Best breed for heat??

[PSFAngoras]

Okay, so I've learned that rabbits are a live and learn thing.

This is the coolest summer we've had in a few years here. Although my angoras are doing great, my new rex meat trio that I have been so proud of are having heat issues. They came from a higher altitude where it was cooler, so the heat down here is stressing them out. The buck is doing fine, but both the does have clear discharge coming from their noses and are sneezing. I've been reading up on the forums here and found that it is just heat induced, which I figured since no angoras have caught anything, but I don't want meat stock that won't do well in the heat. (My backyard hasn't gotten up past 95 this year with the shade, so I'm surprised they are having issues when the angoras had little problem dealing with the 100 + temps last year.) Also disappointed that the Rex have callouses on their hocks (not sores, just hairless) I've read this was common wih the breed, but I don't feel good about it, and they already have resting mats in their cages.

So, my choices are:

Keep a doe kit from each litter that may be better suited for the heat since it was born here, and send mommas to freezer camp with the rest of the litters. Keep the existing buck and breed him to his daughters for meat. Deal with the calousing on the hocks.

OR

Cull all the Rex and start over with a more heat tolerant breed. I want to find a more of a heritage breed if possible, or start my own hardy mutt strain. Good heat and cold tolerance is a must, as well as a fast growth rate and large body.

What are your opinions? I'm just starting on meat rabbits, so I'm open to suggestions. (I do eat my angora culls too, but they are more valuable to sell for what they go for to make up costs for the food) what would you do and what breeds/crosses would you suggest?

 

[AmysMacdog]

I wonder if the rex does just need more time to adjust. Being new to you and the altitude this summer they may not have as much trouble next year as their systems adjust.

I bought a trio of American Blues and an Am. White bunny in April. I've read they are more tolerant of the heat and so far I've only given them ice bottles about 5 times so far this year and they didn't seem that hot but they sure enjoy those bottles!!! Seems to be a very playful breed! Mine all came from large litters and weighed 4+ lbs at 8 weeks. I highly recommend them so far, I hope to get my first litters from them this fall.

 

[Secuono]

I'm starting to think sore hocks has little to do with fur and flooring and more so how they move and use their feet. I know some people's rabbits get them even on a solid floor with shavings.
Are the does bred? If so, that will cause them more stress, heat and not be able to handle the heat well.
People keep telling me the first year in a hotter area is the hardest and they tend to do better the next year. So I agree with Amysmacdog about waiting to see how they do next year.

 

[PSFAngoras]

One doe is due in a week and another has a litter that will be 3 weeks on Tuesday. So far the kits I have ( first time mom, only kindled two kits, I had to help them nurse until she found out what she was supposed to do with the little worms...) are growing like weeds and are happy, but I'm just discouraged with how much the heat is effecting the does.

I guess I was thinking that they would settle into the heat quicker like the angoras that I got from the same breeder did, and that their coat density was the cause of the heat stress continuing , not that I want a breed with a thinner coat, but I really want them to thrive. I have $130 in this trio, so I think I will just try to be patient with them and breed them sparingly until the cool weather settles in and see how they do next year.

I am still interested in more suggestions for heat tolerant breeds though! I have one angora doe who will breed, but won't take ( some sort of growth in one of the uterine horns causing her to be sterile) so she will be going and I will have a cage open up. I will be replacing her with another meat doe, since the FC candidates are almost immediately gone as soon as they arrive. It's amazing how fast they go in a household of two. (Okay, six if you count the dog and the cats who get spoiled with raw rabbit)

 

[JessiL]

I would think the breed would be less important than the breeder - in that if they come from a breeder who lives in a warm place (at least seasonally), who does fairly little to nothing to coddle them during heat spells, and who expects them to breed year round, then the rabbits should be pretty much good to go.

That said, I also vote for the Americans - those big ears and lanky bodies seem pretty useful in the summer. We have only one summer's experience, but our Americans (blues) all seemed more comfortable in the heat than the Champagne d'Argents. Still, all the adults have made it through so far, and have continued breeding throughout. We had lengthy several spells of 100+ here in Reno, NV, and I would turn on a patio mister if temps were heading above 100 that day - no frozen bottles or other help otherwise. They are, of course, in shade with as breezy of a shelter around them as possible. We did lose one young (5 week old) Champagne to what we suspected was heat, but he was out in a pasture cage. I can't tell yet if those are more comfortable in the heat or less than the standard cages - they do not get the benefit of a mister setup, but are of course surrounded by lots of cool grass and earth.

