Pick Me ! Pick Me !!

[Rustina]

OK, so I am trying to decide what breed I would like to raise this time round. In the past I have had many diffrent breeds, and Rex and Cals have been favorites. This time I am an adult and can travel as far as I like to get the rabbits I want and so a broad choice now exists.

I need some help with your experiance on the following breeds to help with my decisions. Please if you can tell me what you thought abut overall general personalities, production, ease of maintenance, and showing.

American Chinchilla
Satin
Blanc de Hotot
Palamino

Thanks in advance!! You all are always so helpful !! :bunnyhop:

 

[ottersatin]

Well,
you asked for it! I may just be a tad bit Biased
but I say that your best bet and what is always
an excellent choice [In my opinion!]
Go with Satins! I repeat! Satins!!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Rustina]

Thanks for the input Ottersatin ! Anything i should know about why this is a great breed?

 

[Secuono]

I have an Am Chin, she's a bit nutty, but getting better. Large and fast growing kits. I breed her to other breed bucks and the kits always have the softest fur! Also they are tiny love bugs. =D

 

[Honorine]

I don't have Am Chins, I have Standard Chins. Love the way they look, they look like gray teddie bears. Prefer the smaller size, very fertile and prolific. Decent growth rates for a 7 lb rabbit, very good milk producers. Lousy personalities, really, my Florida Whites have better personalities, their spooky and pretty bland. Perhaps with work they would be better, but they seem to have a commercial personality. Their easier to find than Am Chins. I have a Lynx Palomino buck and some NZ/Pal crosses. I like the buck, love the color, he's not friendly but won't whack out on you either. I've been tempting him with black berry leaves, he's getting a bit bolder. Did I mention I love the color? Lynx is harder to find as well, and I do need to mention that Lynx Pals are not genetic Lynx, they are blue fawns, but called lynx. Still really pretty. I haven't bred them yet, but my friend who has them has had problems breeding them, aggressive does who terrorized the softer bucks until she had to breed the doe to a real Godzilla of a NZ buck just to get kits. Getting them up to weight has been a struggle for her as well. I actually won the buck in a raffle, going to try my hand out of curiosity, I've tried a number of the rare breeds and like to try them out if I can. Satins are great, love the sheen, can have nasty temps, but prolific. Saw some tort ones and nearly fell over, what beautiful rabbits!! Now for my fav on your list, Blanc de Hotots. I did have one, it died as a youngster. My friend has a bunch of them, and very good ones too. Their sweet, growth rates are awesome, big litters, drop dead gorgeous rabbits. I was ogleing a bunch of Hotot litters the other day, their so unique and cool! However they are a work in progress, and do not breed true. In your litters you can have show marked, bernards(no eye bands) boxers(one eye band) or pieds(broken dutch marked). You also have to worry about blue/marbled eyes, I've seen the most exquisite perfect show marked rabbit with completely blue eyes, a DQ. Then there's the coat, which is supposed to be just like the Silver Fox coat, long and stand up. In fact Blanc de Hotots are a silvered breed, under the white, and the smart people have used Silver Foxes to improve them and widen the gene pool. The not so smart ones have used NZW, or even Beverens, putting both REW and BEW in the gene pool, and in the case of the NZ ruining the coat quality. Great rabbits though, bit of a challenge I must say.

 

[skysthelimit]

Thanks for the input Ottersatin ! Anything i should know about why this is a great breed?

If you are going to use the fur at all, the shine is second to none. The bone to meat ratio and fast growth makes Satins and excellent meat rabbit.

 

[curlysue]

Satins are really nice rabbits.

 

[Smith's Rabbits]

Satins are a great choice! Ours are the calmest rabbits, have good sized litters and always raise the whole litter fat and healthy. Whats even better is that so far all their offspring have done amazing as first time moms, without all the confusion that is often apparent in first time mothers.

 

[5dognightfarm]

I've had American Chins on and off for about six years, just got back into them, and have been raising Palominos steadily for four years now.

I personally love my American Chins. They have the most wonderful personalities, especially the bucks, and they're super sweet and cuddly. My current buck is my baby. They make great meat rabbits and are on Slow Food's Ark of Taste, meaning that they've been confirmed to have superior tasting meat compared to other rabbit breeds.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Palominos. They're beautiful rabbits, but I've found them to be very flighty. We can't bang a bowl on the barn floor without someone screaming their head off for no apparent reason other then the noise scared her. I personally don't like their fur as much, its "fly-back" versus the AmChin's "roll-back", but that's just me. There are a few varieties, Golden and Lynx are the only accepted ones but there are others in development by some breeders on the West coast. If you're going purely on meat production, though, I'd pick a Palomino over an AmChin.

Both of these breeds are very rare. The main reason I've been off and on with the AmChins is that I've had such a hard time finding stock. I'm the only active open class Palomino breeder in my state, so I have enough animals to work with in my barn, but finding stock to outcross to is near impossible. Eventually I think I'll leave the Palominos with my mother when I move out, I'm co-raising them with her, and go solo on the AmChins only (besides the Checkered Giants, I'll never get rid of those).

Since you have experience raising rabbits, I'd say go for a rare breed. Its a great pleasure to preserve wonderful old, valuable breeds that are in great need of new, dedicated, responsible breeders.

I also really love Satins, and if I didn't have the breeds I have now, I'd pick up Satins in a heartbeat. They're beautiful animals!

 

[Rustina]

Thanks Cait !! Great Information !! I am leaning a lil towards the chins especialy since im having very minimal luck finding hotot and pal breeders.