Who to keep?

LovinTheFarmLife · Jun 8, 2016

Hello all. I'm pretty new to rabbit breeding. I currently have 2 does, 1 buck, and a litter of six kits that are 8 weeks old today. As having rabbits is highly addictive I'm already planning on more rabbits. I originally planned on buying 2 young does if I found some that I liked but then it hit me that I could just keep 2 does out of this litter. This litter was heavy with does (5 does, 1 buck) so I have a few to compare and would keep the best two. Is this a good plan?

Preitler · Jun 8, 2016

In my opinion, yes, it is.

I would be selecting first for friendly character (it just is much more fun to work with friendly rabbits), second for fastest growth. And, of course, culling out anything that shows any health problems.

bigfoot_158 · Jun 8, 2016

I would buy a second buck one from a different bloodline.

LovinTheFarmLife · Jun 8, 2016

Preitler":3e50v562 said:
In my opinion, yes, it is.

I would be selecting first for friendly character (it just is much more fun to work with friendly rabbits), second for fastest growth. And, of course, culling out anything that shows any health problems.

Thank you. And you also helped with another question that I was going to ask which was what to look for when choosing. Thanks again

bigfoot_158":3e50v562 said:
I would buy a second buck one from a different bloodline.

Thank you. I was thinking about that as well. I told my DH that I needed another buck but he wasn't all about it. I'm going to have to wear him down. I'm pretty sure he's tired of hearing about the rabbits at this point. I tend to rattle on about them quite a bit.

Zass · Jun 8, 2016

If you are just raising for meat, there would likely be absolutely no problem breeding the herd sire to his daughters.

A backup buck is nice to have, however, as-is any excuse to bring home more rabbits. :lol:

LovinTheFarmLife · Jun 9, 2016

Zass":2sbv9svi said:
If you are just raising for meat, there would likely be absolutely no problem breeding the herd sire to his daughters.

Thanks for responding. Right now, I have NZR and am raising them for meat only. Good to know that there shouldn't be any issues. I've seen several debates on the topic of who is okay to breed with who.