Things are changing around here as I reevaluate the direction and goals of my breeding program. My first goal is meat production. My 2nd goal is improving Americans as a breed. My 3rd goal is to develop a competitive line of blacks. These goals mostly run concurrent to each other.
I've just acquired a really nice trio of blue chinchilla Americans who are all REW carriers. These are nice, big rabbits, with good width and rise. Size has been a problem for me in the past, but adding these rabbits will hopefully fix that. Blue Chinchilla is not an approved color, nor do I think it should ever be. However, if you understand color genetics, those animals can still play a valuable role in a breeding program. REW (c) is the most recessive on the C locus, and requires a copy from each parent to express. When breeding a chinchilla to a REW, the white offspring are free from the chinchilla gene. There is nowhere for it to hide, it cannot be carried to future generations, it's gone. My plan is to produce quality American Whites from these blue chinchillas. They will not be bred to my blues, but their white offspring may be.
So, the composition of my herd is changing fast. I've removed or am removing the lesser quality individuals from my herd, and really focusing on conformation before color. Color is easy to fix, conformation is much more difficult. I think this is why our white Americans outperform our blues on average. People get hung up on color.
The lovely ladies of Wild Vitality Rabbitry/Homestead:
I've just acquired a really nice trio of blue chinchilla Americans who are all REW carriers. These are nice, big rabbits, with good width and rise. Size has been a problem for me in the past, but adding these rabbits will hopefully fix that. Blue Chinchilla is not an approved color, nor do I think it should ever be. However, if you understand color genetics, those animals can still play a valuable role in a breeding program. REW (c) is the most recessive on the C locus, and requires a copy from each parent to express. When breeding a chinchilla to a REW, the white offspring are free from the chinchilla gene. There is nowhere for it to hide, it cannot be carried to future generations, it's gone. My plan is to produce quality American Whites from these blue chinchillas. They will not be bred to my blues, but their white offspring may be.
So, the composition of my herd is changing fast. I've removed or am removing the lesser quality individuals from my herd, and really focusing on conformation before color. Color is easy to fix, conformation is much more difficult. I think this is why our white Americans outperform our blues on average. People get hung up on color.
The lovely ladies of Wild Vitality Rabbitry/Homestead:
BBJR2
10.08# Blue Chinchilla Doe
Bickle's CH4
9.14# Blue Chinchilla Doe
10.08# Blue Chinchilla Doe
Bickle's CH4
9.14# Blue Chinchilla Doe
Hunny Bunny's Inara
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| This sweet girl loves me more now that she gets a few BOSS in the mornings. She carries REW. |
Willow Hedge Farms' Tara
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| This is a picture of Tara when she was wee. She carries blue, but does not carry REW. She is atypically grumpy for an American, but responds well to bribes. Her first litter are all sweethearts. They obviously take after their father. |
Wild Vitality's Gaia
White doe, DOB 3/7/2015
out of Cleopatra and Absolem
Wild Vitality's Nymphadora
Blue doe, DOB 3/26/2015
out of Inara and Absolem
Wild Vitality's Violet
Blue doe, DOB 3/26/2015
out of Inara and Absolem
Do you have any American whites for sale? Please email me when you can. Thanks
ReplyDeleteDo you have American blues for sale? We are looking for a breeding trio.
ReplyDelete