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[WildWolf]

Are there any advantages to having a pure-bred rabbit rather than a mutt? Other than if you wanted to show them... Are there better breeds for meat, or fur, or can you just go by the individual rabbit?

 

[Secuono]

If you ever want to sell them, best to have papered pure breds.
But if you will not be selling any of them, then it doesn't seem to matter. The mix matters more.

 

[A&BRabbitry]

I prefer a well bred rabbit myself as the mutts I used to raise would often have a worse feed to weight gain ratio and you will find a higher quality rabbit in one that is papered as most breeders strive to keep only the best and improve their line. While one who raises mutts is often breeding for numbers and what you get out of each litter is often a gamble, unless of course you are into genetics and even then they might stump you quite often.

 

[Miss M]

I raise meat mutts. I don't know a lot about how my growout feed:weight ratio compares with others, I do know that I seem to have a very competitive price/pound for pellet-raised rabbits. I spend about $1.25/pound of dressed rabbit, if I butcher at 10 weeks. Each week after that adds $.25 to the price.

The only breeders I've seen who have done the math and spend significantly less per pound are those who grow their own rabbit food. Those who feed purchased bulk grains spend a decent amount less, as well.

I am slowly working on the quality of my mutts. I have a NZW doe who was given to us, and a recently purchased Californian doe. Purity doesn't matter to me, as I am neither showing nor selling rabbits. All that matters to me is efficient production of meat. These should help me get rabbits that reach 5 pounds faster than I do now (I currently have to wait about 12 weeks to get near 5 pounds, rather than 10 weeks), and they should be able to do it on about the same amount of feed.

When my third doe dies, she will be replaced with a Silver Fox or something red. My buck will be replaced preferably with a broken New Zealand. I like nestbox surprises. All the different colors and patterns are so much fun!

Maggie also raises meat mutts. She does not feed pellets.

 

[MaggieJ]

I like my meat mutts. They have to be the most trouble-free rabbits ever. Since I have a small rabbitry, I keep only 2-3 breeding does and a buck. When the time comes to replace one, I try to choose wisely to improve my stock. I did bring in a purebred NZR buck a few years ago and this certainly added solidity to the offspring. This spring, I saw whole rabbits for sale in a local grocery. They cost $24 for a fryer and their hindquarters were skinny compared to my rabbits. They were also very long in the rib cage, which does not help the meat/bone ratio.

My feed costs are low because I am ideally placed to feed a lot of weeds and other plants. I can get good alfalfa hay with some grass content for $3.50 a square bale. Grain is about $10 per 50 pounds but it goes a long way. Of course, I could feed purebreds the same way I feed my mutts, but I have no intention of switching.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I think it depends. Are your mutts crossbreds of commercial-type rabbits or are they literally straight-up mutts? I just dressed out my entire line of mongerel rabbits because they were lean, rangey, long-bodied beasts with spooky, flighty temperaments. I'm already being amazed by the purebreds I bought to replace them...and I do plan to have a few more crossbred litters before I'm done but these won't be mutt-to-mutt, they'll be New Zealand to Champagne. Once I buy a Champagne buck, the New Zealand goes in a crock pot and it'll be papered purebreds from me from then on.

Judge your meat mutts by their bodies and their temperament. If they grow slowly, stay lean and small and act like rejects...then they are not worth your time. If they have nice, solid bodies and good meat-to-bone ratio while growing quickly and efficiently, then sure, keep the mutts!

Remember: it costs just as much for you to feed a lanky, rangey little meatless mutt as a nice brick-of-meat mutt OR purebred.

 

[Miss M]

Once I've replaced all my original stock with nice, meaty breeds, I plan to raise all my replacements from them. So I'll eventually be back to true mutts, but all descended from meat stock.

Rather than from a minilop. :lol:

I think I do really well for having a minilop as the father of my herd!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

.......................is it wrong that I kinda want to cross my Holland with the Champagnes to see if I can get a silvered Lop? :mrgreen:

 

[3mina]

I've raised both and I like having the option to show, or sell. You'll be keeping records anyway to keep track of who's doing what in your herd.

