Up to this point I
have written four articles about meat rabbit genetics and how to
breed for color and specific color patterns (solids, charlies, and
brokens), but I have never really tackled the specific subject of
establishing a successful breeding program. Because selecting a
specific breeding program and maintaining your herds health as well as
genetic diversity is so important, I decided to write this article
for those of you who are just getting started raising meat rabbits.
Whether you are
breeding meat rabbits just to supply your family with a healthy
nutritious source of meat, and/or you want to be able to sell extra
livestock to off set your food costs; how you setup your breeding
program after you have purchased your first rabbits will have a
significant impact on your rabbitry's performance. The topics I am
going to discuss in this article are: inbreeding, linebreeding,
outcrossing (outsourcing) and crossbreeding. Before we get started,
let's look at a few important terms.
Inbreeding –
Inbreeding is the process of breeding closely related rabbits such as
brother to sister.
With this type of breeding program all the rabbits in your herd are
closely related.
Linebreeding –
Linebreeding is a specific form of inbreeding in which all of the
rabbits in the herd are related to a specific ancestor or ancestors
to maintain a specific trait. The genetic relationship of the rabbits
in linebreeding is generally further apart than with straight
inbreeding.
Outcrossing –
Outcrossing or outsourcing is the method of breeding your livestock
with that of another genetic line of the same breed. No matter how
successful you are, eventually every breeder will look to add some
new blood into their herd.
Crossbreeding –
Crossbreeding is the method of breeding in which two different breeds
of the same type of animal are bred to produce an offspring with
traits from both breeds.
Inbreeding
If your are raising
meat rabbits for the sole purpose of meat, then in theory you could
follow a program of straight inbreeding. Rabbits raised using this
process will be closely related and will have offspring that are not
as genetically diverse. Because of this, inbreeding accentuates both
good and bad existing characteristics and or traits. If you are not
vigilant and do not cull your herd properly (removing rabbits with
poor traits), you will soon find that you will begin to have
substantial problems as the less desirable traits begin to increase
exponentially in your herd.
Problems that arise
with an inbreeding program include: malformed teeth, deformities,
smaller litters, higher mortality, and less disease resistance. Keep
in mind that if you later decide that you want to sell meat rabbits,
then you need to adopt a program of linebreeding as opposed to
straight inbreeding as no one will want to purchase your rabbits if
they do not meet the standards of the breed due to abnormalities, or
if the appear sickly.
Linebreeding
Line breeding is the
selective process of breeding related animals, that have specific
traits that you desire to have in your future off-spring. The goal of
linebreeding, is to keep the amount that any one animal contributes to
the DNA of it's offspring at or below 50%. Therefore, line breeding
can be an effective way to improve the individual traits of the
rabbits in your herd. The genetic relationship of the rabbits in
linebreeding is generally further apart than with straight
inbreeding. A good linebreeding program involves the use of relatives
such as grandmother to grandson, grandfather to grandaughter, uncles
to niece, mother to son, father to daughter etc… With linebreeding as opposed to straight inbreeding
there is a little more genetic variation in your herd.
This is the type of
breeding program that is followed by most successful rabbit breeders,
whether they are breeding for meat or for show. While it is
technically a form of inbreeding, by following a specific line
breeding chart, you can maintain a wider genetic makeup in your herd
without having to worry about the problems associated with straight
inbreeding.
Outcrossing or
Outsourceing (Bringing In New Stock)
No matter how
successful you are, eventually every breeder will look to add some
new blood into their herd. Outcrossing or outsourcing is the process
in which you do this. Whether you are looking to improve a specific
trait such as fuller hindquarters, or a more luxurious coat, or you
simply believe your herd is becoming too inbred and losing vitality,
then outcrossing may just be the way to go.
There are two
specific was to outcross your rabbits. The first, and the one that
most people will end up doing is simply purchasing a new buck for
their herd. The second option is to take one of your does to another
breeder to be mated with one of their bucks. Of the two, the first
option injects the most new genetic material in your herd and has the
most impact. By purchasing a new buck, as opposed to a doe, you can
use him to mate with all the females in your herd adding his genetic
makeup to your herd.
When outcrossing,
only choose rabbits with the specific traits that you are looking
for. If you are outsourcing using option one and are purchasing a new
rabbit, then it is my advice to purchase a new buck that is
pedigreed. A pedigree does not guarantee you that 'all' of the
offspring that this rabbit will produce will have the specific traits
and features you are looking for, rather it gives you a genetic
road map of the potential of the animal. Remember, it is not necessary
that the rabbits that you purchase come with a pedigree, rather they
should come from a long line of rabbits that carry those same
specific traits you desire. Personally, I would rather purchase a
quality looking rabbit without a pedigree, then purchase a less
looking desirable rabbit that has a pedigree. Yes, I have done this,
and over time (generally three to four generations) you can develop
your own specific pedigree.
