07/18/2023
Some great advise written by Keith Sinders when it comes to choosing breeding stock
10 Common Mistakes that Lead to Picking the Wrong Rabbits to Keep
1. Not knowing what to look for - New breeders should study the Standard of Perfection and find a good mentor.
2. Improper posing - Improper posing leads to improper selection. Make sure the foot placement is correct then accept the rabbit for what it is. Don’t try to fix flaws by shoving the rabbit up too much.
3. Inconsistent posing - Inconsistent posing leads to inconsistent selection. Sometimes the weather affects how they pose. If they refuse to pose, put them back and try later or another day. In hot weather, try early in the morning, late in the evening or on a rainy day when it’s cooler. It doesn’t pay to keep trying on a rabbit that just refuses to pose, because it will tend to get more fussy as the breeder gets more frustrated. Also watch that the feet placement is consistent EVERY time.
4. Culling based on one day - Build your opinion of the rabbit through numerous times of looking at the rabbit. Compare your previous observations with your current observation. Be patient. Cull rabbits that consistently look bad.
5. Culling during the ugly phase - Many rabbits go through an ugly phase. This is usually a phase when the rabbit’s growth rate is very high. Some breeders will avoid even getting their rabbits out during this phase so that they don’t accidentally cull the wrong rabbit. They will wait until the growth rate starts to slow back down.
6. Hutch blindness - We need to look at the WHOLE rabbit. Breeders tend to develop certain traits that they routinely look for. In that routine, we can miss other traits that we may deem not as important which others deem important. This is where going to shows and getting the opinions of other breeders can help. They can help identify the importance of traits that we may have accidentally overlooked or should pay more attention to.
7. Treating the development of another bloodline the same as your own - If you bring in another bloodline, listen to how the breeder tells you they develop. Grow them out and watch how they change. Another bloodline may develop totally different from your own. Some lines are late bloomers, others are early bloomers.
8. Feeding the wrong feed - Feeding is an art. Use the wrong feed and the rabbit may not get to weight like it should, fill out like it should, sheds too much, etc. The genetics for a great rabbit may be there, but if the feed isn’t right it will not reach its full potential. Don’t be complacent with a feed that’s not working. For example, a breeder may get rid of a rabbit because it sheds a lot. But if the shedding is the result of feed too high in energy….uh oh…. Got rid of a good rabbit.
9. Keeping rabbits with a poor health package - Good health should be the cornerstone of the foundation of a good show herd. Many people will get a beautiful show rabbit that is a poor eater, gets sick, milks poorly, etc. If not careful, those poor health issues can spread and become a nightmare to one’s herd. Breed for good eaters, good milkers, rabbits that don’t get sick, etc.
10. Letting a good trait disappear - If a good trait disappears in your herd, probably the only way to get that trait back in your herd is to bring rabbits in from some other breeder. That can potentially result in setbacks.
Bonus 11.
I almost forgot this one and it’s the main reason why I wrote the post…
If you find yourself KNIT-PICKING to decide which rabbits to cull and which ones to keep…BE PATIENT IF YOU CAN!!! When very little separates the top rabbits from the bottom rabbits in a litter, it’s wise to let the rabbits grow out more if you can. Otherwise, you may later find that the rabbits you sold end up becoming better rabbits than the ones you decided to keep. In such litters, where the rabbits are really close the worst can become the best and vice versa. By letting them grow out more, it can often become much easier to pick out your favorite later on in such litters.
I realize that many breeders are limited by cage space, feed costs, etc. But when I find myself knit picking, I try to be more patient and let them grow out some more.
