breeding related rabbits

[shannan04]

I'm new to breeding rabbits but decided to purchase 2 papered mini Rex's I told the breeder my intentions and did not realize until I got home and looked at their papers they are brother and sister. Same mom and dad but from different litters. I know breeding this close is frowned upon due to possible defects. But being from different litters will this still matter?

 

[wamplercathy]

I'm new to rabbits myself, but I wouldn't breed a brother and sister. For my herd I have 3 does 'fairly' unrelated and 1 buck that is 'fairly' unrelated and 1 buck that is related to 1 doe (mother and son).

Here is a line breeding chart I found on google images:


I hope this helps,
Cathy

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

The general rule is that you don't breed brother to sister.

However...

I believe the main reason it is discouraged is because breeding that closely will accentuate any bad genetics shared by the pair.
Some breeders will do this to find problems or to build up strengths. I bred brother to sister once by mistake - didn't have any problems.

The rabbits don't really pay attention to pedigrees so they won't care.

You can breed the pair and if there are problems, don't do it again.

 

[Rainey]

being from different litters doesn't change their being full siblings, having the same mother and father.

There are different opinions on breeding brother to sister as there on pretty much everything. Generally breeding mother to son or father to daughter (line-breeding) is more accepted and practiced than breeding brother to sister (inbreeding)

I started out with a SF buck and 2 NZW does, then bred does from those litters back to the buck. Next season I'll be using a young buck from one of those litters--now just 1/4 NZ--back to the 2 half NZ does. But I've also kept a couple junior does that are full sisters to the new buck and plan to breed them to him but probably not to keep any from those litters. So I guess I'm saying that I wouldn't never breed siblings but I would hesitate to have that as the base for building my herd.

Hope you'll hear from others who've been at this longer and know more than I do.

 

[Ramjet]

They will produce healthy offspring and its highly unlikely you get any defects , it just seems that brother and sister pairings do not often out produce themselves due to limited genetic possibilities.

You wont get rabbits with 5 legs and 3 ears .... it'll just be difficult to "improve the herd".


This is more about people saying "Yuck" at the thought of incest than anything "proven".

 

[wamplercathy]

They will produce healthy offspring and its highly unlikely you get any defects , it just seems that brother and sister pairings do not often out produce themselves due to limited genetic possibilities.

You wont get rabbits with 5 legs and 3 ears .... it'll just be difficult to "improve the herd".


This is more about people saying "Yuck" at the thought of incest than anything "proven".

Personally it's not a yuck factor, it's the limited gene pool that has me most concerned. From my reading you get better growth, and litter size by limiting in-breeding. But it is strictly a personal choice. One that can be both beneficial and harmful. If you decide to in-breed, do so carefully. Also I would not start my herd with in-breeding. Kind of starting a receipt with salt.

 

[alforddm]

You limit the gene poll more by breeding parent to offspring (which is widely accepted) than you do by breeding full siblings (although just barely).

0 identical twins; clones 100%[4] (1)
1 parent-offspring[5] 50% (2−1)
2 full siblings 50% (2−2+2−2)

 

[wamplercathy]

You limit the gene poll more by breeding parent to offspring (which is widely accepted) than you do by breeding full siblings (although just barely).

0 identical twins; clones 100%[4] (1)
1 parent-offspring[5] 50% (2−1)
2 full siblings 50% (2−2+2−2)

:? :?

Just a note I'm basing my opinion mostly on breeding dogs. But assumed that knowledge would transfer over. :? :? I have so much to learn.

 

[Dood]

Livestock is often bred differently because unlike dogs you keep the best and eat the rest so negative traits are promptly eliminated from the gene pool

My herd of purebred meat rabbits is EXTREMELY inbred but they are chocked full of highly desirable production traits and I haven't had evidence of depressed immune systems or any "mutants" born

 

[SleepyhollowRabbitry]

I have a Mini rex pair. They are brother and sister from same litter. The breeders daughter told me that she knows someone who got their best babies out of inline breeding. So i bred them together. She will be due on next Thursday. If she isn't bred (buck might of been shooting blanks) i will be bringing her to the rabbit show next month then rebreed her after the show.

 

[3mina]

I breed anything to anything as long as they do NOT share faults.

Recently I heard about a very productive herd that was bred solely on complementary traits, the only records the owner kept were hutch cards. This herd was based on a trio with no new rabbits added, the owner has been breeding this herd for decades.