*from rabbit geek notes*
Franco's Plucking Adventure
originally posted on French Angoras Group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/frenchangoras
August 28 2004
Hi all, I just plucked our FA senior blue buck who has been
over due for clipping. My lovely wife Tracy groomed him for
me with the blower so the wool would be nice and free from
tangles. I was going to clip him with scissors, but he kept
jumping off the coffee table and running down the hall.
I noticed the wool was pretty loose, so I tugged at little
locks of it and it came off in my fingers, leaving the new
coat intact. We sat for about an hour and a half. I would
let him loose every 15 or 20 minutes to take a little walk
on the sofa.
He looks great. He looks blue again! His new coat is about
1 1/2 inch long and is a nice blue color, not faded looking
like his old coat. And I have a brown grocery sack full of
blue angora to practice my drop spindle with!
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry, Sacramento, Calif.
August 29 2004
Hi, I think at least half of the breeders I've met clip the
bunnies. My goal the other night was to practice clipping a
bunny. But the bunny did not cooperate by sitting still.
So that's how I came to sit down and pluck it. It was helpful
that the bunny was in a complete molt and ready for plucking.
All in all the evening turned out well for me and for the bunny.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry, Sacramento, Calif.
August 30 2004
Hi, Thanks for your reply. Yes, the buck was ready to be plucked.
And the new coat is really 1 1/2 inch, I took a measurement with a
steel pocket ruler, being the industrial geek type that I am.
I had a little pair of hair trimming scissors at the ready. I brought
the rabbit in the house because it's 90F degrees outside lately and I
didn't want to stand out there in the heat. So I haven't given up
the idea of clipping. I just wasn't successful on my first try.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Franco's Plucking Adventure
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Line Breeding and Inbreeding
*ramblings from the rabbitgeek*
A lot of people use Linebreeding to improve consistency in their bloodlines. That would be breeding father/daughter or mother/son, saving the best from those litters to breed back to the parent.
Inbreeding would be breeding brother/sister, which is another strategy that can be used sparingly to emphasize desired genetic traits like body type or color or markings. It can also emphasize negative traits so it must be used with a lot of caution and be prepared to remove any undesirable results immediately. Sometimes entire litters have to be culled.
Linebreeding can improve overall characteristics very quickly when careful selection of breeding stock is used. It can also bring a bloodline to a dead stop if one only focuses on looks and color. Selection for raising kits, fathering large litters, and having good survival rates of litters are also important production factors.
Linebreeding is also the way to establish a bloodline. By the third generation the rabbits are pretty much the result of the breeders selections and can be called their own bloodline, even if several breeders have their bloodline descended from the same source trio originally. Sometimes it is called a "closed herd" or closed bloodline because outside blood is rarely brought in.
Genetics is a lot like the dice game Yahtzee. You try to get sets of numbers to fill your scorecard. Sometimes you can "hold" or "fix" some of the variables by holding some dice before the next roll.
It can be amazing how many unseen genetic factors can be found when one keeps bringing in "outside blood" to avoid inbreeding.
Genetics can be like dealing poker hands. You take out (cull) the cards (genes) you don't want, shuffle the deck and deal again and soon you get the kind of combinations you want on a consistent basis.
Adding outside blood is like adding another deck of cards and trying to predict what combinations will occur. Then spend the next generations taking out the cards that are not wanted (selection). Trying to juggle the combinations from 5 or 6 different decks (bloodlines) can bring you to your knees, especially if something like white spots, bad teeth, or mismarked toenails become fixed in your herd.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
A lot of people use Linebreeding to improve consistency in their bloodlines. That would be breeding father/daughter or mother/son, saving the best from those litters to breed back to the parent.
Inbreeding would be breeding brother/sister, which is another strategy that can be used sparingly to emphasize desired genetic traits like body type or color or markings. It can also emphasize negative traits so it must be used with a lot of caution and be prepared to remove any undesirable results immediately. Sometimes entire litters have to be culled.
Linebreeding can improve overall characteristics very quickly when careful selection of breeding stock is used. It can also bring a bloodline to a dead stop if one only focuses on looks and color. Selection for raising kits, fathering large litters, and having good survival rates of litters are also important production factors.
