Inbreeding?

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

So I have a silver fox doe and I'm trying to get her bred. I have 3 other silver fox bucks Father, Brother, and a not-related buck. The obvious one to choose would be the non-related buck, but the only problem is that he won't breed her, I have tried but he gets on tries and gives up. What should I do? She wants to be bred/I need her to be bred, so should I just breed her to her father or Brother? And what to do with the buck?

 

[Alaska Satin]

So I have a silver fox doe and I'm trying to get her bred. I have 3 other silver fox bucks Father, Brother, and a not-related buck. The obvious one to choose would be the non-related buck, but the only problem is that he won't breed her, I have tried but he gets on tries and gives up. What should I do? She wants to be bred/I need her to be bred, so should I just breed her to her father or Brother? And what to do with the buck?

Check the buck for issues that might make him uncomfortable - sore hocks, sores on his genitals or inside his legs, etc. I've seen all of those things make bucks change their mind during breeding attempts. Recently we had to help my daughter's friend with a buck that had gotten "stuck" in his privates, if you catch my drift. When we examined him, we couldn't express his penis, in fact when we tried, it prolapsed (turned inside out). We soaked him in warm water for some time and carefully worked everything loose. He seems much happier now but she hasn't tried breeding him again yet. He's an older proven buck and the only thing we could think was that he possibly got dehydrated...?

Keep track of your buck's weight - that can sometimes give you a hint that something's wrong. Make sure he's healthy and then I'd give him a break and let him try again later before culling him. Everybody has their off days.

I'd say breed your doe to whichever buck you like better, sire or sib. She is definitely 50% genetically related to her sire. On average, siblings are also related at the 50% level, but theoretically they can share 0% to 100% of their genes (of course the extremes are far less likely). Unless you're aware of issues in the line - malocclusion, tendencies to GI problems, etc. - I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Check the buck for issues that might make him uncomfortable - sore hocks, sores on his genitals or inside his legs, etc. I've seen all of those things make bucks change their mind during breeding attempts. Recently we had to help my daughter's friend with a buck that had gotten "stuck" in his privates, if you catch my drift. When we examined him, we couldn't express his penis, in fact when we tried, it prolapsed (turned inside out). We soaked him in warm water for some time and carefully worked everything loose. He seems much happier now but she hasn't tried breeding him again yet. He's an older proven buck and the only thing we could think was that he possibly got dehydrated...?

Keep track of your buck's weight - that can sometimes give you a hint that something's wrong. Make sure he's healthy and then I'd give him a break and let him try again later before culling him. Everybody has their off days.

I'd say breed your doe to whichever buck you like better, sire or sib. She is definitely 50% genetically related to her sire. On average, siblings are also related at the 50% level, but theoretically they can share 0% to 100% of their genes (of course the extremes are far less likely). Unless you're aware of issues in the line - malocclusion, tendencies to GI problems, etc. - I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I have noticed weight loss, he doesn't have as much of an appetite as he did, and he does have sore hocks that I'm trying to heal... Thats horrible. So it doesn't matter who I breed her with.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I have noticed weight loss, he doesn't have as much of an appetite as he did, and he does have sore hocks that I'm trying to heal... Thats horrible. So it doesn't matter who I breed her with.

Yes, it's probably the sore hocks. It really hurts them when bucks put that pressure on their sore feet.

If your other bucks don't have sore hocks, you might re-think breeding that one anyway, unless there's something different in his situation that caused the sore hocks that the other bucks didn't encounter. The tendency to develop sore hocks does run in certain lines.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

No other bucks have it.

 

[dlynn]

So I have a silver fox doe and I'm trying to get her bred. I have 3 other silver fox bucks Father, Brother, and a not-related buck. The obvious one to choose would be the non-related buck, but the only problem is that he won't breed her, I have tried but he gets on tries and gives up. What should I do? She wants to be bred/I need her to be bred, so should I just breed her to her father or Brother? And what to do with the buck?

