Buying Breeding Quality Rabbits
Tips for buying breeding quality rabbits
for the new breeder
What is a breeding-quality rabbit?
This is generally a rabbit you
purchase with the intention of breeding it. It may or may not be a show
quality rabbit. Rabbits in this category should still represent their
breed as listed in the ARBA Standard of Perfection, but may have faults or
disqualifications that prevent them from being shown. Choose an animal
with as few faults as possible, and make sure any disqualifications the animal
has are not genetic or able to be passed on to offspring.
Where can I find breeding-quality
rabbits?
Same places you find show-quality
rabbits...from other breeders. Read our article on
How To Buy a Show Quality Rabbits, or you
can find a listing of breeders in our other website,
The Rabbit & Cavy Directory if we don't
have your special rabbit available for sale!
If you are just starting out
It is advisable to
purchase a 'trio' from the same breeder - this is usually one good buck, and
two breeding does from similar backgrounds. Breeding animals that have
been line-bred or who are closely related offers more consistent and predictable
results than if you breed rabbits together that are from completely different
backgrounds (called out-crossing)
If you
are buying to add to your existing breeding herd, don't choose a rabbit
with faults your herd already has - doubling up on faults is not going to get
rid of them!
Choose the best breeding buck that you can
Many rabbitries only have one or two
main bucks and because of this, the bucks'
genetics will influence your herd the most. Ideally your 'herd buck' should
be a show quality animal, and at the very least, should be a good
representative of his breed according to the Standard of Perfection - don't
accept anything less that this!
Rainbow of colors....
Many breeds now come in a rainbow of
colors that can be very attractive to the new breeder. Oftentimes, a
striking new color will also mean that the rabbit does not have the proper body
type - poor type and great new color seems to go hand-in-hand until the color
has been developed through many generations - so the beginner should avoid
the temptation to get started in one of the rarer breed colors. Choose a
rabbit, first for the body type, then work on reproducing and improving that
good type yourself, before you venture into adding all the neat colors to your
plan.
Genetics
The scope of this article is not
color genetics-there are many good books and internet sites on genetics so you
can become familiar with terms. For the beginner - if you choose standard
or common breed colors for breeding you should be fine to start with and your
main concern should be genetic faults. Ask the breeder if any genetic
faults have shown up in past generations - such as; malocclusion, hooked spine,
splay legs, etc. You will want to avoid these in your breeding stock.
If you breed dwarf rabbits, such as
Holland Lops, Netherland Dwarfs, etc., you need
to know about the dwarf gene. Dwarf rabbits are born with one of three
different dwarf gene combinations; a true dwarf rabbit (small, typy
rabbit that has dwarf characteristics) has a Dwdw gene combination. A rabbit
that carries the genes dwdw is said to be a 'brood-type' rabbit, or in other
words, is not a dwarf. These oversized rabbits usually develop to
show
telltale longer ears, limbs and faces than their true-dwarf counterparts. A
rabbit that is born with a double dwarf gene (DwDw) is known as a 'peanut' and
is destined to die, usually within 3 weeks, whether or not you intervene - as
this doubling of the dwarf gene is always fatal.
So what does this mean to the new
dwarf breeder? Well to start with, make sure you buy a buck that is
obviously a dwarf in its breed - in general, the rabbit should be small, more
compact and stockier than a non-dwarf.
You can buy an oversized doe if you
plan to use her for breeding program - oftentimes an oversized doe will be able
to kindle easier. Mating your dwarf buck with your non-dwarf doe can
produce some true dwarf babies, and some non-dwarf babies - which is which may not be
apparent to you until they are several months old, but usually the non-dwarf
kits will grow much larger than his true-dwarf siblings, and develop much longer
ears. You will not end up
with any peanuts from this crossing-this is why some like to use the non-dwarf
brood does.
Now, if you breed two true-dwarf
rabbits together, you may get all three types out of a litter - some true
dwarfs, some non-dwarfs, and some peanuts.
The only other noteworthy tip
concerning genetics, is to not breed two broken-colored rabbits together.
Doing so can result in charlie-marked rabbits; predominantly white rabbits with
a few small markings or spots. Oftentimes these charlie-marked rabbits
cannot be shown as they usually do not have enough color to qualify under the
breed standard. You can use a charlie-marked rabbit in your breeding
program by breeding it with a solid-colored mate - to end up with a litter of
all broken rabbits.
 
Examples of a charlie-marked rabbit
very little color
Characteristic breed problems.
Some breeds are a lot easier to
produce than others. This should factor into your decision on what breed
to start with. Holland Lops are notoriously difficult to breed - I think
God made this breed particularly cute and endearing to offset their difficult
reproduction traits! Many does lose their first litters and birthing
problems, such as stuck litters and scattering, are common. While I don't
have room here to discuss all the different breeds (not that I know that much
about all the breeds.....) you can find out a lot by talking to other breeders.
Being aware of any common breeding problems the breed has, will help you be
prepared in choosing the right breeding animals.
The growing, evolving breeding operation
Eventually, many small breeders
decide to expand and add new stock to their current lines. A common
practice is to buy additional rabbits for their specific 'parts'- buying a
rabbit with one exceptional trait in the hopes this trait will improve a fault
in your lines.
Perhaps your current herd is lacking
in head development - you may decide to buy a rabbit that has an excellent head,
in the hopes this rabbit will improve the heads of your stock. The rabbit
you choose to infuse a trait into your herd with, may have one or two excellent
qualities but may also be lacking, or is so-so in other areas - this is ok, just
be careful that these other areas do not show bad traits or poor genetics that
you really do not want to add to your lines!
Out-crossing
Should be done conservatively to
avoid a drastic gene combination that may not work well together!
Sometimes, crossing rabbits who come from completely different backgrounds, may
result in genetics that clash instead of combine - and you might see a variety
of problems such as malocclusion or poorly-shaped heads. You'll have
better results if you choose an animal that has a similar, even a
distantly-similar background to your herd.
Cross-breeding of different breeds
Crossbreeding, in my
opinion, should never be done! You are messing with the genetics of an entire
breed when you introduce genes from a one breed into the gene
pool of another breed - and this can be disastrous down the road; perhaps your
experiment to breed your Dutch to your French Lop produces some cool-looking pet
rabbits, but also produces some that still look enough like a Dutch or a
French Lop so you (or someone down the road...) use these crossbred rabbits for
breeding - well each is
carrying genes from the breed it is not supposed to be and some of these twisted
genetics can pop up out of nowhere, generations later, to cause grief to the
breeder with poorly-marked or typed rabbits and weird results. You should
never take it upon yourself to pioneer new breed genetics - you could introduce
problems that may take years to breed out!
The American Rabbit Breeders Association
oversees breed
development - if you are interested in changing or developing a breed, contact
them for the procedures you need to follow in order to safely make changes.
There are usually no guarantees...
That a rabbit sold as
a breeding stock animal will successfully reproduce for you - many factors
outside of the original owner's control, can affect your breeding success!
Mature does should be ok to purchase, but look for ones that have recently and
successfully raised a litter. Older does that haven't had a litter in a
long time can be difficult to breed and the same with overweight does - both
should be avoided by the beginner.
Prices for breeding stock are generally lower than
for show quality animals. But expect to pay top dollar for popular
bloodlines and top-quality rabbits.
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