Naming New Strain of Rabbits (?)

[5dognightfarm]

Hey y'all, long time no see!

I wanted to bounce this off of everyone to see what opinions I get.

I'm on the third generation of my "commercial" meat rabbits. They're getting more consistent, though sometimes I think I may have just recreated the American Chinchilla because my keepers always seem to be chinchilla colored. I'm not developing them to any sort of color standard, quite the contrary, I've been selecting for litter size and weight, breed-back ability, longevity (I have several 4-year old does that raise great litters like the younger gals and aren't showing signs of slowing down), rate of gain, and carcass quality.

Anyways, I want to give a name to them so I can refer to them as something other than "them there mutt bunnies" but I don't want to make it seem like I'm trying to develop a new breed. I'm not really, I'm just selectively breeding to create a bloodline that works for my pastured meat project. I think this would be considered a landrace type animal, correct?

Would it be a bit forward to give the strain a name? Should I resign myself to the fact that I am creating a breed? They're breeding relatively true, but I mean, it's a rabbit. The only variation right now from rabbit to rabbit is that I get silver-tipped steels cropping up occasionally but I'm not selecting for color anyways so whatever.

 

[Dood]

Meat rabbit breeders in Europe often name their stains so I don't think it is pompous or vain to name them, especially if you are selling them to others for meat production, however, I wouldn't go so far as to call them a breed...yet

If you do manage to weed out the non-chinchilla colours, and still maintain ring colour and fur quality then I for one would love for you to officially re-join the AmChin breed to impove upon the existing production qualities.

 

[Marinea]

If you're selling them, and they're doing well, I would probably give them some kind of name, if for no other reason than folks will know what to look for.

"Hey John, those rabbits you got are amazing. What are they? Where can I get some?"

That.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Just put your last name in front of something like the words 'commercial cross'or "strain" or something to that effect. After 4 generations you definitely do have your own "strain" as opposed to a "breed".

 

[Bill]

How bout "Cattle Cait's Chinchilla Colored Commercial Cross" and call it CCCCCC for short! Catchy huh?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How bout "Cattle Cait's Chinchilla Colored Commercial Cross" and call it CCCCCC for short! Catchy huh?

:lol: Very catchy, Bill! :yes:

But CCCCCC is a bit of a mouthful... how's about SixC... Cait's SixC Buns! :mrgreen:

 

[DumansArk]

I vote for Cait's SixC Buns

 

[dayna]

I agree you should name them. You don't have to put the word cross or mix in there. I would however put the word commerical or meat and strain in there so that people know "what" type of rabbit they are. At what generation is a breed and not a strain? Maybe wait until it's a breed?

 

[5dognightfarm]

I agree you should name them. You don't have to put the word cross or mix in there. I would however put the word commerical or meat and strain in there so that people know "what" type of rabbit they are. At what generation is a breed and not a strain? Maybe wait until it's a breed?

It's a breed when it breeds true - Rabbit A and Rabbit A produce Rabbit A. Not quite to that point yet, we still have some wonky things to work out.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It's a breed when it breeds true - Rabbit A and Rabbit A produce Rabbit A.

Oh! I found this great paper on genetics this morning, and have been wondering where to post it. It is LONG, so I have only skimmed it. But, to quote:

There are different kinds of breeds:

· primitive or primary, and geographic, from which all other breeds have come;

· breeds obtained through artificial selection from the above, such as Fauve de Bourgogne, New Zealand White and Red and Argenté de Champagne;

· synthetic breeds obtained by planned crosses of several breeds, such as Blanc du Bouscat and Californian;

· Mendelian breeds, obtained by the fixation of a new character of simple genetic determination, appear by mutation, such as Castorrex, Satin and Japanese.

Local populations and strains

Pure-bred animals are usually raised in small groups and their selection for breeding characters is in its infancy. These breeds could therefore constitute interesting potential gene pools for improving local populations.

