I have 2 doe sisters, 1 doe that shares the same sire, and a completely unrelated doe. They have all had normal litters for me this Spring, nothing wrong with the kits.
I purchased a buck from New York (I am in Canada) that sired litters will all 4 does this Summer. There are a lot of juniors that look great for showing, and they are all that I have to show. Upon inspection recently, I discovered that EVERY junior buck has a split *****. The sire's ***** looks completely normal. I spoke with the breeder and she said that she has never had split ***** in her barn before, and that the breeder where all her stock came from, she said that she has rarely ever had it in her barn.
I read tons of conflicting things about it on the internet. A judge told me that it is only ever passed on genetically through bucks, so only cull all bucks from that line. But many people on the internet say that it passed through does as well. So that means I shouldn't keep any does from these litters, meaning I should cull every last one of the juniors. Then I read that I can breed the junior does only, and keep any bucks that they have that don't have a split *****, and then the gene is not passed on? Is this true? I would like exact info please, not just what people think will happen.
The breeder that sold me the buck says it's probably my does, and that I should cull them. But I blame the buck because it is 4 different does and the same buck for all of them. Since 3 of the does have the same sire, then yes perhaps they could pass on the gene if he has it (although his ***** is fine). But the 4th doe is from another province, completely unrelated. It would have to be a coincidence if she has it as well. Very unlikely that it is the does to me. They have all had 1-2 litters each before, with no problems from their kits.
I cannot cull my whole herd based on a bunch of 'maybe's. That is a lot of money I have invested in these papered show rabbits. I plan to breed the does again to different bucks to see what the problems are...But I wanted to cull 2-3 of these does anyway and keep some junior does from them to replace them. Now it looks like I have to do more breedings with different bucks before I can do this?
I am so confused and upset over this! In my 15+ yrs of raising rabbits, I have never seen this before. I just culled most of my friend's herd (different breed) this summer because she had 1 junior buck show a split *****. I hope I don't have to cull mine heavily for it.
I also sold one buck a while ago from one of these litters. Of course I will tell her about it. She is not close by (like 3-4 hr drive), so I cannot easily replace it. She needs a buck though for her 2 does, and this was the buck. She has great hopes for it. I can offer a replacement anyway if she is able to drive here...Or I can offer a half or full refund...The splits aren't bad yet, so I suspect that they will still be able to breed. Of course I would not use them for breeding, and will advise her to cull him. But knowing her, she may keep him and try to use him. She is not breeding for show, but she does plan to sell kits. She has some show people in her area that may purchase from her, as she is closer to them than me. So I would really like her to cull it, but that is up to her of course. My question in this situation, is should I offer her a refund or future replacement only? If refund, I was thinking of maybe offering refund only if she culls the buck and shows me a pic of the culled buck so that I know I am refunding for a loss. If she uses him and he produces for her, I don't think I should refund her if she wants to use such a buck. I don't know. I want to be ethical and practical at the same time here. I am dealing with a lot of loss here already.
I value your opinions and input based on experience. I need your help dealing with this mess please.
Very upset here.
I purchased a buck from New York (I am in Canada) that sired litters will all 4 does this Summer. There are a lot of juniors that look great for showing, and they are all that I have to show. Upon inspection recently, I discovered that EVERY junior buck has a split *****. The sire's ***** looks completely normal. I spoke with the breeder and she said that she has never had split ***** in her barn before, and that the breeder where all her stock came from, she said that she has rarely ever had it in her barn.
I read tons of conflicting things about it on the internet. A judge told me that it is only ever passed on genetically through bucks, so only cull all bucks from that line. But many people on the internet say that it passed through does as well. So that means I shouldn't keep any does from these litters, meaning I should cull every last one of the juniors. Then I read that I can breed the junior does only, and keep any bucks that they have that don't have a split *****, and then the gene is not passed on? Is this true? I would like exact info please, not just what people think will happen.
The breeder that sold me the buck says it's probably my does, and that I should cull them. But I blame the buck because it is 4 different does and the same buck for all of them. Since 3 of the does have the same sire, then yes perhaps they could pass on the gene if he has it (although his ***** is fine). But the 4th doe is from another province, completely unrelated. It would have to be a coincidence if she has it as well. Very unlikely that it is the does to me. They have all had 1-2 litters each before, with no problems from their kits.
I cannot cull my whole herd based on a bunch of 'maybe's. That is a lot of money I have invested in these papered show rabbits. I plan to breed the does again to different bucks to see what the problems are...But I wanted to cull 2-3 of these does anyway and keep some junior does from them to replace them. Now it looks like I have to do more breedings with different bucks before I can do this?
I am so confused and upset over this! In my 15+ yrs of raising rabbits, I have never seen this before. I just culled most of my friend's herd (different breed) this summer because she had 1 junior buck show a split *****. I hope I don't have to cull mine heavily for it.
I also sold one buck a while ago from one of these litters. Of course I will tell her about it. She is not close by (like 3-4 hr drive), so I cannot easily replace it. She needs a buck though for her 2 does, and this was the buck. She has great hopes for it. I can offer a replacement anyway if she is able to drive here...Or I can offer a half or full refund...The splits aren't bad yet, so I suspect that they will still be able to breed. Of course I would not use them for breeding, and will advise her to cull him. But knowing her, she may keep him and try to use him. She is not breeding for show, but she does plan to sell kits. She has some show people in her area that may purchase from her, as she is closer to them than me. So I would really like her to cull it, but that is up to her of course. My question in this situation, is should I offer her a refund or future replacement only? If refund, I was thinking of maybe offering refund only if she culls the buck and shows me a pic of the culled buck so that I know I am refunding for a loss. If she uses him and he produces for her, I don't think I should refund her if she wants to use such a buck. I don't know. I want to be ethical and practical at the same time here. I am dealing with a lot of loss here already.
I value your opinions and input based on experience. I need your help dealing with this mess please.
Very upset here. 
