Need info on desirable characteristics

[mothergoosemagic]

My NZ doe has a litter of 7 kits, born Mar 18-19. Since I have no idea how old Sweetie is, I was thinking about keeping a couple of does & one buck from this litter.

Since I've really only kept rabbits as pets, I need some info on what are the most desirable characteristics to look for. I read something about a "round bottom" but I know there must be more than that. Also, I do know about the importance of overlapping teeth, & to cull any lines that have overgrown teeth.

I would really appreciate some advice on this. I'm not looking for show rabbits, just trying to keep the best ones. I don't want to have more than about 10 bunnies at a time, so quality is important.

 

[akane]

If you aren't showing really the only thing is how much meat can they carry? Do they feel solid and heavier than they look? No bones sticking out when you run your hands over them. If you've butchered some how heavy was the carcass after processing? If you don't know then when you get ready to butcher weigh them live and then processed. If you can get over 50% of the live weight that's good.

For juniors you are deciding to keep pick the ones that grow the fastest again with the most solid and heavy feeling bodies with the least bone obvious. You do want to be able to feel some of the bones like the spine and shoulder blades because otherwise they are fat not meaty but you don't want your hand catching on spots like hip bones when running them over the rabbit. For breeding purposes a wide hindquarter with legs that aren't angled so the heels come together (all rabbits angle a little) can help lessen birthing issues.

 

[Miss M]

Yep, Akane pretty much said it... I probably would have forgotten about checking the angle of the back feet. It may be easiest to see with the rabbit flipped over... just make sure they look more like | | and less like \ /.

Fastest growing... don't hold back runts... solid and heavy for size, look for the broadest shoulders, as well as the roundest rears.

You can mark the best performers with nail polish somewhere like the top of the head, and see if they continue to be the best performers. But you don't want to wait for them to bloom until they're 16 weeks old... you want the top performers probably at a max of 10 weeks, near the time when you would be butchering.

 

[mothergoosemagic]

akane--thanks so much for your reply. I've never butchered a rabbit as all our previous ones have been pets. But the mama is very solid, & so is the buck I plan to breed her to next.

Miss M--thanks for the illustration re: the feet. I'm not in any rush to sell the babies as I'm not raising them for meat, so I can definitely hold them until 10 weeks. Thanks, too, for the tip about marking them. They're ALL white, so it's really hard to tell them apart.

One thing I've noticed is some of them have more square-shaped muzzles than the others. When they were born, two were *slightly* smaller than their littermates, but they're caught up & are all pretty much the same now. Definitely no runts, so marking them will be essential.

Sweetie, the mama, is also pretty cage-aggressive. So far, we've managed by throwing a towel over her so we can examine the babies. Not sure if it's just because of the babies or not.

 

[Zass]

There is a lot of debate about aggression on here. Some people tolerate it, some don't.

I cull all aggressive meat rabbits, and in consequence, I have very docile and well behaved girls. They are a delight for me to handle and be around, and I'm convinced they are happier than aggressive or fearful rabbits.

Yes...that behavior is partially because of the kits.
Do all rabbits behave that way when they have babies? NO.

I have plenty of does I can handle kits right in front of without stressing them. One doe will even nose under my hand begging for head scratches while I'm fussing about the nestbox. In other words I have no need to mess around with saving a meat rabbit that is trying to bite me.
Are the ones who don't mind me handling the babies bad mothers? Nope, they are my best.

What I'm saying is that it is possible to have a rabbitry free of aggressive behavior if it is something you desire.

Ah, found the pose thread! meat-rabbit-pose-and-things-to-look-for-t14222.html

I can't seem to find the "acceptable doe behavior" thread to share everyone else's opinions on that.