Linebreeding is also the way to establish a bloodline. By the third generation the rabbits are pretty much the result of the breeders selections and can be called their own bloodline, even if several breeders have their bloodline descended from the same source trio originally. Sometimes it is called a "closed herd" or closed bloodline because outside blood is rarely brought in.
Genetics is a lot like the dice game Yahtzee. You try to get sets of numbers to fill your scorecard. Sometimes you can "hold" or "fix" some of the variables by holding some dice before the next roll.
It can be amazing how many unseen genetic factors can be found when one keeps bringing in "outside blood" to avoid inbreeding.
Genetics can be like dealing poker hands. You take out (cull) the cards (genes) you don't want, shuffle the deck and deal again and soon you get the kind of combinations you want on a consistent basis.
Adding outside blood is like adding another deck of cards and trying to predict what combinations will occur. Then spend the next generations taking out the cards that are not wanted (selection). Trying to juggle the combinations from 5 or 6 different decks (bloodlines) can bring you to your knees, especially if something like white spots, bad teeth, or mismarked toenails become fixed in your herd.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Thursday, September 2, 2010
2010 Angora Count
2010 Angora Rabbit Count & Survey!
From Sept 1 2010 to to Sept 30 2010 I will be accepting reports on Angora
population.
We are conducting a count of English Angora, French Angora, Giant Angora, Satin
Angora, and German Angora rabbits.
The purpose is to assess the current populations of Angoras. We want to spot any
trends in population increases or declines and the collection of population
counts is important to monitor.
Please send me a count of your rabbits by breed.
Also tell me what state/province you are in.
Different from previous counts, we are asking for counts of males and females by
breed as suggested by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Please count rabbits that are no longer nursing from their mother. A doe with a
litter under her is counted as 1 female rabbit, don't count the litter.
Send your count only once this year. The count is intended to be a snapshot of
the population for the year.
If you have some cross breeds, you decide what breed they are and report them
accordingly or do not report them. We are trying to determine the population of
specific distinct breeds and we rely completely on your reporting.
Please tell us your count of rabbits:
English Angora: Male / Female
French Angora: Male / Female
Giant Angora: Male / Female
Satin Angora: Male / Female
German Angora: Male / Female
State/Province:
NARBC member yes/no:
IAGARB member yes/no:
The final survey report will NOT include anybody's name, only a state or
province. This is not connected with any government program and information
collected will not be sent to any such agencies. When complete, the survey data
will be made available for download on the rabbitgeek website.
You can see previous surveys at
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/filelist.html
Looking forward to your rabbit count!
Please send your count by email to:
francorios2000@ yahoo. com <- remove space for email
PLEASE SEND DIRECTLY TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS,
DO NOT POST TO THE GROUPS OR FORUMS!
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
email: francorios2000 @yahoo .com <-remove spaces for email
From Sept 1 2010 to to Sept 30 2010 I will be accepting reports on Angora
population.
We are conducting a count of English Angora, French Angora, Giant Angora, Satin
Angora, and German Angora rabbits.
The purpose is to assess the current populations of Angoras. We want to spot any
trends in population increases or declines and the collection of population
counts is important to monitor.
Please send me a count of your rabbits by breed.
Also tell me what state/province you are in.
Different from previous counts, we are asking for counts of males and females by
breed as suggested by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Please count rabbits that are no longer nursing from their mother. A doe with a
litter under her is counted as 1 female rabbit, don't count the litter.
Send your count only once this year. The count is intended to be a snapshot of
the population for the year.
If you have some cross breeds, you decide what breed they are and report them
accordingly or do not report them. We are trying to determine the population of
specific distinct breeds and we rely completely on your reporting.
Please tell us your count of rabbits:
English Angora: Male / Female
French Angora: Male / Female
Giant Angora: Male / Female
Satin Angora: Male / Female
German Angora: Male / Female
State/Province:
NARBC member yes/no:
IAGARB member yes/no:
The final survey report will NOT include anybody's name, only a state or
province. This is not connected with any government program and information
collected will not be sent to any such agencies. When complete, the survey data
will be made available for download on the rabbitgeek website.
