Mandolin vs commercial style bodies

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Schipperkesue

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I am curious and hope that people with a wider range of experience with different meat breeds than I have can answer.

When you consider the mandolin body type like the Americans have and the more rounded commercial style body like the New Zealand's have, which body type has a higher meat ratio. Or is there even a difference?
 
Commercial has a much higher meat to bone ratio. That's why the largest breeds (the Flemish Giant, Giant Chinchilla) are mandolin because they need a higher bone to meat ratio to handle that much weight. It is also the reason that even though commercial type breeds are smaller,they are better meat producers (along with faster growth rate on the popular meat breeds like New Zealands).
 
With all due respect, I'm not sure that I agree with that (the blanket statement that commercial have a higher meat to bone ratio). Flemish Giant and Giant Chinchilla are giant breeds, not meat breeds. I have both Champagne d'Argent and American rabbits, and once they are dressed, I can't really tell them apart. Both are fine-boned meat rabbits, and although the Champagnes feel more "meaty" when alive (they are big bricks!), the majority of the meat is in the loins and hind legs, which are the same in the two breeds. My current lines include a fast-growing but moderate litter-sized American, a moderate litter-sized and growth Champagne, and a huge litter-size but slower-growing American. All have a great dress-out at 9-11 weeks (my big line of Americans at 8 weeks).

In my limited experience, find a line of rabbits that are consistently good producers (decent sized litters with no misses, and good growth rates) and go with that. If they hit 5 pounds in 8-11 weeks, the meat will be there. Breed doesn't matter, except for breeding true. Keep pedigrees even if they are meat mutts.
 
A commercial body type with weak shoulders resembles a mandolin body type.

The commercial and compact bodies have a higher meat to bone ratio because their shoulders are well muscled which is lacking in the mandolins.

Building shoulder muscling is a PITA and the giant breeds just don't bother trying - personally I don't blame them. My production line of AmChins have weak shoulders but its not a big deàl for me as I hate de-boning even meaty arms in rabbit :) and just give them to the dogs.

However, I have seen some Flemish with so much 'junk in the trunk' that it may just compensate for the lack of muscle in the shoulder area :lol:
 
I've dressed out Silverfox, Lilac,(commercial types) and Americans (mandolin types) and a whole lot of mutts. So this all just from my own experience.

Really good commercial lines seem to have the best meat to bone, but really good meat producing mandolin lines are pretty impressive on the plate as well.
The only real difference I've noticed is that the young americans seem to spend some time in a lanky phase gaining bone instead of muscle, but past that, they look great. The commercial type rabbits can be dressed out at smaller weights, (like 4 lbs) and still produce a meaty carcass. (better for industry and large scale meat production, I'm sure)

And those really good purebred lines seem to grow and dress out better then the mutts(with plenty of exceptions)
 
I would agree. I wider shoulder in a commercial type would yield more meat than a long mandolin shoulder.
But rabbits are individuals, and by lines. Accordingly a very nice and correct mandolin would be better than a long shouldered narrow commercial breed, and so on.
 
Thank-you! Much food for thought...so to speak. I tend to feed the less meaty portions to the dogs as well unless I want a soup and appreciate a big hiney as boning just the rear is so much easier.
 

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