Feeling good about litter...

[Lowell]

Butchered all 7 Californians this afternoon. They would have been 12 weeks next Wed. and only 1 weighed under 5# (by just an ounce or 2). The parents are nice "bricks" and the little ones seem to follow after them.

Six in the freezer and one on the grill as I type this.

Are white rabbits easier to skin than black rabbits??? Just seemed like that today!

Thanks for all the help from here to get me started back into rabbit raising!!!!!! Lowell

 

[Cindi Davis]

What time is Dinner LOL, Congrats on the fryers.

 

[ZRabbits]

Congratulations on the 6 in the freezer and one in the pot! Must be very satisfying for you seeing all your hard work come to fruitation. Enjoy your dinner.

Karen

 

[skysthelimit]

You know, I would not be surprised if color made the skin thicker? I've read stranger things.

Wish I was over your house eatin' from the grill.

 

[watersedgerabbitry]

congrats on the stocking of the freezer. I have about 3 more weeks and will then be doing just the same.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Congrats on the delicious litter of deliciousness!

You know, I would not be surprised if color made the skin thicker? I've read stranger things.

Wish I was over your house eatin' from the grill.

You know, could be something to that. I know horses with white feet tend to have crappy hooves...my Paint had the softest feet of any horse ever, all four were white. Farrier always said he'd be less of a problem if he just had black legs...

Hang on while I look up an old saying I almost forgot about horses and white feet.

Google found two versions of the old saying, lol.

One white foot—buy him.
Two white feet—try him.
Three white feet—look well about him.
Four white feet—go without him.

...and...

One white foot, buy him.
Two white feet, try him.
Three white feet, deny him.
Four white feet and a slip in his nose, take him out and feed him to the crows.

Plus I know several other species where pigmentation dictates other features...like deafness or blindness. Maybe there's really something to the notion that white rabbits skin easier/faster. It'd be interesting to look into!!!

Though I'd be almost afraid someone would take it the wrong way and claim some form of animal racism or something.

 

[skysthelimit]

Though I'd be almost afraid someone would take it the wrong way and claim some form of animal racism or something.

That thought had crossed my mind...

But I had remembered the history of german shepherds, where there was a breeding with one of the early ancestors. There was particular color they were trying to perfect, but those pups had bad feet. So they bred and bred, trying to improve feet, but whenever they got that color, the feet were always poor.

 

[MaggieJ]

I find dark rabbits a bit harder to skin than light ones. But since we have never really kept track, it is not statistically significant. More of an impression.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Though I'd be almost afraid someone would take it the wrong way and claim some form of animal racism or something.

That thought had crossed my mind...

But I had remembered the history of german shepherds, where there was a breeding with one of the early ancestors. There was particular color they were trying to perfect, but those pups had bad feet. So they bred and bred, trying to improve feet, but whenever they got that color, the feet were always poor.

Huh, odd but I believe it. Genetics are so complex, some color genes are totally tied to other things. Wish I knew more, alas!

I find dark rabbits a bit harder to skin than light ones. But since we have never really kept track, it is not statistically significant. More of an impression.

Hey, sometimes that's all it takes, is an impression or gut feeling...to notice something true.

 

[LauraNJ]

Plus I know several other species where pigmentation dictates other features...like deafness or blindness. Maybe there's really something to the notion that white rabbits skin easier/faster. It'd be interesting to look into!!!

Though I'd be almost afraid someone would take it the wrong way and claim some form of animal racism or something.

Double merle gene, Aussies have it, breed a merle to a merle and you get 1/4 solid, 1/2 merle and 1/4 double merles. Double merles should be culled at birth.

Double merles do not have color on both ears, around eyes, can be all white or look somewhat normal just missing pigmentation around eyes and on ears, also usually up the stifle onto their side. They seem like healthy pups but they will go deaf and blind by age 2 normally. The few double merles I have had were unnaturally huge and conformation wise not the best. Collies also have the gene. the sire of one of the top Collies in AKC is a double merle which I find ridiculous. He shouldn't have even been registered as last time I looked, a double merle was not a recognized color.

 

[3mina]

AKC does the registering, the parent clubs are the ones that have the final say on DQs.
White Boxers, white GSDs, double merle anything, the AKC will register it, it just can't be shown at an AKC show

 

[DanaYares]

I find that the dark rabbits are MUCH harder to skin than their lighter counterparts... Even when both are from the same litter.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Flies prefer grey (white) horses- it may be because their skin is thinner and easier to bite.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Strange about the flies. They seem to chew on my sorrel and bay just as much as my paint mare who has allot of white.

I wonder if the commercial meat rabbit breeders breed white rabbits because they are easier to skin and process? I always wondered why they stuck with primarily white rabbits. Maybe they have this all figured out but aren't sharing the knowledge with the rest of the bunny breeding world....

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I wonder if the commercial meat rabbit breeders breed white rabbits because they are easier to skin and process?

I have heard that it is because rabbit pelts dye easily and the fur industry prefers them. Also that white fur is more difficult to see on the carcass, so consumers prefer it. That is also why commercial chickens and turkeys are white- any pin feathers left are not as noticeable. Easier skinning may be another "secret" reason!

 

[owlsfriend]

I thought that white rabbits were harder to tell apart and thus less likely to become pets, i.e. easier to think of as a product intended for butcher. (My take on the subject...although, any "identical" looking breed would be just as anonymous.)

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

that white fur is more difficult to see on the carcass, so consumers prefer it. That is also why commercial chickens and turkeys are white- any pin feathers left are not as noticeable.

I did hear that as well...