American buck and progeny

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Rabbit Talk Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Anntann

Anntann

Well-known member
Rabbit Talk Supporter
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
2,945
Reaction score
0
Location
South Central Wisconsin
Please meet Sam, an American Blue, and 3 of his progeny. 13days old, and finally lost the look of blue balls of fur. For a few days I was worried that their little legs couldn't get to the ground 'cuz of their fat bellies! This trio weighs a total of 30oz.

First picture is of a VERY angry Sam, without flash. Second is of a much happier (unposed) Sam, WITH flash. the 2nd picture is more true to his color. I tried for shots of the fur shaft, but the flash washes it out, and without flash it's just...dark.

I've no clue if Sam is GREAT! OKAY! or just 'meh..he's okay'. But he's got a really deep color on the shafts, and I'm led to understand that it's a good thing. And he's a happy, friendly sort, so...there ya go! (by the way, the background on the fabric is cream, and the bucket is white..with dirt spots. Just so you have a way to measure your color calibration. )

View attachment DSCF2544 copy.jpgView attachment DSCF2547 copy.jpg

And now the babeees.
View attachment DSCF2552 copy.jpgView attachment DSCF2554 copy.jpgView attachment DSCF2558 copy.jpgView attachment DSCF2559 copy.jpg
 
Sam is a handsome guy and those babies are adorable.
 
Disclaimer: I am NOT expert at this sexing thing ;) but...
It appears that we have 1 buckling(black), 5 (4blue, 1 black) girls, and 1 blue indeterminate something. :D I'm certain of the 1 boy, and certain of 4 of the 5 girls. The other girl is taco-ISH, but she's also the most squirmy of the group, so my time examining was minimal. The 7th kit is just...roundish but without a "pop" up. so we'll just see what happens!

__________ Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:29 pm __________

A couple of new pictures of this group. 4 of the girls, in 2 pictures. They've darkened considerably now, looking much more like Sam (the buck).View attachment 2girlsB.jpgView attachment 2girls.jpg<br /><br />__________ Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:36 pm __________<br /><br />Almost forgot: The American/Beveren crosses that are 45 days older, are weighing in between 7#6oz, and...lordy...8#8oz. :eek: The 8#8oz girl is a complete clone of her American mother..just slightly smaller.
 
That's what I'm thinking, Maggie. They eat like little piggies, tho. holy COW they went through a lot of feed.

When I weighed them I was thinking "geez...we're REALLY behind on the processing..these guys must be 4 or 5 months old". So I went back to look at the records and found they'd been born Oct. 2. :eek: I'm certainly looking at keeping the biggest girl.

Mom is no slouch. She's a solid 11.5lbs. without being fat. They ARE mandolin type bodies tho, so some wouldn't care for the lower shoulder size for meat. I figure I'll keep the chubette, and breed her to Peter (new zealand) and see what we get.

The doe is an American and is going to be bred to Sam, my American buck, this month. I may try the father of this litter (a Beveren) on a NZ doe, tho. Couldn't hurt :)
 
Yes, I think you will need to try out different combinations to get your best meat line... but you're off to a good start. Breeding the best offspring to a purebred sounds like a good idea to me. Hope you keep good records!

I wouldn't worry too much about small shoulders on a meat rabbit. Most of the meat is in the loin and hind legs anyway. It will be interesting to see how they dress out.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top