am now breeding the offspring of those does to one another, and have also done brother/sister crosses with no adverse effects. Linebreeding and inbreeding are common in rabbits. It will intensify the likelihood of traits carried by both parents (and ancestors) in the offspring, so you wouldn't want to breed rabbits with the same faults to one another- if you have one with scattered white hairs breed it to one without, weak shoulders to good shoulders, etc.

Rae · Apr 26, 2012

It's called line-breeding and almost all breeders do this in some way. While most breeders prefer not to breed full siblings, possibly because the gentics are just too close, lots of us breed back to fathers, mothers, cousins, aunts, uncles and half-siblings. It's a great way to sort of 'set' genetics that you want, like good hindquarters just be aware that it can also 'set' bad genes too. There are lots of posts on this same topic throughout the forum. Check out this chart:
http://www.buksonline.com/show_rabbit_a ... Chart.html
It uses a graph to explain line breeding.
Good luck with your rabbits!

MaggieJ · Apr 26, 2012

No problem. Linebreeding is a recognized method and if your current breeders are good, then breeding the daughters back to their sire will likely help to improve your line. You don't say if you are raising rabbits for meat, but guessing from the breeds you have it seems likely. In this case it is even less of a problem. Keep only the best and eat the rest.

Heritage Homestead · Apr 26, 2012

Yep, meat is my deal. Though later down the road I want to get a papered nice NZ doe (My buck is already papered) and sell to 4-H kids.
Thanks everyone!