I've been reading with interest the threads about what has happened to rabbits ( and other livestock) over recent decades and the one about inbreeding/line breeding. Trying to apply what I'm reading to decisions we need to make this summer about our rabbits. So here are some things I think I've learned from RT:
Breed the best--eat the rest
Breeding is an art--good parents don't always produce good offspring
The same doe will produce better kits with one buck than with another, even if the bucks are of equal quality
First time does are more apt to have problems kindling or raising kits
Don't get rid of your old buck until your replacement has been proven.
If any of those ideas are just wrong, I hope someone wiser will correct me.
So now I have a question--whether to keep our current buck, SF, almost 2 years old, just under 8 pounds, have had live kits every time from every doe we've bred to him, good disposition.
We started with this buck and 2 NZW does a year ago. Current 3 does are the daughters of this buck and the more successful of the does (culled for biting) The doe that has the largest litters seems to have insufficient milk or just not be a good mother--don't plan to rebreed her. None of the 3 has done as well as their mother so far. Do we keep breeding to the SF buck another season or would it make sense to keep a buck from the best of these does to breed next year--that buck would still have 1/4 NZ genes, right? Would that be a sensible move to try to get back some of the NZ productivity?
I know most people start with a related trio or at least with the same breed. But given where we are, any suggestions from someone more experienced? It also sounds as if most breeders are working with lots more rabbits--we only want to keep a buck and 3 or so does for growing our own meat, but it seems that we'd have to keep 2 bucks for a while and more does than we really want until we figure out who is productive.
And finally--whose best? The best of the does we're breeding this year might not make the cut in someone else's rabbitry. I find it all very confusing. When I read about problems others are having with no kits or disease issues, I feel like we're doing pretty well. Then when I read about others whose first time does never lose a kit and who get kits to 5 pounds in 8 weeks, I feel like we're contributing to the decline of livestock.
Need to remember how much I've learned in the last year and just keep on reading and breeding and keeping those records. And asking endless questions.
Breed the best--eat the rest
Breeding is an art--good parents don't always produce good offspring
The same doe will produce better kits with one buck than with another, even if the bucks are of equal quality
First time does are more apt to have problems kindling or raising kits
Don't get rid of your old buck until your replacement has been proven.
If any of those ideas are just wrong, I hope someone wiser will correct me.
So now I have a question--whether to keep our current buck, SF, almost 2 years old, just under 8 pounds, have had live kits every time from every doe we've bred to him, good disposition.
We started with this buck and 2 NZW does a year ago. Current 3 does are the daughters of this buck and the more successful of the does (culled for biting) The doe that has the largest litters seems to have insufficient milk or just not be a good mother--don't plan to rebreed her. None of the 3 has done as well as their mother so far. Do we keep breeding to the SF buck another season or would it make sense to keep a buck from the best of these does to breed next year--that buck would still have 1/4 NZ genes, right? Would that be a sensible move to try to get back some of the NZ productivity?
I know most people start with a related trio or at least with the same breed. But given where we are, any suggestions from someone more experienced? It also sounds as if most breeders are working with lots more rabbits--we only want to keep a buck and 3 or so does for growing our own meat, but it seems that we'd have to keep 2 bucks for a while and more does than we really want until we figure out who is productive.
And finally--whose best? The best of the does we're breeding this year might not make the cut in someone else's rabbitry. I find it all very confusing. When I read about problems others are having with no kits or disease issues, I feel like we're doing pretty well. Then when I read about others whose first time does never lose a kit and who get kits to 5 pounds in 8 weeks, I feel like we're contributing to the decline of livestock.
Need to remember how much I've learned in the last year and just keep on reading and breeding and keeping those records. And asking endless questions.
