Heat Tolerance

Rabbitgeek notes:
Having rabbits that are selected for heat tolerance is preferable. The typical way selecting works is that we breed the rabbits that are still alive after the heat wave.

Treating Ear Mites

Treating Ear Mites

If you look in a rabbit ear and see a bunch of yellowish or brownish crusty crud, your rabbit probably has ear mites. Here is what you do.

Old school method - use a few drops of mineral oil in the ears each day to drown the mites. Keep it up for 10 days. Warning: Rabbit will shake head and sling droplets of oil an astonishing distance so have a towel ready to throw over the rabbit. Vegetable oil or olive oil could be used but be sure it is fresh, not old and rancid.

Modern method - Ivomec ivermectin 1% .018 cc per lb of live weight

Ivomec, ivermectin 1% (the product sold for cattle and horses)
The tested dosage for rabbits is 0.018 cc per lb of live weight

10 lbs is .18 cc
5 lbs is .09 cc

Inject under the skin between the shoulder blades of the rabbit.

Some people report good results by giving the solution orally to
the rabbit, squirting into the mouth by syringe with no needle.
This has not been researched clinically.

Some people report good results by squirting into the ear (ear mites)
with no needle. This has not been researched clinically.

Some people report good results squirting on the skin (fur mites).
This has not been researched clinically.

Repeat in 10-14 days to get the earmite eggs that hatch out. It would
be a good idea to treat all the rabbits in the herd at the same time.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

Pedigrees for 4H Rabbits

I encourage 4H members to buy pedigreed rabbits. Pedigreed rabbits offer the most flexibility for future breeding, registration, and possible resale. While a pedigree does not guarantee show quality, it will show what bloodlines are in the background. I have put in tickets for rabbits in the raffles at rabbit shows because the pedigrees showed the rabbit came from some of the area's top breeders. While the rabbit in question may have issues, it may have great potential because of its bloodlines. For example, one dutch buck we got in a raffle grew too big for show. But his body type and markings were excellent. He wound up siring a number of Grand Champions among his descendants. But it was the pedigree that told us what the potential might be.

 Have a good day!

Yahtzee! and Poker

(photo Rios Coronado, Black Dutch Junior Buck)

My #3 son Oscar and I were talking about our old 4H meetings and how his knowledge of genetics comes from 4H rabbit projects. We used to play the dice game "Yahtzee" where you roll dice trying to fill in patterns on a score sheet. When you roll the first time you might get three dice with three showing. So you save your threes and roll the rest of the dice trying to get more threes. After playing a while, we started discussion how Genetics can be like that. We may be trying to get black Dutch rabbits. By breeding two black dutch we set the self gene (aa) and the black gene (B-). Those dice we saved. Now we roll the remaining dice (breed the rabbits) and wait for the result. Hopefully the markings will be in the right places. Sometimes a blue will pop out if there is blue in the background of both the buck and doe. That's part of the gamble when breeding for color.

Another game for teaching genetics involves playing cards and the game Poker. You hold a couple of cards and try to pick up better cards to make the desired winning hand. I tell people that bringing in outside blood is like mixing in another deck and trying to predict what cards will dealt out to the players. It takes a few games (generations) to pull out the cards (genes) that you don't want to have the genes that you want as the remaining cards. 

Have a good day!

Rabbit Revival: Rare Hare Barn feeds a gourmet craze

Rare Hare Barn supplies rabbit to gourmet markets and teaches rabbit breeders about rare and heritage breeds of rabbits. When you go to the website put your cursor over the pictures to view text. Lots of great pictures in this photo gallery

Article in Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/24/3625824/star-magazine-rabbit-revival-rare.html#slide-1

Bravo!

Have a good day!

Rabbit Showmanship - Yolo County

Rabbit Showmanship in Yolo County Calif 4H Fair
On Friday I was asked to help judge Rabbit Showmanship. Clockwise from upper left: Mini Lops are popular; 4H Novice shows rabbit to Judge Mike; 4H Junior shows rabbits teeth; Himalayan are very calm and a good choice for Showmanship rabbit.

Then on Saturday I came back to help with the Small Animal Master Showmanship Round Robin Competition. The top two winners from Dog, Chicken, Cavy/Guinea Pig, and Rabbit contest will compete in each species for Master Showmanship title. Picture clockwise from bottom: 4H member shows a Cavy to Judge Holly while at next table a member shows a chicken to a judge. Upper left a member shows a chicken, a member shows a rabbit, rabbit showmanship judge Franco looks a little like Jabba the Hut in this picture.

It was a good day!

Dutch - Multipurpose Rabbit

from rabbitgeek notes Aug 2009

Dutch are an excellent meat rabbit for a backyard herd. As long as you are not trying to sell to "commercial" outlets they are great.

Dutch have a great dressout percentage, over 50% at 8-10 weeks. You'll get 1 to 1-3/4 lb carcasses, which is half the size of "commercial" rabbit breeds. The short, cobby body type are like little meat bricks.

The Dutch does are great mothers. Our does often raised litters of 10 kits. When ever we bred a doe of a different breed, we tried to breed a Dutch doe as well so the Dutch could be a foster mom if needed. The Dutch does we had would foster anything up to including New Zealands.

If you breed for markings and body type, you can have some good sales on the side for show stock. Mismarks can go to the pet trade or eaten.

Dutch are a good multi purpose rabbit.

They do well in 24 x 24 cages. Does with litters should get 24x30 or 24x36 cages to have room for all those kits. But generally half the size of commercial meat rabbits, smaller cages, smaller feed bills.

Have a good day!