The Perfect Breed??

[ZachsRabbits]

How you pick the perfect breed and know it's the right one for you? I had so many and want one main breed with my pair of polish.

 

[alforddm]

Standard Rex! I can't get over the thought of making stuff of that fur.

 

[ZachsRabbits]

Velvet sounds appealing. How are the temperaments?

 

[fhjmom]

I am going through the process to pick a breed for me right now! I can tell you what my thought process has been, but I think it is important for each person to evaluate their own goals and preferences and decide on a breed based on what they want for themselves - and not allow others to push them into a breed that may not be what they want.

My kids show Netherland Dwarfs and Czech Frosty; my hubby and one daughter show Mini Lops. The kids also have a few Californians since they are trying their first shot at raising a meat pen for our county show. (The jury is still out on whether we will keep any of those after county or if they will all become dinner.) We are hoping to build our new barn soon and when we have the space, I wanted to add a breed of my own, but I had certain requirements:
1. Completely different than the breeds we already had, which meant no dwarf/compact breeds, no lops, and no meat breeds. That pretty much leaves wool breeds or running breeds.
2. I wanted something I could be competitive with at shows without having to keep a large herd. I didn't want to take holes away from the kids' projects.
3. I wanted to stay with medium or smaller breeds because of cage space.
4. I wanted a breed that was not super common and competitive, yet there were enough other exhibitors in our area that I would have someone to show against.
5. I was intrigued with the idea of harvesting my own fiber.

After evaluating all of the above and talking with people at several shows, looking at and feeling lots of rabbits, and doing my research online, I think I have decided on English Angoras. One of my friends said she would raise EAs with me and I have found the angora breeders and the local shows here to be a welcoming and informative bunch, which is an added draw to the breed!

I have had a lot of people tell me to stay away from Angoras because of the work involved, but I enjoy grooming and I think it will be a good fit, especially if I can learn to use the fiber! I am excited to give them a try... now to get the barn done!!

Make a list like I did then do your homework and the right breed will speak to you!

 

[ZachsRabbits]

I really like English Lops for the personality, ears and body type and size. I want something bigger. Should I try them or not. I also really like my wool but the wooly hiding the body type is what kills me. I can't stand it.

 

[Zass]

Everyone has different criteria. The hardest part for me was figuring out what I REALLY wanted in a rabbit.

Eventually, I knew I needed just one breed to please everyone here, because my rabbitry is really too small to improve more than one breed or even more then one variety.

The kids wanted something they could take to shows occasionally.
The husband wanted a lot of culls for eating.

I wanted:
No genetic disorders that are persistent within the breed.

Medium size, to fit comfortably in my cages and a natural rabbit body shape. Both traits I thought would help towards
forage ability.
I also needed nice temper, excellent mothering, and litter sizes of 6+
Lots of color for pelts, something always interesting in the nestbox, and enough challenge to hold my interest.

After deciding on all that, there really wasn't too many breeds to choose from. :lol:

 

[Ramjet]

After deciding on all that, there really wasn't too many breeds to choose from. :lol:

Well .... Sounds like .... Rex.

 

[Zass]

After deciding on all that, there really wasn't too many breeds to choose from. :lol:

Well .... Sounds like .... Rex.

Not quite.

No genetic disorders that are persistent within the breed.

The very first rex that came in here
(from the largest and most well known local breeder)
ended up not making senior weight, and despite that, still developed sore hocks even with resting pads.
I really didn't want to have to worry about things like that.
Hmm, also, Rex are often said to require a higher protein diet in order to grow those amazing pelts, so forage feeding may have been trickier.

And... Rex still have to be typey to be competitive.
I was looking for something closer to wild rabbit shape.

See how it narrows down?

 

[ZachsRabbits]

I want good temperment and hardiness. I want to enjoy my rabbits not stress over them anymore.

 

[Dood]

I think you should make a list of things you DONT want in a rabbit and see what you are left with.

I wanted a pet breed with lots of colours - Hollands were too popular and I really hate the dwarf gene and the direction the most of the dwarf breeds had gone in so Mini Lops were and easy choice

Picking my meat breed was trickier

Being in Canada, even the most southern part, I had to take the weather into consideration which ruled out racey breeds that would need extra care or heat in the winter and long ears which may get frost bitten.

