What breed is this?

Mrr · Aug 18, 2016

I got this doe from the auction. She was in a cage with another doe marked as "Flemish Giant". Obviously she isn't a Flemish.. I'd like to hear some thoughts as to what she might be. She's smaller than my full grown New Zealand White buck, and judging by the state of her dewlap I'm guessing that she's at or almost at max size. I would guess that she's just shy of 10lbs. She's a pretty doe, I'd just love to know what to label her as. Someone once suggested a palomino?

SableSteel · Aug 19, 2016

She does have the appearance of a palomino

Dood · Aug 19, 2016

It could be a poor quality NZRed but since her body type is more semi-arched and her ears are HUGE I'd think a poor quality Flemish or a cross of a NZRed with a fawn Flemish

Mrr · Aug 20, 2016

Hmm, you think so? I feel like her ears are pretty standard compared to my other breeds - the champagnes and the NZW. I bought a purebred 2 yr old Flemish doe today and her ears are just MASSIVE.. way bigger than my 9 month Flemish. I definitely see the NZ red mix though - just her colouring is off.. But again, I'm very new to this so I could be way off. I could see palomino, but I've heard that they are quite rare to find, so ending up at the auction might be a bit far fetched right?

Luckily I found someone who wants to buy her as a "mutt" for meat rabbit breeding, so I don't have to sweat too much about her breed. I'm just curious for my own knowledge though!

Marinea · Aug 21, 2016

I see a NZ cross as well. The ears, to me, aren't that crazy for a NZ (look at my avatar NZ buck).

grumpy · Aug 21, 2016

I'd be more concerned about labeling her as a 'good' doe, or a 'bad' doe.
She's an average looking 'meat-type' rabbit, maybe lacking a little in width.
But that could well be due to poor care prior to auction. An auction scares me
though... because it's rare to find good stock at one. "IF" she were any
good, she'd not be there, would she??

Get her bred to your best buck and see what happens. I'm pretty
sure she's old enough. If she does a good job for you, that's great.!
If she doesn't, well hopefully you didn't get hosed too bad on her price.
For Heaven's sake... don't sell her.!!! Put her in the freezer. There's
no sense in sending a problem 'on-down-the-line'. Stop it now.

So many people nowadays are mixing NZ colors. Once that happens
it's anyone's guess what color you'll end up with. Years ago, I had a
herd of purebred NZW's and a high-priced show buck for the stud.
HAH.. talk about a blank-shooter. :x :x I went out and bought a
cheapie NZ-type buck that was a non-descript brown. I ended up
with some gorgeous deep red does that were outstanding mama's.
They stayed with me..

Best of luck,
Grumpy