Silver Fox

[Epic]

I'm so sick of switching breeds. I have finally settled down, I have had my Harlequins since July, I really like them, they are staying.

Well I was talking to a Silver Fox breeder & I'm getting a trio, they are from really good convention winning stock. So it's worth it. They are nice rabbits. I get them near the end of December/January.

They will be mainly used for showing. But they have a great dress out & are quite large, so they are an overall really nice breed.

Any thoughts on them ?

Harlequins & Silver Fox are going to be my two permanent breeds. I'm so sick of switching breeds. It's unreal, I'm getting to the point where it's like a pain. So I'm keeping just these two breeds, I really like both of them, so it all works out !

 

[ladysown]

good. settle with a breed or two epic. Makes things easier for a while.

 

[billylilwigeon]

25 years ago, you couldn't find a Silver Fox in this area. Same thing with Harlequins.

Today, they're both rather common in comparison to numbers owned and shown.

As Ladysown said, find a breed or two and stick with them. You can make better use of whatever cage space you have.

 

[PulpFaction]

I'm so jealous! I have wanted Silver Fox for a couple of years now. I was finally able to get my hands on two non-pedigreed does back in August. One of them, at least, I'm sure has some recent cross-breeding in her recent pedigree. Almost no silvering! Both are on the small end of the spectrum, but otherwise have good type, nice head and ears, and thick, dense fur though not ideal. I have access to some good bucks in the area, though, so hopefully they will be a good start.

It'd be much easier to start with good breeder stock, though! Who are they coming from? I LOVE the SF. They are such cuddly rabbits, so soft and wonderful teddy bear faces. Their reputation as meat rabbits is pretty epic, too. I think you will really enjoy them!

I agree with everyone else. Pick a breed or two and stick with them. In my recent experience, you get much more satisfaction from the rabbits after you are a generation or two in on your own breeding. Showing and breeding your own rabbits is much more fun than showing and working with rabbits that someone else bred. It's so nice to look at a really nice specimen and know it was all your doing!

I was a breed-jumper, too, when I was a kid in 4-H. I wanted to try one of everything and never got very far with any of them. It wasn't until I stumbled on the Thrianta and had the benefit of a really good mentor that I really discovered what it was all about. Hopefully your SF breeder will help you along as much as my mentor did!

Good luck, and don't forget to post PICTURES when you get them!

Rachel

 

[trinityoaks]

It's good to have two or three breeds to stick with. I have my Cals and my Zils, and I'm on my way to a trio of Rex (have the buck so far). None of the other breeds interest me, for some reason. I like the idea of the Angoras and the Jersey Woolies, but I know I wouldn't have the time to take care of them properly.

 

[Jesse L]

It's good to have two or three breeds to stick with. I have my Cals and my Zils, and I'm on my way to a trio of Rex (have the buck so far). None of the other breeds interest me, for some reason. I like the idea of the Angoras and the Jersey Woolies, but I know I wouldn't have the time to take care of them properly.

You dont have to brush woolies They have the look of a wooled breed but because of all the guard hairs they have they do not require frequent brushing at all! Only when in a harsh moult.

Congrats on the silver foxes

 

[Jasharia]

I don't brush my woolies like I do my english angora. I do the day before a so looking for matts by the tail. The a quick fluff right before going on the table and they are fine.

 

[mountainrabbits]

I'm so jealous! I have wanted Silver Fox for a couple of years now. I was finally able to get my hands on two non-pedigreed does back in August. One of them, at least, I'm sure has some recent cross-breeding in her recent pedigree. Almost no silvering! Both are on the small end of the spectrum, but otherwise have good type, nice head and ears, and thick, dense fur though not ideal. I have access to some good bucks in the area, though, so hopefully they will be a good start.

It'd be much easier to start with good breeder stock, though! Who are they coming from? I LOVE the SF. They are such cuddly rabbits, so soft and wonderful teddy bear faces. Their reputation as meat rabbits is pretty epic, too. I think you will really enjoy them!

I agree with everyone else. Pick a breed or two and stick with them. In my recent experience, you get much more satisfaction from the rabbits after you are a generation or two in on your own breeding. Showing and breeding your own rabbits is much more fun than showing and working with rabbits that someone else bred. It's so nice to look at a really nice specimen and know it was all your doing!

I was a breed-jumper, too, when I was a kid in 4-H. I wanted to try one of everything and never got very far with any of them. It wasn't until I stumbled on the Thrianta and had the benefit of a really good mentor that I really discovered what it was all about. Hopefully your SF breeder will help you along as much as my mentor did!

Good luck, and don't forget to post PICTURES when you get them!

Rachel

I'm looking at possibly getting some silver foxes, how have yours been doing? I do agree their reputation is pretty hefty as a meat/fur breed but I hadn't come across anyone that had then or had experience with them until I searched and saw this thread I was wondering how fast they grow, if they really have good sized litters, what their dress out weight is in fryers, how easy are they to breed etc. a bunch of questions I know

 

[PulpFaction]

I've yet to have my first purebred litters (and actually lost my first two cross bred litters to a combo of new mom/cold snap. Grr.) So I can't comment on all that, but they seem to hold up pretty well. There was a thread on BackYard Chickens in the meat bird section where one breeder compared, week by week, the grow out of purebred silver foxes and a NZ/Cal cross litter. They were VERY comparable! PLUS, the breeder was able to sell all of their purebred SF stock as breeders, and had to hold one back for the final butcher comparison, LOL.

(This can be good or bad. Of course, it's always nice to be able to sell a $50 rabbit instead of a $15 rabbit, but if you are breeding for meat for your own table, it's hard to justify turning a $50 rabbit into Sunday dinner if you can sell it!)

Anyway, here is the conclusion: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/v ... id=5282766

 

[mountainrabbits]

Thank you so much!