You can see previous surveys at
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/filelist.html
Looking forward to your rabbit count!
Please send your count by email to:
francorios2000@ yahoo. com <- remove space for email
PLEASE SEND DIRECTLY TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS,
DO NOT POST TO THE GROUPS OR FORUMS!
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
email: francorios2000 @yahoo .com <-remove spaces for email
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
What do you feed your rabbits?
What do you feed your rabbits?
*from rabbitgeek notes 7/30/08
Below is my standard blurb on feed:
I usually feed Purina Complete (16% protein) and Purina Professional
(18% protein). Actually I mix them together to create an average
17% protein feed. Lately I've been using Purina Show Formula (16%)
mixed with the Purina Professional.
I have small rabbits, Holland Lops and Dutch as well as large
rabbits like American Blues, French Lops and Angoras.
The Angoras and Americans do well with higher protein requirement
but the protein is not so high as to create problems with the
smaller breeds.
This has been our primary feed for many years. We occasionally try
another feed but when the flesh condition drops, we switch back.
It may not be the fault of the other feed. Any switch in feed is
stressful and will cause some loss of condition. We should probably
switch for 6 months to really test it a new feed.
But when we have won many Best of Breed awards with different
breeds on the Purina feed, we always wind up back on the Purina.
When you find a feed that your rabbits do well on, stick with it. As
you breed, you are selecting for rabbits that will do well on the feed
you are giving it.
Other considerations are: I can usually buy feed at a feed store on
my way to work, no extra trips required. If they are out of stock,
there are two other dealers within easy driving distance. Purina has
the easy to read date code printed on the bottom paper strip, no 10
digit date codes to decipher.
I hope this info helps.
Have a good day!
*from rabbitgeek notes 7/30/08
Below is my standard blurb on feed:
I usually feed Purina Complete (16% protein) and Purina Professional
(18% protein). Actually I mix them together to create an average
17% protein feed. Lately I've been using Purina Show Formula (16%)
mixed with the Purina Professional.
I have small rabbits, Holland Lops and Dutch as well as large
rabbits like American Blues, French Lops and Angoras.
The Angoras and Americans do well with higher protein requirement
but the protein is not so high as to create problems with the
smaller breeds.
This has been our primary feed for many years. We occasionally try
another feed but when the flesh condition drops, we switch back.
It may not be the fault of the other feed. Any switch in feed is
stressful and will cause some loss of condition. We should probably
switch for 6 months to really test it a new feed.
But when we have won many Best of Breed awards with different
breeds on the Purina feed, we always wind up back on the Purina.
When you find a feed that your rabbits do well on, stick with it. As
you breed, you are selecting for rabbits that will do well on the feed
you are giving it.
Other considerations are: I can usually buy feed at a feed store on
my way to work, no extra trips required. If they are out of stock,
there are two other dealers within easy driving distance. Purina has
the easy to read date code printed on the bottom paper strip, no 10
digit date codes to decipher.
I hope this info helps.
Have a good day!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
RabbitTalk Forum
RabbitTalk: Rabbits for fun...rabbits for profit...rabbits for everyone
RabbitTalk is a great discussion forum for all types of rabbit owners.
The owners of the forum are open minded and friendly.
There is no charge to join the forum.
Check them out at: http://rabbittalk.com/
Have a good day!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Rabbit FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
* I have this FAQ and I am posting for comments - FR *
*original post Feb 7 2009*
Frequently Asked Questions About Meat Rabbits
WHAT BREED SHOULD I GET?
All rabbits are made out of meat. So any breed of rabbit can be eaten
for meat. A meat rabbit is a rabbit that was grown to provide meat.
These can be purebreds or crossbreeds.
But some breeds are better for size. Dwarf breeds (up to about 2 1/2
lbs) are generally too small to be efficiently harvested for meat.
Some of the small breeds like Dutch or Florida White are good for
small meat production situations.
The commercial meat rabbit was bred to be a certain size by a certain
age to produce young "fryer" sized rabbits. This commercial goal in
USA is to have rabbits at 5 lbs by 10 weeks of age.