Most rabbits raised for commercial meat production belong to populations which may resemble one breed or another (a question of appearance only, as they do not meet the criteria for that particular breed in terms of origin and standards) and sometimes resemble no breed at all. These are "common" rabbits, grey, spotted or white, the outcome of various unplanned crosses. They may belong to local populations. Some examples of local populations in developing countries are the Baladi rabbit of the Sudan (baladi means native or local in Arabic), the Maltese rabbit of Tunisia and the Creole rabbit of Guadeloupe. Developing countries planning to develop rabbit production should first identify existing local populations and establish their biological and breeding traits and adaptability before designing selection programmes and improved production systems.

Many countries where rabbit production is recent, dating back only a few decades, have no clearly defined local populations. The populations are highly polymorphic and come from a great many unplanned crosses with imported pure-bred animals. Often these populations are of limited potential and not locally adapted. Even so, they should be studied before deciding to eliminate them.

Finally, there are rabbit strains. The strain is a genetically closed group, small in number, with no outbreeding for several generations. Characteristics of a strain are the number of breeding animals, the year and way the group was constituted, and possibly the mating programme (selection or no selection). These strains can be found in research laboratories which keep them to study their biological and breeding characteristics in order to make the best use of them in selection. The INRA centre in Toulouse conducts selection experiments on strains (Table 28).

Private breeders have fairly recently begun selecting rabbit strains, along the lines of the poultry selection that has been practised since 1930. But some breeders or small groups of breeders, at village level for instance, may also have created strains without realizing it.

Some research laboratories, such as the Jackson Laboratory at Bar Harbor, Maine, United States, keep inbred rabbit strains or lines for use solely as laboratory animals.

Breeders in traditional rabbit-breeding regions use local populations. The genetic patrimony of the population is shaped by the ecology of the region, the characteristic production system and breeders' interventions. Slowly, the population evolves. Barring specific instances, the population is open to bordering populations. This slows the trend towards uniformity and offers new genetic variability for natural and/or artificial selection.

The next stage of evolution is the breed. Here the breeder is more important and defines a standard and looks for animals which conform to it. The ecology of the region and the characteristic production system is less influential than for populations and breeds are usually more homogenous. Selection for confirmation to a standard can lead to excesses. Breeders may be looking only for external characters, neglecting production characters. They may breed close relatives to increase the visual impression of homogeneity. The last evolutionary stage is the strain. There are fewer founders (a few dozen for each sex) and few genes are exchanged with neighbouring populations. A strain is usually artificially selected for a few traits. Strains are often more genetically homogenous than breeds.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690E/t1690e06.htm

 

[5dognightfarm]

I have what I consider to be a "landrace" breed - something developed locally to produce at it's best according to the needs of the region in which it is developed without regards to physical appearance. Border Collies are an example of a landrace breed - they just happen to be black and white because those dogs were best with the sheep. It's the reason for short coats, long coats, variations in size and pattern. I figure that's just what the Homesteaders are. Developed for the needs of Break O' Day Farm.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Border Collies are an example of a landrace breed - they just happen to be black and white because those dogs were best with the sheep. It's the reason for short coats, long coats, variations in size and pattern.

Function over form.

 

[5dognightfarm]

Border Collies are an example of a landrace breed - they just happen to be black and white because those dogs were best with the sheep. It's the reason for short coats, long coats, variations in size and pattern.

Function over form.

Exactamundo!

 

[dragonladyleanne]

Heh, am I the only one who noticed that if you say "SixC rabbits" fast, it sounds like you are calling them "Sexy Rabbits"? I can hear someone at a livestock swap here saying (in a good Southern drawl), "Hey, John, where'd ya get them Sexy Rabbits"?
:lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Heh, am I the only one who noticed that if you say "SixC rabbits" fast, it sounds like you are calling them "Sexy Rabbits"?

:twisted: Boy, I hope you aren't the only one that caught that. :roll:

 

[WallTenter]

I always like more vague names lol... How about Dansvilles? I see that's where you're from, and the name kind of rolls off the tongue

 

[PrairieBelle]

Yeah, say Cait's SixC Buns fast and see how that sounds!