So, go get some stock from lowland Texas or Arizona!

-Jessi

 

[jessie15273]

I think the bald feet has to do with breeding. If you do keep some, pick out the ones with the most hair on the feet.

 

[Secuono]

My Californians take the heat well. I don't think I've lost one of them to heat. But either way, buy from as far down south as you can for real heat tolerance. A rabbit needs to be bred and raised in the environment to do well in it.

 

[PSFAngoras]

So does breed really matter or more so WHERE they're bred?

How do SF do?

I have a friend that kept a SF doe back for her nephews to show at county fair, but they decided to pass on it, so she's up for grabs. Her barn gets much hotter than my yard, so the doe is used to the heat, and she's already old enough to breed.

She's more than happy to trade for the angora doe I was going to cull (she wants her for a wooler), so it would be the easiest option at this point.

Thoughts?

 

[skysthelimit]

Rex are notorious for sore hocks, it's just a fact. The ones that have the softer, show coats tend to not be as well furred, and the coarser coated ones don't show well, but are less prone to sore hocks. You need to look for a thicker wider foot that's well furred when they are young, and breed towards those.

As far as heat tolerance, I bred all summer long till August, last summer when we had the awful heat wave. I lost one this year from what I thought was heat related, but she was pregnant, and I have had no problems with the others, they had 9 kits. Heat has not been my problem. Even the Angora buck growing back a full show coat doesn't seem phased.

SF are ok too. Really it makes more of a difference with the breeder than the actual breed of rabbit, though it makes sense that the breeds bred for pelts with denser or longer fur, like SF, Rex and Wool breeds will have a slightly harder time with the heat than a Cal or NZ would. .

 

[PSFAngoras]

I understand why the denser coated breeds have a harder time with the heat, but why do they all have to be the breeds I want!?

Grrr...

So, if I'm reading this right, by letting these girls get acclimated, they should theoretically be okay with the heat, but I'll have to watch their hocks closely to make sure the calluses don't become sores. But, if I start selecting those to keep back for wider and better furred hocks, I potentially loose the show quality coat, I gain heat tolerance, but with my limited cage space I can't keep the parents to breed while the kits reach maturity, so I have a much longer wait to be able to put anyone in the freezer.

I think at this point, I will keep the does and watch their hocks. The whole point was to get them for meat, and waiting to breed out better furred hocks looses time for meat litters, so if they do show good heat tolerance next year I will keep them so long as they produce good litters and the calluses don't become sores. I can replace them with their kits when the time comes. And get he SF in the mean time who is already acclimated to help fill the void in the freezer. If she for some reason doesn't work, ( lack of mothering instinct in her genes, she is the only survivor out of 7) then I will make it a point to buy a Cali or NZ doe. Certainly not my favorite breeds, but I am reminding myself that we're in this for the meat, not the looks...

Thanks guys. It's nice having a community to bounce ideas off of and get advice from!

 

[skysthelimit]

You'll be able to see those with a wider, more furred foot at 4 weeks, so cull as usual. I set those aside when I wean at 6 weeks and put them in the meat pen to cull. I pull them out of the meat pen as feed in a particular order, leaving any I was unsure about for just a little longer. No one stays here past 16 weeks, at which time they have a usable pelt for me.

Mine have calluses, and once it's gone that far, I have never seen a foot bleed again.

 

[PSFAngoras]

The sex change fairy strikes again!!!

The silver fox doe wasn't. It's my fault, really. I was the last person to sex the kit at 3 weeks. He's 5 month old now. Anywho, I still lucked out as she had a half sister of his. She's SF/Harlequin/ Rhinelander. She's 11 pounds at 8 months, and has a really meaty frame. She also lost her first litter 9 weeks ago, so we bred her back to one of her bucks tonight and I'll be marking the calendar for kits. She's black with a few stray white hairs, but she has a much thinner coat than the rex or angoras, and the barn she came from gets hotter than my yard, so she should do just fine if she can keep a litter alive. Now we play the waiting game.