My new rabbit line.

[hoodat]

I had a fantastic pair of twin bucks show up a while back and I've been hoping to use them to start a new line of meat rabbits. They grow faster and bigger than any rabbits I've ever raised and do it on less feed. Last itter another one like them showed up and I'm hoping it's a doe. It's too young to sex yet other than a WAG.
The new kit with mama.

One of the twin bucks

I call this one Cheeks for obvious reasons. He looks like achipmunk with both cheek pouches full.

 

[The Mama Chicken]

Oh, they're lovely. My rabbits have stopped reproducing. I think the doe we bought was older than advertised. I got 2 litters of kits out of her and nothing since. I guess it's time for fresh breeding stock. I'm craving the rabbit shepards's pie I made last spring.

 

[thistlebloom]

Good looking bucks Hoodat.
Is the little one with the doe from the same mating your bucks came from? What does WAG mean?

 

[hoodat]

Good looking bucks Hoodat.
Is the little one with the doe from the same mating your bucks came from? What does WAG mean?

Yes it's the same buck and doe. Apparently there is a recessive gene at work that only shows up in a small percentage of the kits. If this one is also a buck I'll have to consider the possibility that the gene is sex linked. That will complicate things. I'd have to bring in an unrelated doe to establish the traits.
A WAG is Wild Azz Guess.

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh... ha! Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Greenthumb18]

Nice bucks hoodat!
Good luck with your line of meat rabbits!

 

[Jared77]

Hoodat are the Sire and Dam unrelated that are producing the rabbits with the fast growing trait? The picture of the mother and son, is the father of that little one unrelated to the female you showed? If it is your in luck. Take the son back to his mother, and if you got a daughter, take the daughter back to the father. That would help strengthen the trait within the line giving you more consistancy AND it would help prove its a that its a recessive trait. Then the next step is outlined in the next paragraph.

If they are related, then Id keep pairing them up the pair that are throwing the fast growing babies until you got an doe and then Id introduce an outside buck to her. Then any fast growing offspring from the unrelated buck and the fast growing girl, go to the Chipmunk buck. That way you have some diversity in the line but that will strengthen the trait and give you more fast growing babies in that litter. It will take some work but you can keep it going.

 

[hoodat]

Thanks for the advice. Genetics is not my strong point. Yes the buck and doe are unrelated. The buck is a cross rex and the doe a cross New Zealand and they came from different sources.
The mama doe was bred to one of the twin bucks a week ago so I'll see what happens. I'm not too sure of the mating but he seemed to get at least one good shot. He's pretty inexperienced. This was his first mating. We'll know if she took soon. She's always an early nest builder.

 

[skeeter9]

Good luck with your meat rabbit line, Hoodat. Sounds like you've got some good possibilities there.

 

[Jared77]

Glad I can help. Ive done more punit squares and potential breedings on paper than I really want to think about. I tried to give you a little line breeding 101 and how to reinforce the traits you want so you can reproduce it the easiest way.

That unrelated buck and doe helps and gives you so time before you need to start looking for an outcross. I think you've really got something there please keep us (me especially ) on the progress and how the line develops.