Flemish Giants ~ feasibility and planning questions

[TF3]

We are new to breeding.
We have an FG doe who just delivered 11 (10 living) for her first kindle, and at Day 3, she is doing great.
She is a fawn with smut and from the looks of the kits, 7 are either really smutty or spotted, three look smoky and fawn.
The girl we bought her from had bred her to a broken grey/white buck (Flemish, she said) and a white with smoky grey points.

Now~ I know that to be shown, an FG must fit one of the 7 colours, and that breeding like colours is important for clear coats.
But they are still Flemish Giants if they have other colours, yes?

I have a gorgeous light grey buck out of show lines/ pedigree. He has white/ grey /and black in his line.
I am trying to figure out breeding him, as he and the fawn will make messy colours, too.
How much does that matter if not breeding for show? (knowing that the hard line is of course to breed to better the breed)
(I come from years in the dog fancy and have been a staunch advocate of ethical breeding and against 'designer dogs' so I am trying to feel out the rabbit world LOL)

Which brings me to feasibility... ideally I'd like to acquire a white or grey doe but the size/ housing space really gives me pause.
We have the space, but I don't know if I want to use it ALL on one or two bunnies, know what I mean?
If I keep a doe from the current litter, she and her dam can co-habit for a long time.
But doing the math on a littler of 10... at 6 weeks that is about 50 lbs. of bunny PLUS the doe... oi!

But I just don't know if in the end, FGs are just too big... too big for meat, for pets, for economical housing...
tell me how it works for you?
What made you choose FG? Stay with them?

Thanks!

Lori
Tail Feather & Fluff Farm

 

[Dood]

The purebred rabbit world is nothing like the purebred dog world

In rabbits ANY rabbit - purebred or mixed - that fits a breeds Standard Of Perfection (SOP) can win at shows - no pedigree is necessary

To register said rabbit with ARBA it must have a completed 3 generation pedigree with only one breed listed

These pedigrees are created by the rabbit owners and easy to fudge and even outright lie about the information and the breeds in the rabbits ancestry

Also, offspring of pedigreed rabbits ARE NOT automatically registered with ARBA and must be inspected at senior weight to see if they match their breeds SOP

Another common problem is that , many, MANY people think colour equals breed so rabbits with a commercal body type and himilayan coloured are all called Californians, REW are often called New Zealand White or any steel rabbit is called a Flemish or any broken rabbit is called a Checkered giant :shrug:

Broken is not a recognized colour in Flemish so "someone" crossed in a broken coloured rabbit, it's possible it was done more than 3 generations ago and they have been keeping the most Flemish looking kits and are trying to develop the broken colour in Flemish (this is how all new colours are developed in a breed - they've been trying to get the blue colour of Silver Fox recognized for over 6 years but keep failing :mrgreen: ) but more likely than not it was a rescent crossing :shrug:

 

[TF3]

Well, you are a breath of fresh air ~ thank you!
I won't feel so much colour guilt LOL and I can see the radical difference in worlds
Blue Silver Fox would be awesome! I did hear that there has been work towards recognizing broken, too.

I think it was probably a recent crossing since the girl is a teen and said how much she likes to mix them up to see what she will get!
My doe is seems typey~ I see FG when I look at her, especially with my buck, whom I know is purebred (met each generation).
So I'll just need to see how these kits grow out and whether I try a different buck OR find a doe for mine.