If you have a friend
or family member that is a fellow breeder, or you know of another
breeder in your area that produces quality rabbits that has a
genetically different line of rabbits, then option two may be a
viable choice. This option is less desirable (because it has a lesser
genetic impact on your herd), but it is also the cheapest (does not
require the purchase of an animal). A variation of this theme is to
trade or barter one of your good quality offspring for that of
another breeders offspring. My friend Steve Coyne (owner of Texas
Bunny Barn) and I often trade livestock, and or outcross our does.
This has worked out well for both of us. While I originally purchased
all my 'John Gillis' line of livestock from Steve, I have since added
some Basgil/Borden bucks and does to our herd as well as a few from
breeder Bonita Hunt (who raises meat rabbits of show quality, and
wins a lot!) so we have different genetic lines.
The Good and Bad Of
Outcrossing
If you have read any
of my articles on rabbit genetics on our blog, then you know that all
rabbits will carry some recessive genes (genes that carry traits not
visible to the eye). Therefore, any new rabbit that is brought into
your herd will carry some of these recessive genes that will be
passed along to their offspring. So if the first generation of
outcrossed offspring is not exactly what you hoped for, keep the
offspring that have the traits you desire and cull the rest to the
freezer. Then take those offspring that you saved and breed them back
into your line. This technique will maximize the good traits that you
desire, while eliminating the transmission of less desirable traits
into your herd. By continuing to follow this process, you should then
start to have good results rather quickly, and you can keep your
freezer full of meat, which is my opinion is always a bonus.
Crossbreeding
Many of the rabbit
breeds we have today are the result of crossbreeding two or more
rabbits to create a unique breed. As mentioned, the process was
historically performed by breeding two different breeds with the
breeder keeping those offspring with the desired traits and culling
the less desired offspring. Through the process of inbreeding they
continued to refine those characteristics for multiple generations.
Then changing to linebreeding they continued to selectively breed
until they had a genetically different rabbit.
For the home meat
breeder, crossbreeding usually means the breeding of two different
breeds specifically for meat to put in the freezer. While we do raise
two different breeds of meat rabbits here at TAP rabbitry (American
Blues, and New Zealands). We currently do not crossbreed. My friend
Steve Coyne of Texas Bunny Barn, raises the same breeds and has bred
crosses many times for meat. I must say that the crosses of New
Zealand and American Blue's that Steve has bred appear to be somewhat
larger than the New Zealands themselves and this may be an avenue
that we one day approach just to put meat in the freezer.
If you are wanting
to sell meat rabbits to supplement your income, be careful of crossing
breeds. If you are a sloppy record keeper, and do not keep your
crosses separated you could soon find that your herd of pure bred
rabbits all end up as hybrids. Now hybrids fine if you are just
producing meat, but not a good thing if your are telling your
customers that your rabbits are pure bred when they are not. Selling
someone a rabbit you claim is a pure breed when it is not is not only
a poor business practise, but it has a direct impact on both the
reputation of the breed as well as your rabbitry.
Conclusion
In animal management
whether you are raising cattle, sheep, goats, chickens or rabbits
linebreeding is the most common method for procreating and expanding
your herd. If you want to ensure long-term breeding success in your
rabbitry, then linebreeding is your best bet. By consistently mating
rabbits of similar backgrounds, you can keep the rabbits with good
traits and cull the rabbits with bad ones to the freezer. This
process will allow you to consistently produce good, healthy animals
without having too many surprises in your litters, as well as keeping
your freezer stocked with delicious and nutritious meat.
When the time comes
that you need to outcross by purchasing new livestock for your herd,
my recommendation is to purchase a good quality buck as it will have
the greatest genetic impact on your herd. If you can outcross with a
friend or fellow breeder for free that is even better. However, given
the choice to outcross for free to an inferior rabbit versus
purchasing a good quality buck should be avoided. No sense adding
genetic crap to your herd just because it is free. Free crap is
still...well crap. In my next article I will explain how to use Flech's linebreeding chart to help you implement a successful linebreeding program into your rabbitry.
I hope this article
has shed some light on some of the questions regarding breeding of
rabbits for meat production. Yes, these same principles apply to all
rabbit breeds whether you are breeding for meat or show. As always,
if you find any information in this article useful, please share it
with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on
Facebook or Google+.
References:
Bennet, Bob,
Storey's Guide To Raising Rabbits, North Adams, MA: Storey
Publishing, 2009
Patry, Karen, The
Rabbit Raising Problem Solver, North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing,
2014
Fellow Breeders
Mentioned In This Article:
Steve Coyne (Texas
Bunny Barn) Terrel, Texas (972) 742-4922
Meat Breeds: New
Zealand (Red and White), American Blues
Lines: John Gillis
Bonita Hunt
(Baileywick Rabbitry) Dial, Texas (903) 946-4666
Meat Breeds: New
Zealand (Red, White, Blue, and Black)
Lines:
Basgil/Borden, Robatham's
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