Is it possible to breed big wide hind feet into

[a7736100]

breeds that have narrow feet? Would be nice to have Holland Lop type feet on Rex rabbits.

 

[alforddm]

Yes. However, something to consider, widen the feet and you're more than likely going to be increasing bone size. I breed rex as well. The struggle is real.

 

[Nyctra]

Isn't some of the fat-footedness because of their bushy fur? :shock: I wonder how that would work with Rex having their extra-short fur. Even Plush Lop feet look kinda thin.

 

[KimitsuKouseki]

Isn't some of the fat-footedness because of their bushy fur? :shock: I wonder how that would work with Rex having their extra-short fur. Even Plush Lop feet look kinda thin.

I agree, I've butchered holland lops for a friend and their feet arent any bigger then normal.

 

[MeadowView]

Anything can be bred for. It'll probably be better for you to breed for thicker, denser fur on the hind feet rather than thicker feet in general, as alforddm said you'd probably move away from fine bone if you breed for big, sturdy feet.

 

[skysthelimit]

Rex should not have fine bone. They are a 4 class commercial breed.

Wide feet means better bone, which makes a better Rex. Interestingly, denser fur is something that tends to tag along with wider feet and better bone. I start looking at feet as soon as the kits are born. The long narrow footed ones are auto culls.

The struggle is real, but there are plenty of good specimens within the breed that have good bone and good feet. This is a trait that has often been ignored because Rex were so rare in past years. Now, not so much, so cull it, and replace it.

 

[alforddm]

As a commercial breed, finer bone means a better meat to bone ratio which is desirable or at least should be. What is sometimes wanted on the show table and what is desirable on a carcass don't always match. I don't mean they should have extremely fine bone however, as that leads to a delicate animal which is also not desirable.

 

[SableSteel]

A lot of the bigness of holland hind feet comes from their long, rollback fur and dwarfism. Since rex have neither of those, the amount of bone you'd need to get the feet that big would detract from its value commercially, like alforddm said. But if you just want feet that are big enough to protect against sore hocks, sure that's possible, many breeders have done that already. They don't need to be quite a fluffy as a holland's feet for that purpose.

 

[skysthelimit]

As a commercial breed, finer bone means a better meat to bone ratio which is desirable or at least should be. What is sometimes wanted on the show table and what is desirable on a carcass don't always match. I don't mean they should have extremely fine bone however, as that leads to a delicate animal which is also not desirable.

The SOP would disagree with your assessment. In the description for Rex, the desired bone is medium. Fine bone does not always equal better meat. Many have fine bone, but they lack the body length proportions, well rounded hips and well filled loin, spring of ribs and meaty shoulders to have a good bone to meat ratio. I also disagree with show standards not making correct meat qualities. Since shows were originally deigned to asses commercial breeding value for many animals, if a breeder adheres to the Standard (from which some do stray) and the judge knows the Standard (some do not) then rangy animals that are of poor commercial quality will not placed as a good representation of the breed.