Wanted: Californian rabbits in san jose, ca

[dmirza]

I'm looking for a young californian buck in San Jose, Ca. If you have one in the area I would appreciate it if you could sell me one.

 

[nvstickbow]

If you were up for a drive to the Lake Tahoe area, I have a Californian buck for sale. Not sure how young you're looking for; he's a senior but has only sired a dozen litters at most.

 

[dmirza]

Thanks, but that's too far of a drive for me. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Nov 28, 2014 8:36 pm __________ <br /><br /> Still looking for Californian or NZW bucks. If anybody has one please let me konw.

 

[EnglishSpot]

Have you tried Craigslist?

 

[dmirza]

Yeah, I found one ad and bought two does from the breeder but want to avoid buying a buck that is related. Other than that can't find anybody selling californians or NZW

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I bought two does from the breeder but want to avoid buying a buck that is related.

Are they good quality rabbits? If so, I would definitely go back to the same breeder and buy a buck. Good livestock lines are developed by intense line breeding and inbreeding, and in fact ALL of the "purebred" animals we have today were created in this way.

People have a misconception that doing so will result in a bunch of inherited deformities- but this is not the case. There was a study done where they bred (rabbits) brother to sister for over twenty generations before any problems started appearing. One of the first things noticed when lines have been bred too intensely for too long is a drop in fertility and litter size.

What it does do is increases the likelihood of certain characteristics- both good and bad- showing up in the offspring.

For example, say you have two rabbits with great shoulders, and pinched hindquarters- you will likely get a bunch of kits showing the good shoulders and the bad hindquarters, and some may have even better shoulders than their parents (YAY!) and far worse rears (OH NO!). So instead of breeding two rabbits that share the same fault, you want to select pairings that will hopefully "fix" the fault- in this case, you would select an animal that has great width in the hindquarters, with straight hocks placed far apart.

Over time, since you "breed the best and eat the rest" you will breed those faults right out of your lines.

When you outcross and bring in a new line, you are playing genetic roulette. Even two superior animals may not cross well.

I just experienced this firsthand, since I recently brought in a new buck. He is a black otter and I bred him to one of my broken black does. The kits had phenomenal type, but were Silver Martins and a who knows what. They all went to freezer camp since they were not an accepted Rex variety. Obviously, this isn't the best example, since it was "just" a color problem, but you get the idea.

 

[dmirza]

Thanks for the input mamasheepdog. I think I'll just try breeding the siblings. I'm new to rabbitry bu the two does I have right now seem pretty healthy and I don't see any problems with them. I'll try breeding them with their sibling and see how the offspring looks.

 

[Sagebrush]

Breeding the siblings will bring out any bad traits they might have. It will tell you how good the bloodlines are one way or the other.