There is a competition for meat pens and fryers at rabbit shows. The
meat pen and fryer competition is a demonstration of the breeders'
ability to produce a market animal of consistent size and quality.
A meat pen is three rabbits, any gender, more than three pounds and
less than five pounds. A single fryer is a rabbit, any gender, more
than three pounds and less than five pounds. They must not be older
than 70 days.
There is an article on raising meat pen rabbits on the rabbitgeek website.
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/meatpennotes.html
Meat Sized Rabbit Breeds
Semi-Arch / Mandolin Body Type Breeds
American * (Blue & White)
Beveren * (Black, Blue, White)
Commercial / Medium Length Body Type Breeds
American Sable *
Californian
Champagne d'Argent
American Chinchilla *
Cinnamon *
Creme d'Argent *
Hotots * (Blanc de Hotot)
New Zealand
Palomino
Rex
Satin
Silver Fox *
* On Rare Breed Rabbits List
You can read about Rare Breed Rabbits at
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/rarelist.html
Not all meat rabbits are white, so other colored breeds are included
in the chart. Many breeds are raised for unique fur quality as well.
Another issue is bone size. Bones are not eaten, so a hefty rabbit
with heavy bone structure has less meat per pound. So a medium bone
structure is desirable.
For this reason the Giant rabbit breeds (over 14 lbs adult weight) are
usually not used for commercial rabbit meat.
WHAT ABOUT CROSS BREEDS?
Many people have good success with using cross breeding for meat
rabbits. Breeding a buck and a doe from different breeds or bloodlines
will produce a hybrid litter of rabbits that will grow faster and
larger than the parent breeds normally would due a an effect called
hybrid vigor.
All the rabbits in the hybrid litter are used for meat, not for
breeding. Because the hybrid vigor effect disappears after the first
generation litter, leading to disappointing results for the grower.
This means breeding stock from separate breeds is kept for cross
breeding. So there has to be access to more rabbits to use as breeding
stock, since replacements cannot be kept from the crossbreed litters.
WHAT ABOUT LINE BREEDING?
Line breeding is a sustainable plan for breeding within the same
bloodlines.
The breeding plan is to breed dams and sires to the offspring. In
human terms, father to daughter, mother to son. This breeding plan is
sustainable since it uses replacement breeding stock from the litters
of rabbits born. Since the breeding stock is the same "blood" from
generation to generation, this is called a bloodline.
This is not "in-breeding" which would be brother to sister pairings.
Selecting replacement stock in line breeding is critical. The
replacement stock must have the desirable traits of growth rate, bone
size, mothering ability, disposition, color and other traits.
Line breeding can improve a bloodline in a very short time. Rabbits
with undesirable traits are removed from the breeding program
(culled). Rabbits with desirable traits are kept for breeding. Not all
rabbits born have desirable traits and line breeding can remove those
traits in a few generations.
This would leave a grower with a bloodline of rabbits that are
genetically compatible for breeding and have undesirable traits
reduced in the line.
For more info on line breeding, try these websites
The Nature Trail
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/linebreeding-outcrossing.htm
Jubilee Acres
http://jubileeacres.net/rabbitbreeding.html
Debmark Rabbit Education Resource
http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/breeding.htm
Line Breeding Chart on Pam Nock's website
http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/LineBreedingChart.html
Have a good day!
*original post Feb 7 2009*
Frequently Asked Questions About Meat Rabbits
WHAT BREED SHOULD I GET?
All rabbits are made out of meat. So any breed of rabbit can be eaten
for meat. A meat rabbit is a rabbit that was grown to provide meat.
These can be purebreds or crossbreeds.
But some breeds are better for size. Dwarf breeds (up to about 2 1/2
lbs) are generally too small to be efficiently harvested for meat.
Some of the small breeds like Dutch or Florida White are good for
small meat production situations.
The commercial meat rabbit was bred to be a certain size by a certain
age to produce young "fryer" sized rabbits. This commercial goal in
USA is to have rabbits at 5 lbs by 10 weeks of age.
There is a competition for meat pens and fryers at rabbit shows. The
meat pen and fryer competition is a demonstration of the breeders'
ability to produce a market animal of consistent size and quality.