I was trying to keep my bucks as unrelated as possible.when I had a problem with one buck I replaced him in that colony group with a brother. I have been getting the prettiest kits in litters of 10-12 from that group. Try it. If there's problems , make changes

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Update. I put the doe in with her brother and she got 4 fall-offs that I saw. he wasn't that interested in her anymore so I switched bucks. Dad sniffed her and went right to work, I did have to hold her down for a couple but Dad got 5 fall-offs that I saw...all in all she got 9 fall-offs. I dont care about the genetics of the kits produced because they just going to go into the freezer. I will get rid of the buck with sore hocks.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Update. I put the doe in with her brother and she got 4 fall-offs that I saw. he wasn't that interested in her anymore so I switched bucks. Dad sniffed her and went right to work, I did have to hold her down for a couple but Dad got 5 fall-offs that I saw...all in all she got 9 fall-offs. I dont care about the genetics of the kits produced because they just going to go into the freezer. I will get rid of the buck with sore hocks.

Don't take offense to the following comments; you didn't do anything "wrong" and you will probably be tickled to see baby bunnies in another month or so. But in the future, if you get four fall-offs from one buck, I wouldn't put her in with another. One fall-off is usually enough, four is plenty - if she's going to get bred, she's bred. Especially if you had to hold her down for the second round, she was probably done. Nine fall-offs will not necessarily mean she has a bigger litter than four fall-offs, unless there is something wrong with one of the bucks, but unfortunately you will not be able to tell that at this point. She may have kits sired by both bucks, but again you will not be able to tell which is which.

For meat bunnies it may not matter if you can't assign a pedigree, but you'll lose an important advantage to line-breeding, which is identification of strengths and weaknesses in each animal. If you find malocclusion or GI problems like weaning enteritis, for example, you won't know whether that's coming from one, or the other, or even both. If you get a couple of kits with really excellent growth rates, same thing. When you're breeding toward a goal - in your case, it sounds like it's meat rabbits - the hope is always to keep offspring that are better than the parent. To know whether the offspring produces better than the sire, you need to compare them. Perhaps the young buck has genes from his mother that really complement the sire's, and the young buck can produce better kits. Alternatively, maybe the mother's genes weren't actually an improvement, in which case doubling them up by a sibling breeding will take you a step backwards, and the older sire will produce better. I've had both happen in my barn.

I don't mean to rain on your parade - it's exciting to get your first breeding underway! In the long run it probably won't matter a bit; just food for thought.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

I wasn't planning to breed to both bucks but I just wanted her bred. This litter is just for meat but her next litter will be for other purposes and I might keep one depending on how they look. I didn't think about seeing the genetics because in my mind I was just thinking they would just be for meat so it didn't matter. I appreciate all the info I am trying to learn more about rabbits and improve my rabbitry thanks.

 

[dlynn]

I was trying to keep my bucks as unrelated as possible.when I had a problem with one buck I replaced him in that colony group with a brother. I have been getting the prettiest kits in litters of 10-12 from that group. Try it. If there's problems , make changes

Just wanted to show off the nice nests Luna and Aria made. Currently 10 kits in each nest. 1 and 1 1/2 week old. Group housing and permanent den boxes.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Update. I palpated her she felt like she might have babies in her... It's hard to be sure since her mother had kits a few days ago and she was hiding them from me so I guess it's just the waiting game (I hate the waiting game!) It's so hard to get rid of the buck. I might just keep him and use him for a couple of litters then sell him.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Just wanted to show off the nice nests Luna and Aria made. Currently 10 kits in each nest. 1 and 1 1/2 week old. Group housing and permanent den boxes.

How are the kits?

 

[dlynn]

How are the kits?

Growing fast, eating other foods, exploring their yard. Everytime I tried to get group pics they scattered.

 

[Mckatie]

Growing fast, eating other foods, exploring their yard. Everytime I tried to get group pics they scattered.

So pretty!

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Growing fast, eating other foods, exploring their yard. Everytime I tried to get group pics they scattered.

What breed are they?

 

[dlynn]

What breed are they?

Silver Fox. Have black, blue (grey) lilac (grey with pink cast), and chocolate. Did lots of reading before picking this breed. Have never raised anything else and have been very happy with them. Seem to have good size litters, good mother's, hardy and adaptable.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Silver Fox. Have black, blue (grey) lilac (grey with pink cast), and chocolate. Did lots of reading before picking this breed. Have never raised anything else and have been very happy with them. Seem to have good size litters, good mother's, hardy and adaptable.

That's why I like the breed. Cute, hardy, dual purpose, big and so much more. They are my favorite breed so far.