Evaluating Adult Rabbits

I took a poll not long ago asking what topic people were most interested in reading.  The overall winner was how to evaluate adult rabbits.  In getting ready for writing the post, I've decided to break it down into two parts: evaluating body type (which I'll cover today), and evaluating health (which I'll cover in a future post).

While the focus of evaluating body type in this post is mostly for meat production (with purebred or crossbred rabbits), the greater part of it applies to all rabbits meant for breeding and/or show.  The main exceptions are that full-arch breeds (such as English Spots) should be narrower, and won't fill out to the table like commerical and compact breeds.  For semi-arch (also called mandolin) breeds, such as Flemish Giants, shoulders are supposed to be low and the rise is supposed to start late.  Most everything else should apply to all breeds.

New Zealand and Californian rabbit profiles.

New Zealands and Californians are the top two commercial meat breeds of rabbits.  They are both considered to have commercial body type, but their profiles are actually different.  As you can see in the picture, Californians tend to be more rounded over the top, with an earlier peak.  Both types are desirable for meat production.  Other meat breeds tend to be somewhere in between the two types.

How to set up a rabbit correctly for proper evaluation.

In order to evaluate a rabbit properly, it is important to know how to pose them correctly.  The rabbit shown at left doesn't have an ideal body type, but her shadows allow you to see all the curves you need to align.  The front legs should be flat on the table from elbow to toe, with the toes directly under the eye.  The rear legs should be placed so that the front of the toes line up with the point of the stifle (or knee).  Some common mistakes people make when setting up rabbits are allowing the rabbits to sit on their front toes, with their elbows sticking up (makes their shoulders look higher than they really are); and shoving the rear end too far forward (can make the top curve look more desirable--or at least rounder--but makes the rear look more chopped off).  With practice, you can actually learn to see past bad poses (which is helpful when looking at buying stock via pictures), but even then, some faults can still stay hidden.

New Zealand doe pushing forward and posed properly.

Many rabbits have little quirks that you have to deal with when setting them up.  Some rabbits will push toward any touch, causing them to lean to one side or shift their weight forward or backward.  Once you figure out what triggers them, you can usually trick them into balancing out.  Sometimes you just have to wait for them to relax (a good pose should be relaxed, anyway).

High, well-rounded rise vs. short, flat rise.

Once you have the rabbit set up correctly, there are several things to look at.  Good meat rabbits have a fairly high rise.  The rise is the curve of the back, in profile, from shoulder, over the loins and back down to the table.  The rise should have a nice smooth curve, with no flat areas.  The peak of the curve can be anywhere along the loins (Californians and other round-commercial-types tend to peak at the front of the loins--at the end of the ribs---where New Zealands and similar types tend to peak toward the end of the loin--at the top of the hips).  If you're evaluating in person, you should run your hand from neck to tail to feel the substance of the rabbit.  You should feel meat, not squishy fat nor any sharp boniness.  The curve should also feel smooth, with no changes of angle that catch your hand or let your hand drop away.

Late-start rise vs. proper rise start

A common fault is a late start to the rise, often paired with low and/or narrow shoulders.  If you're making judgments based on a picture, make sure that the ears aren't lying on the back, which tends to cover up poor shoulders.  The picture above shows what a late start looks like in picture (with the ears being held up).  If you were feeling along the top line of the faulted rabbit, your hand would catch at the dip.  Such rabbits lack shoulder meat.  Properly-meated shoulders will start the rise right at the base of the neck, as shown on the Californian in the picture above.

Chopped off hindquarters vs. properly sloped hindquarters.

Another common fault is chopped of hindquarters.  When feeling over the rear of the rabbit, there is a sudden drop from the top of the hips down to the tail, instead of having a rounded curve down to the table. Some rabbits may also have a flat slope from the top of their rise down to the table. Chopped-off and flat-sloped rabbits lack hindquarter meat.

If you're not evaluating in person, ask to see pictures of the rabbit from above, if possible, as well.  There are some things you can see from above that you might not notice from a side profile.

Narrow shoulders vs. well-rounded, wide shoulders

The ideal top profile should be as round as possible, with a smooth curve going out from the shoulders, and then rounding from the loins around the rear.  The above picture shows a tear-drop shaped rabbit, which lacks shoulder meat, and a rabbit which has properly wide shoulders.

Wide loins vs. narrow (or hollow) loins

It is easier to see the waistline of the rabbit from a top view.  The loins should curve outward, not inward.  Look for shadows indicating the outline of the loins.  A turned in waist can also indicate excessive shoulder fat instead of lack of loin meat, but neither case is desirable.  If you're feeling the rabbit, you can feel the ribs to be sure which is the case.

Pinched hindquarters vs. meaty hindquarters

You should also pay attention to the hips and hindquarters.  You want to see well-rounded hindquarters and hips, with plenty of meat.  If you can see the outline of the hips, there is a lack of meat on the hindquarters.

Hollow loins vs. well-rounded loins.

It is also helpful to view the rabbit from behind.  Ideally, as usual, you want to see a smooth curve.  The widest point should be at the table.  Good, meaty loins will fill out around the spine, so you won't be able to see where it is.  Some loins are so meaty that there may actually be a dip in the curve where the spine is.  That's just fine; you just don't want to see the spine sticking up.

Properly square hocks vs. turned hocks

One other thing you should do when evaluating a rabbit is to turn it over to see how straight the hocks are.  The hocks should be as close to parallel as possible.  Turned-in hocks usually indicates pinched hindquarters and a lack of hindquarter meat.