A meat pen is three rabbits, any gender, more than three pounds and
less than five pounds. A single fryer is a rabbit, any gender, more
than three pounds and less than five pounds. They must not be older
than 70 days.
There is an article on raising meat pen rabbits on the rabbitgeek website.
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/meatpennotes.html
Meat Sized Rabbit Breeds
Semi-Arch / Mandolin Body Type Breeds
American * (Blue & White)
Beveren * (Black, Blue, White)
Commercial / Medium Length Body Type Breeds
American Sable *
Californian
Champagne d'Argent
American Chinchilla *
Cinnamon *
Creme d'Argent *
Hotots * (Blanc de Hotot)
New Zealand
Palomino
Rex
Satin
Silver Fox *
* On Rare Breed Rabbits List
You can read about Rare Breed Rabbits at
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/rarelist.html
Not all meat rabbits are white, so other colored breeds are included
in the chart. Many breeds are raised for unique fur quality as well.
Another issue is bone size. Bones are not eaten, so a hefty rabbit
with heavy bone structure has less meat per pound. So a medium bone
structure is desirable.
For this reason the Giant rabbit breeds (over 14 lbs adult weight) are
usually not used for commercial rabbit meat.
WHAT ABOUT CROSS BREEDS?
Many people have good success with using cross breeding for meat
rabbits. Breeding a buck and a doe from different breeds or bloodlines
will produce a hybrid litter of rabbits that will grow faster and
larger than the parent breeds normally would due a an effect called
hybrid vigor.
All the rabbits in the hybrid litter are used for meat, not for
breeding. Because the hybrid vigor effect disappears after the first
generation litter, leading to disappointing results for the grower.
This means breeding stock from separate breeds is kept for cross
breeding. So there has to be access to more rabbits to use as breeding
stock, since replacements cannot be kept from the crossbreed litters.
WHAT ABOUT LINE BREEDING?
Line breeding is a sustainable plan for breeding within the same
bloodlines.
The breeding plan is to breed dams and sires to the offspring. In
human terms, father to daughter, mother to son. This breeding plan is
sustainable since it uses replacement breeding stock from the litters
of rabbits born. Since the breeding stock is the same "blood" from
generation to generation, this is called a bloodline.
This is not "in-breeding" which would be brother to sister pairings.
Selecting replacement stock in line breeding is critical. The
replacement stock must have the desirable traits of growth rate, bone
size, mothering ability, disposition, color and other traits.
Line breeding can improve a bloodline in a very short time. Rabbits
with undesirable traits are removed from the breeding program
(culled). Rabbits with desirable traits are kept for breeding. Not all
rabbits born have desirable traits and line breeding can remove those
traits in a few generations.
This would leave a grower with a bloodline of rabbits that are
genetically compatible for breeding and have undesirable traits
reduced in the line.
For more info on line breeding, try these websites
The Nature Trail
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/linebreeding-outcrossing.htm
Jubilee Acres
http://jubileeacres.net/rabbitbreeding.html
Debmark Rabbit Education Resource
http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/breeding.htm
Line Breeding Chart on Pam Nock's website
http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/LineBreedingChart.html
Have a good day!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Feeding Rabbits Naturally
The Homesteading Today Forum has a group discussion on rabbits including the topic of "Feeding Rabbits Naturally"
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14
You will have to register with the forum to post messages but visitors can browse without registration. There is no cost to register. I've been a member there for a couple of years and I can recommend it.
Also look for "An introduction to Rabbits {Contains a downloadable file}" which contains a PDF archive of Pat Lamar's "Commercial Rabbit Industries" website, which is now offline. Good information.
My screen name there is rabbitgeek
Have a good day!
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14
You will have to register with the forum to post messages but visitors can browse without registration. There is no cost to register. I've been a member there for a couple of years and I can recommend it.
Also look for "An introduction to Rabbits {Contains a downloadable file}" which contains a PDF archive of Pat Lamar's "Commercial Rabbit Industries" website, which is now offline. Good information.
My screen name there is rabbitgeek
Have a good day!
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