The fairy has visited...

[guinnessguy]

I have a small rabbitry, consisting of whatever meat mutts I have been able to get a hold of. My main cages hold one female dutch, a male dutch, a female NZW and a female Lionhead. In my growout cage, I was "growing out" what I thought was a female mini-rex and a female lionhead/palomino cross. Today, I check on them, to find that they are both hopping around with their penis protruding, and alternately mounting each other.

GASP! 4 months of feeding them, and they are females!

I'd like to keep one of them, but I don't know which one. The LH-Pal cross is just wild, but is BIG, and only 4 months old. The M-R is tamer, but seems so frail, and is 8 months old. One of them is going to freezer-camp by the end of the week. I just need to make up my mind. Any opinions?

 

[akane]

Sadly today I double checked a nice broken blue mini rex I'd debated and finally decided to keep for breeding to my lilac buck in order to get broken chocolates only to find out it was a buck.

Mini rex do have a good meat to bone ratio. We butchered a doe that was slightly past standard size at 5.25lbs and she actually made a good meat rabbit. I have a whole bunch of mini rex x argente crosses to do this week. Some are good sized and some obviously picked up a dwarf gene. If it weren't for lack of space to separate the genders I'd leave the smaller ones to grow out longer but I'll just end up with a bunch of early bred does who will probably be stunted for it anyway so they are all getting butchered except the biggest doe and buck. I have no idea what a lionhead or cross would be like as a meat rabbit. They are actually supposed to be smaller than mini rex and are known for genetic disorders so I probably would not have dared cross one in to my herd in the first place.

 

[ladysown]

i've learned that lionheads come in all shapes and sizes...from tiny to huge. and LH-palamino cross is probably a decent sized rabbit and would be inclinded to keep the larger rabbit if it's a good meat type.

As akane said...mini rex can be a good meat rabbit so don't discount it on size alone. Evaluate how they are as meat rabbits...thinking along the lines of type.

 

[sammysue63]

We also lost a doe to the fairy, problem was we already had an A buck. Oh well...looks like he now has his brother to keep him company :roll:

 

[guinnessguy]

So how long can I leave them together? I can't see an open time slot, to butcher, until Friday/Saturday. Will they kill each other? or just scratch each other?

 

[MaggieJ]

If they've been okay (not fighting) up to now, chances are that they will be okay for a few days more, Guinnessguy. What I would probably do, in order to be safe, is to wire in a partition for the existing cage. They'll be cramped, but safe. Hardware cloth, even chicken wire or a thin piece of plywood with holes for wiring will work to separate them until butchering day.