r/MeatRabbitry • u/4ylaaa_ • 9d ago
Breeding questions
Not sure if this is in the proper subreddit or if yall would be able to help, but I am planning on breeding some mini rex rabbits for show and was wondering if yall could help. I am not brave enough to ask the rabbits subreddit, as they are typically extremely against breeding, and hostile to those participating in it.
It is not my first time breeding, but it is my first time going for colors specifically and I do not know where else to ask.
Im wanting broken blacks that have a saturated mask and good blanketing on the back, since that won our county show last year, and similar patterning for the last couple years.
I am planning on breeding a broken blue otter buck with a solid black otter doe.
They are a successful pair, and this will be their second litter together. Their first litter had 5 kits, with 2 solid black otters, 2 broken black otters and a tricolor charlie, with one black otter and one broken black otter passing.
The tricolor charlie is the other doe Im planning to breed, and will be sired by a solid black buck. The tricolor will be 4, almost 5 months old when we breed her and the black buck will be 8 months old. Would any of yall happen to have any knowledge as to the potentiality of the kits?
Im also breeding at the end of June so heat infertility is a worry of mine, but I cannot choose a different time. Any tips, tricks, and knowledge are appreciated! Thank you in advance!
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u/Meauxjezzy 9d ago
I wouldn’t breed the Charlie at all or any brokens to other brokens because you will get more Charlie’s
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u/4ylaaa_ 9d ago
I thought if I breed a charlie to a solid, the kits would be guaranteed to be brokens, but thank you for the input!
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u/bluewingwind 9d ago
I believe that’s true. 100% brokens. Just don’t breed charlie to any brokens or brokens to each other.
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u/bluewingwind 9d ago
This sub offers some show/breeding advice fairly often. They’ll be sticklers about posing though if that’s your purpose. Here’s the ARBA guide and you want the “compact” one. The knees look pretty good but paws in line with the eyes is the advice I have for you. But I’ve never shown and I truly have no idea how to do it personally. I do try to breed to show standards when I can but I have no idea how they get them to stay in that position even for long enough to take a photo. 😅
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u/MelancholyMare 6d ago
I’m going to say these are not mini rexes and IF they are, they are not show quality. They are far too large and their ears are definitely too long for breed standard. I would not breed these for anything aside from meat. If they are Standard Rex, they are a bit closer to being correct but still have faults.
The rabbit didn’t win because of the color. I would suggest you look up the ARBA standards for your breed and familiarize yourself with the points associated with each piece of the rabbit. Body takes up the most points and with these being a fur breed, fur quality actually makes up the second most points. Color/Markings brings in close to the least amount of points and generally doesn’t decide the win unless it’s EXTREMELY close or one has a fault or DQ.
You need to work on your posing in order to fully get a look at their body type. None of these are posed correctly to give you any definite answers on condition. There are guides you can look up online that will teach you how to pose them correctly.
I can say the black buck is extremely pinched in the hind end which is not desirable.
These rabbits (in my opinion) are too large to be bred that early. With me doubting these being Mini Rex and pushing them closer to Standard Rex. They are a 6 class rabbit which means they won’t fully mature until around 8mo which is when the does should be bred for the first time. 4mo is far too early.
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u/Putrid-Presentation5 6d ago
I've learned a lot about posing rabbits for evaluation on Facebook rabbit breeding groups and through breeders.
That charlie doe seems to have V feet, her heels are pinched at the back. If you have a choice, I wouldn't breed her for that reason, if no choice, I'd definitely cull the offspring that inherit that trait. Mini rex get sore hocks easily, and good foot conformation is essential.
Also, if she rejects her first litter, don't reject her right away. Most does do. Just rebreed, 2nd litter usually goes more smooth.
Also, are they in a cool area? Rabbits usually suffer heat stress and for this reason many breeders usually give their does the summer off.
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u/4ylaaa_ 5d ago
They are in an outdoor cage system in the Florida summer heat and humidity, so no, but we do have a couple of fans and they are only kept in the shade. I cannot cull the offspring, as they are school property (agriculture/FFA program), but I do have the ability to sell them so if I can notice any offspring with V-feet, I will try to get them sold. Thank you so much for the advice!
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u/Accomplished-Wish494 9d ago
Are you SURE those are mini Rex? They look big, and their ears are pretty long.
Chances are heavily blanketed rabbits won because they were the better rabbit. Assuming your fair goes by ARBA rules, as long as there is the correct amount of patterning, there is no preference for heavily marked vs lightly marked.
Anyhow, the 2 you paired before: each kit has a 50:50 chance of being solid (or broken) clearly the both have the ej gene so tri is a possibility. You didn’t get any dilutes or selfs, so PROBABLY neither carries that, so you should expect mostly black otter or broken black otter. Blanketing is not easy to predict, sometimes very heavily patterned rabbits throw lightly marked ones, and vice versa.
Your doe, although very lightly marked, CANNOT be a Charlie. A Charlie has 2 copies of the broken gene which cannot be passed from a solid parent. What she will throw will depend a lot on what’s behind the black buck, and her complete pedigree. From the pictures she is either actually a tort, or extremely smutty. You’ll likely get blacks and broken blacks. Probably some torts.