To Cull or Not???

[Jamie Dog Trainer]

Hello

I have posted about my NZ doe before. That thread was asking for help so she would gain some weight. Well I have been feeding her and heavily supplementing her for about three weeks. She is still very skinny. Her behavior, appearance, poo and pee all seem to be very healthy and normal. She's got a good appetite. I have dewormed her.

She is eating 1 cup of 18% pellets in the evening. In the morning she is getting 2 teaspoons of Calf Manna, and about a Tablespoon of BOSS. Then after that I give fresh foods, whatever I have on hand including: dandilions, parsley, cilantro. Then I ususally give her a handful of hay just to keep her busy. She eats ALL of this every day. If I give her more she wastes a lot of it by scratching it out of the feeder and/or playing with it.

She's gained some weight. But what I also notice about her is she's not only thin on fat but muscle. Her muscles just aren't as developed as I feel they should be for 7 months old.

How much longer should I feed her before deciding to cull? I am feeling more and more certain that even if she gains weight her babies might also be difficult keepers. What do you think?

 

[eco2pia]

Easy, she is still growing. 7 months still falls in the ugly teen stage.

All your suplements are good, but that 18% is what she really needs, mostly. My guess is that she is just going to be extra big--I had a 12+ lb NZ doe, she wasn't mature until 8+months.

I wouldn't cross her on a big gangly buck--pick a more compact buck if you have the chioce. If her litters don't look like what you want, sell her as a proven doe, someone will put some cash in your pocket, and maybe she will have the size they want to introduce into their herd--one person's cull may well be another's goal. You have fed her this long, she will make you more as a breeder to sell than as dinner.

I know this isn't in the meat rabbit section, but I assume that is what you are doing, since you said "cull" and she is a NZ. If she is a show rabbit, you should probably not keep her if she doedn't have the type you are looking for, but again, sell her as a proven doe and go buy yourself a steak. And she may surprise you in a month or two.

 

[hoodat]

Very few of the rabbits around these days have pure ancestry. It is possible she may have some Belgian Hare in her. If so she will never be heavy but many people prefer Belgians as meat rabbits. They are said to be tastier with darker meat; closer in taste to snowshoe and swamp rabbits than domestic rabbits usually are.

 

[Jamie Dog Trainer]

Thank you both!! I did actually intend for this to go into the Meat Rabbit section! Sorry about that LOL.

Good to know that she's still in the teen stage. I will give her a couple more months, as long as her condition continues to improve slowly. Since I intend on eating her babies I do worry about them not being able to grow the muscle in time for a normal age (8-12 weeks). I have a satin buck who is very compact and well muscled with good developed hind quarters, and a wide back. He's 3 months old now, but his shape has not changed so I don't expect him to become suddenly gangly and skinny.

I will give her some more time and see what she does. I actually really like her, she is my most friendly rabbit, the only one my daughter can pet, so I really hate to cull her. Like I said, I'll give her several weeks to see what she does. If she remains skinny after about 6-8 more weeks I may revisit the idea of culling her then.

 

[curlysue]

I wonder if shes actually eating all that or scratches a lot of it out.a friend of mine swore hers werent scratching out there feed and i went too her house her lab was eating the food the rabbits dumped out.

 

[Jamie Dog Trainer]

Nope, she's eating all of it. My dog doesn't have access to eat the leftover food and what she does scratch out is clearly evident under the hutch on the concrete. Thanks though

 

[hoodat]

Some fruit or sweet veggies like carrots might put some weight on her but be cautious if she isn't used to them. They can cause diarhea in that case. Just give a slice or two till her system adjusts and then increase slowly.

 

[eco2pia]

Some fruit or sweet veggies like carrots might put some weight on her but be cautious if she isn't used to them. They can cause diarhea in that case. Just give a slice or two till her system adjusts and then increase slowly.

I respectfully disagree with this advice in this case. If she is already scratching out food looking for the good stuff, you risk creating a sweet-toothed picky eater. I would stick with pellets, hay/greens(calf-manna if you like), and lots of it. She needs to save room for her "meat and potatoes".

 

[Jamie Dog Trainer]

Some fruit or sweet veggies like carrots might put some weight on her but be cautious if she isn't used to them. They can cause diarhea in that case. Just give a slice or two till her system adjusts and then increase slowly.

I respectfully disagree with this advice in this case. If she is already scratching out food looking for the good stuff, you risk creating a sweet-toothed picky eater. I would stick with pellets, hay/greens(calf-manna if you like), and lots of it. She needs to save room for her "meat and potatoes".

I agree with you. I try not to give too many "sweets" just because I know they're not what puts weight on (lord, if it was that way for people LOL)

I don't feed her the pellets and the BOSS and Calf Manna together-- for the reason I know she'd start to scratch out the pellets to get to the other stuff.