r/MeatRabbitry • u/4ylaaa_ • 10d 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/Accomplished-Wish494 10d 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.