Help with choosing breed

[NewUrbanHomestead]

Hey everyone!
Excited to join the world of rabbit addictions!

Im curious as to what breed I should choose. Here are my uses of the rabbit:

1. meat source (family of 4 and prkmary use)
2. Pelts donations or sale as I don’t want to waste any part of the animal. That’s disrespectful to the life and the animal.
3. Fertilizer from excrement.
4. I have plenty of space for cages in my backyard. I can set aside 200-300’ for cages and breeding
5. I’m fond of the the silver fox, and the NZ, and harli and Flemish. It’s my understanding that the latter 2 are bad bone to meat ratio.
6. can you cross breed for effective genetic choices?


thank you in advance folks!
Christopher
Los Angeles, Ca

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Flenishes are nice

 

[ladysown]

You can easily crossbreed for whatever traits you desire.

Harlequins... it all depends on the breeder. When I had them, they were solidly built meat rabbits, but I got them from a guy who loved the breed but wanted a good meat rabbit so bred them for that purpose. They were such wonderful rabbits.

BUT a guy who would show the best of that I produced all across Ontario and into the states often told me that judges (particularly in the states) loved the build of my rabbits as many of the harle's were bred only for their markings, which is terribly unfair to the breed. So if you want to do harle's, suss out a good breeder and work with them.

 

[Cindy in SD]

Haha... I spent so much time pouring over lists of rabbit breeds, trying to decide (impossible!) which would be the best for me. It was all irrelevant because (other than pet and fiber breeds) rabbits are really tough to find around here. I got some standard Rex crosses and was dam grateful to get them. The only problem; they're Soooo cute. Cuter than chickens and I don't like killing chickens at all. That part is gonna be tough, but it's quite a while off as these are just old enough to leave mama.

They're going to be my breeders and hopefully I can find another buck at some point and a couple more does so that I can maintain genetic diversity.

 

[Buknee]

We all have our preferences. Start slow and make changes along the way.

I started with Flemish/NZ cross. Two bucks, two does. Wonderful rabbits. I still have all of my original except a doe I had to put down due to paralysis. The other doe just successfully raised a litter of 12. This was only her second litter.

I have since added two more Flem/cross does. I also added a NZ doe but sold her within a short time. While she was a good Dam, I didn't care for her personality. But yet my NZ that are crossed with Flemish, I love. Meat to bone is good on this cross. Plus the bone is super for bone broth. Grow out were all nice size by 12 weeks.

I have also added Petra, a purebred Flemish. She is just a bit over 3 months and already 9 lb, 5 oz. It will be interesting to see how she turns out. The verdict is not in on her yet.

Two meat mutts have recently joined my stock. (Rex/Chin/NZ) Haylee just kindled a litter of 5, chubby, healthy kits. A wonderful mom.

And last but not least is Harlee and Hershey. They are my purebred Rex. I was never interested in Rex until I met them. Their fur is amazing! Their personalities are amazing! Their coloring is amazing! While they will not bring as much meat with their kindle, I will have amazing pelts to work with.
Hershey is almost 3 months and weighs 5 lb, 8 oz. She is just two weeks younger that Petra, my Flemish, and almost half the size. So if they were not going to be breeders, Petra would definitely put a lot more food on the table.

So in a nutshell, diversity is good. Change as needed. Trial and error. Look for stock with a history of good weight. Experience. And be prepared to become a rabbit addict.