 

[skysthelimit]

There are better breeds for meat, and better breeds for fur, but if you are astute with your genetic choices, you can get a meat mutt going good. But in my view, why do the work when it's already been done for you. NZ and Cals are best for meat. I raise Rex, especially for the fur and the variety of colors. Woolers raise angoras and other wool breeds. Now I would like to cross my rexes with NZ to see if I can get a faster growing Rex, but from what I understand, someone is already growing a faster Rex line, they are just on the other side of the country for me.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

someone is already growing a faster Rex line, they are just on the other side of the country for me.

Do tell! East coast or West?<br /><br />__________ Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:18 pm __________<br /><br />

why do the work when it's already been done for you

:yeahthat:

There is always room for improvement, so start with good rabbits, and make them better!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

why do the work when it's already been done for you

:yeahthat:

There is always room for improvement, so start with good rabbits, and make them better!

or start with the best you can get and make them better... thats what i'm doing...

 

[WildWolf]

Wow, there seems to be very mixed opinions! I guess it just depends on the mutt? I'm going to go back to the breeder (she breeds for pets, and doesn't live too far from me) and ask again what the genetics are of my 2 mutt does. One of them is very big, the other is medium-sized... Both are not aggressive, although I'm still working on getting them used to being touched and handled. I do like the idea of surprise coat colors! I think that when I start to breed, I'll get a purebred buck. That way I'll have a 'stabilizer', along with surprise coat colors!

Is it true that purebred rabbits tend to have more health problems, because of inbreeding? I know that it is that way with dogs... A certain breed has a certain health problem. Like my purebred West Highland Terrier has very sensitive skin (and so he is more prone to skin diseases), because of his breed.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Wow, there seems to be very mixed opinions! I guess it just depends on the mutt? I'm going to go back to the breeder (she breeds for pets, and doesn't live too far from me) and ask again what the genetics are of my 2 mutt does. One of them is very big, the other is medium-sized... Both are not aggressive, although I'm still working on getting them used to being touched and handled. I do like the idea of surprise coat colors! I think that when I start to breed, I'll get a purebred buck. That way I'll have a 'stabilizer', along with surprise coat colors!

Is it true that purebred rabbits tend to have more health problems, because of inbreeding? I know that it is that way with dogs... A certain breed has a certain health problem. Like my purebred West Highland Terrier has very sensitive skin (and so he is more prone to skin diseases), because of his breed.

First ANY rabbit can be inbred, being purebred or a mutt has nothing to do with it. However wildly OUTCROSSING does absolutely nothing for a rabbit breeding program. You need to breed on the good qualities of a particular rabbit by "linebreeding". This way you limit the number of possible genetic combinations to the ones you are wanting. Otherwise its a crapshoot everytime you breed two higly unrelated rabbits. Second there is nothing wrong with inbreeding animals.. what is wrong is if you breed two animals that are known carriers for something you don't want in your program or have some sort of congenital disease. Your dog does not have sensitive skin because of her BREED>> she has it because her parents were bred together and produced it! It was that breeder's choice or lack of. This is something that is in your dogs FAMILY lines which is way different than what breed she is. Being a certain breed does not mean that dog will automatically get something simply because she is that breed!! The Seeing Eye in Moristown NJ for example, has eliminated hip displaysia in their lines of Golden Retrievers! Simply by strong selective breeding and testing over the years! Certainly in dogs it is way easier now with the multitude of genetic tests available that two dogs that carry the same autosomal recessive gene for something can now be kept apart from breeding each other in order to avoid that disease.
So yes its not about what breed or what mix something is, its about how good each individual is and what they can contribute to the breeding program.

