to name or not to name

[coffeenutdesigns]

Do y'all name your breeders since you will have them for a while or do you prefer to keep a more formal relationship with animals that may eventually end up in your soup bowl?

I am trying to decide whether or not to name my breeders or just # them. If I name them, I am thinking of doing something alphabetical just to keep them organized and make keeping litters straight and keeping replacements straight as to what line they came from for easier record keeping. It would be nice to know by name whose original line I am dealing with without having to hunt through records.

How do you guys handle it?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Mine are named, but sometimes not until they have a litter, simply because it takes me forever to decide on names.

I also only have one buck and one doe with with a name starting with a given letter at any time. When I tattoo I use buck's initial, doe's initial, kit number (heaviest kit is #1, next heaviest #2, etc.), month born (November is X and December is Z), and year born. I also now put VG at the very end of the series, to indicate my rabbitry name which is Victory Garden Rabbits.

This way I can simply look in the ear of the rabbit and know who it is. For example, GY192VG is out of Greystone and Yowzah, largest kit of the litter, born in September of 2012.

 

[Dood]

I eat most of my buns so I only tattoo replacement does and sales.

I named my foundation stock: Squirrel, Sterling, Silver are does and Platinum the buck.

Their ear tatts are SQ ST SV and any replacement does get their moms letters and a number so I can keep track of bloodlines with out getting out my book. I haven't really given names to my replacement does and just call them ' __(moms name)__ junior'

I am thinking about getting a new buck later this year and will likely put his initial on his daughters to distinguish them from Platnums daughters.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

We name the breeders and all the rest get called "bunny" unless I know they are bound for the freezer, in which case I call them "Campers"..

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

I like the name Victoria Garden Rabbits Sounds pretty...conjures an image of a flower garden full of happy bunnies hopping around.<br /><br />__________ Fri Feb 01, 2013 3:12 pm __________<br /><br />

We name the breeders and all the rest get called "bunny" unless I know they are bound for the freezer, in which case I call them "Campers"..

Any particular format to your naming process or just something you like? I like the use of campers, that's cute.

 

[skysthelimit]

I have a very hard time picking rabbit names. Buns go unnamed for a long time here. The three angoras still do not have names, or tatts for that matter, nor do the 6 mos old otters. Naming them does not affect how I feel about them or make it harder to cull them.

 

[Tegan]

Breeders get named, normally by something they did or a personality trait. Right now I have "Turkey" (first litter born on Thanksgiving) "Grumpy" she's a bit of a grumpy butt, and "Boyo" my buck....because he's a boy-o...hehe. I have a flemish doe I need to name yet...I've just been calling her Girly, but that doesn't seem to fit her. All the kits usually just get called "you" or sometimes cuss words if they are being really dumb hehe.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I like the name Victoria Garden Rabbits Sounds pretty...conjures an image of a flower garden full of happy bunnies hopping around.

__________ Fri Feb 01, 2013 3:12 pm __________

We name the breeders and all the rest get called "bunny" unless I know they are bound for the freezer, in which case I call them "Campers"..

Any particular format to your naming process or just something you like? I like the use of campers, that's cute.

Campers....heading to Freezer Camp! :twisted:

Well, we started with a Padme, Leia, Amy and Sonic....I briefly had some does I called "The Three Furies" and now I have:

Big Mama (she was oldest)
Little Mama (she was younger)
Hermione (Big Harry Potter fans)
Aimee (just because)
Odie (her number is OD9)
Iseabail (Gaelic form of Isobel)
Symphony (she is chocolate)
Hazelnut (also a chocolate)
W2 (White Witch, cuz she is mean)
Bella (no reason)
Sugar (she is a sweetie)
and Princess Fussy Pants (grumpy before being bred)

and a bunch of Jr.s with no names yet.... :roll:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Ahem... Sistah... do the poor bucks deserve no mention?

 

[Secuono]

No point in naming them if you don't want to, that's all it comes down to. There's no reason to name them or any livestock animal.
Naming them usually ends up in more of an attachment, so if you're weak to let them go, best not to name them.
I name my breeders because I want to keep them as pet/spoiled as possible and them having names helps me care more for them and really pamper them. Plus, I name everything. Plants have names, all starting with a V. Fish have names, chickens have petnames, rabbits get Polish names.

 

[Shelbers91]

I'm not sure if I would name when I get rabbits. Cuz if people but them for pets they name them themselves. And show rabbits usually get named "rabbitry's something or other" though campers is cute lol wee little campers lol

 

[Mickey328]

Wow, y'all really pack a lot of info into a little tattoo! We're just getting started of course, so we have a "plan" but it'll probably change as we go along. We just have a trio now. One has a full tattoo and came with the call name Honda. We kept that. Of the 2 does, one has a smear for a tattoo and the other has just a 7. They weren't named with call names. So in keeping with the vehicular theme of Honda (we have an Odyssey about the same color) we named the girls Mercedes and Cordoba. I figure it's safe to name them since they're our breeders...I can snuggle on 'em and love 'em cuz they'll be around a long time. We plan names for the kits such as "Crockpot" and "Stew" and "Lunch"...and only because when you're referring to them you have to have something to distinguish one from the other.

