Large gall bladder

[mike17l]

I butchered some 11 week olds today. As well as what had been intended as a breeder doe, however her litter mates are on their second litter and outweighed her by a couple pounds. She had very little meat on her compared to 'normal' and her gall bladder was 5x the size of the 11 week olds. She was not more than 6 months. She ate normal, unless I gave greens, which she would devour. I keep manna pro in front of them and supplement with various greens. Any ideas?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The amount of fluid in the gall bladder varies according to where the rabbit is in the process of digesting its feed.

When there is a lot of fluid, it also appears darker, but I suspect that if you were to drain it onto a surface it would actually be the same hue.

If she wasn't "skinny", the amount of meat on her could be due to her body type.

A lot of people that keep rabbits for meat use fast growth or greatest weight when deciding which rabbits to keep as breeders. I made the same mistake myself when first starting out, as a matter of fact.

But what you should actually select for is body type. The standards for meat rabbit breeds are written not with the goal of having a pretty live rabbit, but so that the butchered animal will be a prime piece of meat.

You want to see good depth, a deep loin, nice wide shoulders, and well rounded hindquarters.

 

[mike17l]

She was beyond skinny and was from great meat lines (lukefahr specials), not sure what the deal was, but that's why she's dog food now.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

She was beyond skinny and was from great meat lines (lukefahr specials), not sure what the deal was, but that's why she's dog food now.

Next time you have a problem like this, post pictures of the internal organs so we can see if something looks "off".