 

[toastedoat37]

if you want to raise meat, pick one of the breeds that have already been designed to get the best meat to bone ratio as well as feed to weight, find good healthy rabbits,,,,,,,you will be ahead of the game that way and there are plenty to choose from. them giant rabbits are too big boned, you raise alot of bone instead of meat, and it seems a lot of the meat mutts are bread with flemish giants by breeders that dont know what they are doing.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

A mutt can be a unknown mix of this and that or a cross of two or three very good meat breeds. It depends on the rabbits themselves. A rabbit that is a cross of NZW/Cal/Champagne will likely be a great meat rabbit, while a Lionhead/Belgian Hare/Flemish cross would likely NOT be a good meat rabbit....I mean, it will be made of MEAT but the meat to bone ratio will not be great, the grow out rate will likely stink and it may eat more than it is worth in the long run. So, mutts can be good....or not. Just like purebreds can be good, but there are also those that are not.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I think that when I start to breed, I'll get a purebred buck. That way I'll have a 'stabilizer', along with surprise coat colors!

Just so you know, this did not work for me. YMMV.

However wildly OUTCROSSING does absolutely nothing for a rabbit breeding program. You need to breed on the good qualities of a particular rabbit by "linebreeding". This way you limit the number of possible genetic combinations to the ones you are wanting. Otherwise its a crapshoot everytime you breed two higly unrelated rabbits. Second there is nothing wrong with inbreeding animals.. what is wrong is if you breed two animals that are known carriers for something you don't want in your program or have some sort of congenital disease.

VERY well said. Very true, too.

So yes its not about what breed or what mix something is, its about how good each individual is and what they can contribute to the breeding program.

This is why I am switching to purebreds as soon as I can, because rabbits bred for certain qualities for countless generations are more likely to produce similar qualities in offspring.

them giant rabbits are too big boned, you raise alot of bone instead of meat, and it seems a lot of the meat mutts are bread with flemish giants by breeders that dont know what they are doing.

VERY, VERY true.

A mutt can be a unknown mix of this and that or a cross of two or three very good meat breeds. It depends on the rabbits themselves. A rabbit that is a cross of NZW/Cal/Champagne will likely be a great meat rabbit, while a Lionhead/Belgian Hare/Flemish cross would likely NOT be a good meat rabbit....I mean, it will be made of MEAT but the meat to bone ratio will not be great, the grow out rate will likely stink and it may eat more than it is worth in the long run. So, mutts can be good....or not. Just like purebreds can be good, but there are also those that are not.

...................and true too.

 

[Miss M]

So, mutts can be good....or not. Just like purebreds can be good, but there are also those that are not.

At the show we went to, there was one guy with some amazing champagnes (he knew they were amazing, too, and went on and on about how amazing they were). One thing that really shocked me, though, was the fact that he bred for small litter size, no more than 4 per litter. This way, they'd grow faster and bigger.

Ordinarily, the champagne would be a very good meat rabbit, but litters of 2 - 4 would NOT be ideal for a meat rabbitry! So it all depends on the rabbit, the breeder, and the goal of the breeder.

 

[skysthelimit]

someone is already growing a faster Rex line, they are just on the other side of the country for me.

Do tell! East coast or West?

__________ Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:18 pm __________

why do the work when it's already been done for you

:yeahthat:

There is always room for improvement, so start with good rabbits, and make them better!

West. Coast Rex, wish I could get some of those.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Ordinarily, the champagne would be a very good meat rabbit, but litters of 2 - 4 would NOT be ideal for a meat rabbitry! So it all depends on the rabbit, the breeder, and the goal of the breeder.

Hah! ToastedOat is vindicated! :lol: Some breeders of meat rabbits who also show are looking more to show results than meat production. I bet his champagnes make great meat pen rabbits- but filling the freezer is a secondary goal.

Next time I buy a line of rabbits, I am going to have a lot more questions for the breeder regarding their goals.<br /><br />__________ Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:36 pm __________<br /><br />

someone is already growing a faster Rex line, they are just on the other side of the country for me.

Do tell! East coast or West?

West. Coast Rex, wish I could get some of those.

Is "Coast Rex" the rabbitry? If not, could you pm me the contact info? I need another buck!