Three Buck Brothers- Help Evaluate, Please!

[MamaSheepdog]

These bucks are 7-1/2 months old, out of my opal doe Poppy, and Quill a broken black buck. I currently have six bucks (you will see the other three in another post) and I need to cut my numbers down, so any input would be greatly appreciated! opcorn: Edit! Seven bucks... :shock:

First up is QP127, who I feel is long in the shoulder, but was the largest of the three until recently. He was not being co-operative, and kept trying to eat the towel he was on, so I took it away. I posed him as best as I could:





This is Mikey. He and the prior buck are both 7lbs 11oz. I think he is a castor without the eye rings and ear lacing. This mysterious color keeps popping up in my litters.







This is Greystone. He is the baby bunny in my avatar shown with his mom Poppy. He is the smallest at 7lbs. 3oz.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

well i'm far from being a judge but personally from the little bit i know of minirex i think the first one is awesome except i agree on the long shoulders. looks like someone streched his shoulders out long haha. but nice and round behind and tall back.
second one is nice and round, even shoulders, tall back.
third is meaty shoulders, not as tall back.

i think personally if i had to pick from the three for type i would go with the second one.
they are all gorgous though! i would be more then happy with any of them in my herd :mrgreen:
though california is a bit far from me

 

[skysthelimit]

QP is quite long in the shoulder. Good rise, but low in the shoulder as well.

Mikey is still a bit long in the should and rises late. Not as deep as QP, but if you are going to show, then you can't have that incorrect markings in your agoutis. That I would cull.

Greystone is in the middle. He has a long shoulder that peaks to far forward, but not long or low as QP. Being a small typey buck is not a real problem, as long as senior weight is achieved. He seems to be a bit pinched in the hindquarters.

Can you put your fingers between their hind legs and tell me how many fingers you get, and whether you feel a straight line.

Depending on what you have as herd sires now, and what problems you have conformation wise, I would cull all three. I have no mercy with bucks, since they can pass their traits on with more far reaching effects than does. I have two very nice herd sires, and I judge all bucks from them, if they are not as good or better than those two, then a buck gets culled.

 

[Peach]

QP is quite long in the shoulder. Good rise, but low in the shoulder as well.

Mikey is still a bit long in the should and rises late. Not as deep as QP, but if you are going to show, then you can't have that incorrect markings in your agoutis. That I would cull.

Greystone is in the middle. He has a long shoulder that peaks to far forward, but not long or low as QP. Being a small typey buck is not a real problem, as long as senior weight is achieved. He seems to be a bit pinched in the hindquarters.

Can you put your fingers between their hind legs and tell me how many fingers you get, and whether you feel a straight line.

Depending on what you have as herd sires now, and what problems you have conformation wise, I would cull all three. I have no mercy with bucks, since they can pass their traits on with more far reaching effects than does. I have two very nice herd sires, and I judge all bucks from them, if they are not as good or better than those two, then a buck gets culled.

Beautiful rabbits BUT I agree with Sky. None of them look like something I'd really keep. For me to keep a buck he has to be herd sire material from the beginning. Not perfect, but I want a buck that has a certain something that I can't wait to have their babies from. I cull very harshly on bucks because I just know I'd be overrun with them by now.

If you don't want colors like Mikey showing up, I'd probably try to cull them as much as possible so they quit showing up (in case it's an unshowable color). The Rex breeder over her culls REWs and Blacks cause he just doesn't like them....needless to say they don't show up in his litters anymore!

 

[skysthelimit]

The Rex breeder over her culls REWs and Blacks cause he just doesn't like them....needless to say they don't show up in his litters anymore!

I usually cull my REW and Blacks because I don't like them either, and my lines are full of them. Every rabbit in my herd carries one or the other or both. I was finally forced to keep a REW and two black does because I have had litters with mostly bucks and few show quality does. The REW is still here because she is an otter underneath. The black does will probably go as soon as I have replacement stock from the castor doe, amber/red does, or the new otter doe. I have been culling very strictly, especially with space contraints. The kits must be an improvement on what I have, or at least the same, and each doe needs to give me something worth keeping. So far I have two does that I have culled two of their entire litters.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Disappointing- these were three that I took to my second show, and the judges had very positive things to say about them.

I have had trouble with hollowness over the hips, so really like the full rounded hindquarters on these guys. The long shoulders seem to be a problem in my lines, too.

As for the color on Mikey, I am not really worried about that so much as type. It makes it easy to cull for meat when the color shows up! :twisted:

Sky, I will check their width between the hind legs. Greystone might look a little pinched because his feet are tucked under his sides. My fault. I wish I could get them to set up better- no doubt my lack of skills in that department isn't helping them any!

Thanks for the input, guys!

 

[MKirst]

I dunno anything. But I like the first rabbit's color.

 

[tailwagging]

mini or standard?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Standard Rex.

 

[skysthelimit]

Disappointing- these were three that I took to my second show, and the judges had very positive things to say about them.

I have had trouble with hollowness over the hips, so really like the full rounded hindquarters on these guys. The long shoulders seem to be a problem in my lines, too.

As for the color on Mikey, I am not really worried about that so much as type. It makes it easy to cull for meat when the color shows up! :twisted:

Sky, I will check their width between the hind legs. Greystone might look a little pinched because his feet are tucked under his sides. My fault. I wish I could get them to set up better- no doubt my lack of skills in that department isn't helping them any!

Thanks for the input, guys!

In that case keep Mikey. I am a castor/agouti fanatic, and I've culled every castor born here because of incorrect color. It's the main color I want to work with, so I tolerate nothing. I have a doe in the meat pen now, because she looks like a chestnut and not a Rex castor.

Flip Greystone over, and the other ones and take pictures, that will show whether they are shifting during posing or whether their really have pinched hindquarters.

http://s4.zetaboards.com/Rabbit_Addict/topic/8891975/1/

 

[6riversfarms]

If I was choosing one of the three to keep and basing my decision on type I would choose Greystone.He seems to to have more balance than the others to me.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

That will make Queenpup very happy- she calls him her "Pwize Winning Bunny".

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

That last buck actually has the best FUR! I actually like him a lot better than the other 2. he does look a little more "put together'

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

It reminds me of halter showing horses. Every judge has their own idea of what is best. I like the second one best. But im no judge. Lol

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Every judge has their own idea of what is best.

Yeah. :? <Sigh>

I like two and three- I kept one mostly because he was the largest at first. I had kept back a buck (only one) form a prior litter that looked really promising but he never made weight. So I was hedging my bets by keeping all of these boys.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I can understand the feeling. I bought three does and upon further inspection don't like a single one. .. oops.<br /><br />__________ Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:14 pm __________<br /><br />But they will taste good and I only paid $5 a peice.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've culled pretty everything except three from the last 12 litters I've had. I'm thinking of culling their dams too, except I would not have any Rex left!