what age?

tailwagging · May 4, 2011

for meat type show rabbits

at what age do you start your evaluation of type in your bunnies?
what do you look for, at what age?
when do the ugly teen stage start and when does it stop?

5dognightfarm · May 4, 2011

In my experience...

I start evaluating around 8 weeks. Usually you can learn what to ignore in the teen stage, shoulders tend not to develop until they're older but a rabbit is born with all the hindquarter it will ever have.
I'd say around 12-15 weeks is when they start maturing in body type and shape.

tailwagging · May 4, 2011

thank you

avdpas77 · May 4, 2011

I would start looking at 3-4 weeks. Whether genetically or because they were born first, the ones that have the stocky body and good confirmation, will likely be the same ones that meet that test latter. The ones that appear un-thrifty at a young age tend to be those that keep those characteristics. After they go though the "skinny" stage (fat belly, narrow shoulders) which starts at 5-6 weeks, they will begin filling back out at 10-12 weeks. If you can individualize your kits by sight (this might be hard with NZW) or keep them non-intrusively marked, it would be good to follow a whole liter from when they come out of the nest box until about 12 weeks. You will be able to get an appreciation for your particular breed and strain, so that the poorer animals can usually be identified early. That way you can get an idea of the best at 4 or 5 weeks and be able to process most of the litter at your preferred processing age, while keeping the rest till they are more mature. I don't show any more, but I still judge for "breeders". The build of an outstanding animal will often "reach out an grab" one as early as 4 or 5 weeks.

If you raise non-white animals, you can check early for disqualifications such as miss-colored nails, etc. I have always found ears to be the hardest thing to evaluate early. In my rabbits, it seems ears are the last thing to mature into their permanent form. That is not a problem in my herd, because I am selecting strictly for vitality and meatiness (heh, and for broad heads, which I shouldn't do) :?

Actually, I have achieved the health/vitatlity and meatiness standards which I set, and I am starting to throw in another parameter when all other things are equal. I find that those kits that come out of the nest early, are curious and less timid, tend to make much better animals. They not only are much easier to deal with as breeders, but they make much better "family rabbits" if I sell them.

Another thing to always check before actually designating canidates-still-in-running is feel. With (meat) show rabbits, that occasional one that you pick up that feels "solid" or like a block in your hands is usually superior....All confirmation being the same, this "solid" feel will knock the socks off of a judge at a competition.

Obviously my comments don't necessarily apply to "fancy" rabbit breeds.

SatinsRule · May 4, 2011

I begin looking for things like body type (rise and depth at loin versus flattening over the back, narrow shoulders versus broad ones) at about the 2-3 month mark, but fur is usually a bit more difficult to read than that because their baby coats tend to take a while to get out of. In my first litter, I'm seeing some typy bunnies, but how well they ultimately develop won't be known until they're around the 3 month mark, and I'll begin to get a better feel for how good their fur will be around that same time.

Be careful of a sharp flyback coats on young rabbits, though. Those rabbits often times have very thin coats as seniors and will lack the density which ultimately drives what their finished coats are like. I'd much rather have a junior buck or doe whose coat is dense and is trying to lay back over or lying a little open as compared to a sharp return on a coat which lacks density or good undercoat. If they have sheen, density and/or a more gradual layback return, you're onto something, but most of the time a junior Satin will have one or two. The juniors who have all 3 are rare.

DevonW · May 6, 2011

I start from birth, certain kits have something we call the "show glow" the ones you know are going to be awesome.

After that 3 weeks with my Mini Rex is when they look like perfect mini versions of their adult self. My Bruns I can tell at birth, the ones with the white dashes on their foreheads are always the best colour and type wise, it hasn't failed me yet.