Our chickens are for eggs, not pets so we gave them distinguishing names as well. We named them after their traits...Gabby is really vocal, Blondie is lighter colored...stuff like that. Our next batch will be leg banded different colors and we'll just refer to 'em as "red" "yellow" etc, LOL

 

[nascarwc88]

We have also discussed this issue. We will name the breeders, but not the kits.

 

[rawfeeder]

I name the breeders because they are pets, and it makes it easier to refer to them (I wouldn't remember a series of numbers) and also for record keeping.
I won't name the babies, unless I intend to keep them. If they have specific traits, patterns or quirks... it might earn them a short lived call name.

 

[ottersatin]

All of the members of my Herd have names,
of course they are my breeders or younger stock slated to stay.
I do not name Rabbits that are for sale: Those are to be named by the purchaser or not!
It all depends on the reason and for what they were sold.
I like to use the letters of the Alphabet so that in most situations
I can look at the Tattoo and at a glance know who the parents are.
That's just me, we all have our own way of doing things.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[3mina]

It drives Whipple crazy that none of my stock is named. I'm terrible at naming anything and I know who's whom and I have less than 10 breeding animals.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I name all my rabbits, even the ones destined for my plate. However, the ones I slaughter tend to have names like Supper, Dinner, Snack, Pie, Steak, Delicious and so forth.

The breeders I name after characteristics or colors. My big crazy Angora, for example, is named Nosey because she gets her nose into everything...and her nose is horribly scarred. My new Champagne buck got named Boss because a friend said "He's eating pellets LIKE A BOSS" and it stuck. :lol:

 

[caroline]

I only "name" rabbits once they become parents. I do Like Otter Satin & MSD, only one buck and one doe have a name with each letter of the alphabet @ a time. I do tattoo EVERYBODY so that I know what year they were born and who their parents were. I use odd #s for bucks and even #s for does.
Thus, Peau de Soie's litter by Excellent Choice last December is:
2EP0, 2EP1, 2EP2, 2EP3, 2EP4, 2EP5, 2EP8, 2EP10, 2EP12. 6 Does & 3 Bucks
Since I usually tattoo about 6 weeks, every once in a while I have a kit that turns out to have an odd# because I thought I was a buck and it turns out it was a doe. I have a very nice broken red doe that is tattooed 2QR7.
When I tattooed Krinkle's kit by Maurice, 2MK2 & then the *** change fairy came & turned "her" into "him" I added a "1" so he is now 2MK21.

 

[skysthelimit]

My Rex breeder has theme names. The 20's (I think) movie star litter was Joan C, and I have Dorothy Lamour. There was the bean litter, I have Fava, her brother was Navy. The chin is from the 80's Hairstyles, I have Big Hair and the sister is Banana Clip (Poofy and Goody). The buck's are classic writers, I had Lewis, C.S. (he's the jr that bloated this time last year). Now I have his brother Tolkien. I have no idea why Elmo, Horse and Scream are named so. Mola is a tooth litter, she's Molar and her brother is Fang (such a sweet buck). This is very complicated

 

[ramblingrabbit]

I name breeders, but not necessarily the kits. I tend to name them according to personality, distinctive physical traits, or roles. This has to do more with convenience and practicality than with sentimentality though, because I'll eat the breeders someday too. We had a nice buck named Smokey (smokey grey fur) who we ate a few weeks ago, and while he was a nice rabbit, we didn't need two bucks, and he was delicious. I have another buck named Pinky, because of his noticeably "pink" look (he is my only NZ white). I also have a doe I name Ostara (Starry, for short), after the ancient goddess of spring and fertility, because it seemed a fitting and auspicious name for my first breeding doe.

I do a similar thing with the chickens and Muscovies. The cocks have names, Big Red (a deep rusty colored RIR/Cornish half-breed) and Raj (part Brahma). None of the hens or cockerels do, (though some have in the past), although there is Brahma Mama, a grizzled old biddy of unusually clever and friendly nature, and Penny, a runty RIR pullet. The breeding Muscovies are named, with Drako (the drake), and the two ducks, Spot (who used to have a large black "spot" on her head but now confusingly is all white after the last molt), and Pocahontas (Pokey), who is now becoming more commonly known as Dumbo, because she is such a horrible mother and not very bright all around.

All of these will be eaten someday, (except possibly Brahma Mama, because of a special arrangement), but it doesn't bother any of us that they have names. It doesn't make them any more or less alive, or any more or less deserving of respect, whether or not they are named. That's my view.