I did not want to deal with grooming which ruled out the fur breeds

I did not want a giant breed that would need 48" cages

I did not want to travel more than 3 hours or spend too much money and had to take into account what was available in my area - Palominos really caught my eye but there were none in all of Canada then I thought about getting Silver Fox or D'Argents but they were a bit too expensive to be turning into meat :x

I wanted something a little unique and it still took me a few months to find a breeder of American Chinchillas - which I took to shows a few times and then stopped and now my focus is on my own bloodline of AmChin X Mini Lop meat mutts :mrgreen:

 

[Rainey]

When I get to be a perfect person, I'll expect to have perfect rabbits. Until then I'll keep on trying to be clear about my priorities and working toward them, one choice at a time.
RT is a great place to get questions answered and to hear how others have done things, but I know that at the beginning I felt a bit daunted looking at the gap between where I was with my rabbits and what I was seeing from others. So I try to remember that perfect depends on your goals and we all have different ones. And sometimes waiting for perfect gets in the way of getting to work on good enough.
Just my opinion and perhaps no help if you're really looking for perfect.

 

[wamplercathy]

For my setting, I knew that I needed a lazy productive breed. Don't trust my yard to allow free range rabbits. :lol: :lol: So I went the tried and true NZ. But I was only looking at the meat production side of things. After having the AmChin/NZ I have fell in love with their fur. :lol: :lol:

Dood said best, make a list of what won't work for you. That'll cut your options fast.

 

[skysthelimit]

I needed something dual purpose.

But.. I wanted something that when I saw it, it make my heart thump and took my breath away.

Took three breeds to do that.

 

[ZachsRabbits]

I need a breed that:
that is challenging.
A wide variety of color
Hardy
That needs no supplements to stay in condition or good health.
That could possibly live on a natural diet?
Any breeds come to mind?

 

[Dood]

No breed of rabbit fits those criteria

There will be rabbits will poor immune and digestive systems in every breed as well as ones with better immune systems and the ability to thrive on a non commercial diet

It really depends on the bloodline and unfortunately in show rabbits, and many pet rabbits, the breeders are more likey to "baby" a sickly rabbit if it is in line with the breeds SOP and they tend to breed the best looking rabbits even if they are not the hardiest

Fortunately because of rabbit quick reproduction rate you can selectively breed for the traits you desire and in the mean time if you follow the same husbandry practices as the breeder your rabbits came from they should perform as well as their parents if not better

 

[wamplercathy]

I need a breed that:
that is challenging.
A wide variety of color
Hardy
That needs no supplements to stay in condition or good health.
That could possibly live on a natural diet?
Any breeds come to mind?

Find a breeder that has these goals. And buy those rabbits. It's not the breed that truly matters as much as the breeder and how they developed their herd. Personally I like the commercial feed. It makes my life easier. I bought my rabbits from a very good breeder, who has the same goals as I do and a set up similar to mine. I have still had my fair share of frustration. Some because I'm new and still learning and some because rabbits are individuals and like to keep breeders guessing. :x :lol: :lol:

Best of luck,
Cathy

 

[AprilW]

Breeds that come in several colors coming to mind are the Lops, Netherland Dwarfs, Mini and Standard Rex, Satins, Jersey Woolies, and Angoras. Harlequins, Tans, Dutch, English Spots, and a few others come in a handful of colors.

In my experience, medium to large breeds tend to be more hardy than dwarf breeds.

Wool needs supplements to grow well plus extra grooming. I think most breeds could be transitioned to a natural diet.

Like I said, try out different breeds until you find what you like.

 

[wamplercathy]

I don't like the look of lops, the smoshy faces ones, or dwarfs. And Woolies and angoras require too much time. I don't like brushing my dogs nevertheless livestock. :lol: :lol:

Do love the look of the Hotot, and the Belgian Hare. Both of which wouldn't be great meat breeds for my situation. :lol: :lol: But if I ever decide to raise for the pet market the Hotot and the Black and Tan would be nice to have.

So many breeds of rabbits. So little space and time. :lol: :lol:

 

[ZachsRabbits]

Anybody know any English Lop Breeders in or close to PA?

 

[Deer Heart]

It is a LOT of trial and error. I tried Mini Rex which was a labor of love because they were a dime a dozen, even pure bred pedigreed buns. I couldn't find buyers because the market is absolutely flooded in my area. Even now, years after my last one was culled. Their pelts were to die for but the meat was not cost effective at all nor were the pelt sizes. Then I tried meat mutts which weren't very predictable in some good ways but mostly in bad ways. Most meat mutts being sold in my area are being sold for a reason (person just stopped caring and just breeds 'whatever' to sell as pets). Then I got NZW. Bingo for the most part. Lovely fur and the carcasses are HUGE. I had one that I culled due to breeding issues which turned out to be a twisted stomach and her carcass dressed out to a solid 5lbs and fed me comfortably for 3 days straight. Now I just got Standard Rex, which should combine the best of both worlds (meat and fur) and touches on one of my major gripes about NZW (colors!).