If you still have any questions about evaluating rabbits, please add a comment below.  I can put together an addendum post for anything I may have forgotten to cover.

See the follow-up post on evaluating rabbit health >

Planning for Fair Market Pens

For people who like to breed for market pens for fair, there's a good bit of planning that has to go into it.  "When to breed" depends on when your fair is, what the age allowance is, and how long it takes your rabbits to get to the maximum weight limit.

To get that information, check the website for your county's extension office.  Most will have a copy of the premium book (sometimes also called a handbook or catalog) from the most recent fair (if not the upcoming fair).  If you plan to sell to 4-H kids, look at that section.  If you plan on doing your own entry (and aren't a 4-H kid, yourself), look at the Open Class section.  Unfortunately, not all websites are easy to navigate, and not all of them will have the premium book available online.  If that's the case, call the extension office and ask if you can get a copy of last year's (or this year's) premium book.  Or, you can ask for the contact information for the local rabbit club leader.

In our county, the fair auction is the first Saturday in August.  The maximum allowed age is 69 days (other fairs allow up to 70 or even 90 days for fryers; others may also have a class for roasters).  The maximum allowed weight is 5 pounds per fryer (again, other fairs may have other limits).

In order to calculate your breeding date, look at a calendar, starting on your fair date (for me, it's August 2nd).  Count back however many days is the maximum allowed age or when your fryers normally reach the maximum allowed weight, whichever is smallest. (I have some lines that hit 5 lbs closer to 8 or 9 weeks, so 56 to 63 days).  If I'm calculating for maximum age (69 days), I would land on May 25th as the target birthdate.  For my quick-growers, I would get May 31 to June 1 as the target birthdate.

From there, count back how many days your doe normally takes to kindle.  If she's not consistent, go with the shortest term she's had.  If you've never bred her before, go with 28 days, which is the shortest normal term for any rabbit pregnancy.  That way, if she kindles late, you'll still be in range for age, and probably not much shorter on weight.  The alternate case (breeding for her longest pregnancy) could result in the kits being too old for the fair, should she kindle early.  28 days before May 25th is April 27th.

Write that date down on your calendar.  It's often a good idea to put it on an electronic calendar (such as on your phone, or attached to your email) so that you'll get a reminder when it's time to breed.

Once it's on your calendar, you can now see if you have time to breed for one more litter before you breed for fair.  This is especially handy so that you can more accurately predict what weight you'll get from that specific pair of rabbits, provided that you actually have time to let the kits grow out before you need to breed for fair.

Most meat breeds are capable of handling a breed-back schedule as close as 3 weeks after kindling. Of course, the longer you can wait after kindling before breeding, the healthier the doe will stay, and the more litters you can consecutively breed back. Also, remember that you'll want to wean the kits no later than 3 weeks after their dam has been bred back.  So, if you breed back when the kits are 3 weeks old, you'll have to wean them at 6 weeks.

If I were to breed today, the kits would be born some time between March 15th (28 day pregnancy) and March 22nd (35 day pregnancy), which would mean that when I breed for fair, the doe will have been nursing for 34 to 41 days (5 to 6 weeks).  Since I normally wean at 8 weeks, the weaning date wouldn't change, and the doe would still get 1 to 2 weeks of not nursing before she kindles again.

Calculate your breeding dates with this tool.

Fryer Growth

I see a lot of people asking whether their weights for X-aged kits is "good" or not.  There can be quite a bit of variation in what constitutes "good," depending on what they're being fed, what breed they are, and how good the lines are.  There is actually quite a bit of research out there which documents weights of various meat breeds through various ages, and many which also compare different methods of feeding and/or care.  One of these days, I may put together a list of those papers, but for today, I'll just go through my own data.

Graph of rabbit growth rates.

LEGEND:

Green line - crossbred average

Green field - crossbred range

Purple line - Rex average

Purple field - Rex range

Red line - Californian weights

Blue line - New Zealand average

I compiled data from 15 litters (9 undetermined crossbred, 3 Rex, 2 New Zealand white, and 1 Californian) from 3 to 8 weeks old (the crossbreds were only weighed at the 3- and 8-week marks; the purebreds were weighed weekly).  Litter sizes ranged from 2 to 9 (non-DOA), averaging 6.33 kits per litter.  All litters were fed on a diet of 18% crude protein pellets, plus occasional time on grass and infrequent garden treats.

3-week weights ranged from 9.8 oz. to 21 oz. (1 lb. 5 oz), averaging 13.2 oz.  8-week weights ranged from 43 oz. (2 lbs. 11 oz.) to 70 oz. (4 lbs. 6 oz.), averaging 54.1 oz (3 lbs. 6.1 oz.).

I'll admit that these are not ideal weights (the ideal goal would be 5 lbs by 8 weeks), but they still produce sizable-enough fryers to butcher at 10 to 12 weeks old, especially since at the 8- to 10-week-old range, fryers typically put on about 1/2 a pound a week (which would put the 10-week average at almost 4-1/2 pounds, and the 12-week average at nearly 5-1/2 lbs).  With that gain, they are right on target for the typical backyard breeder's goal of 5 lbs between 10 and 12 weeks old.

The big point of interest that I'd like to point out is how the litter weights cross around the 7-week mark.  I didn't post a graph of the individual litter weights, but there are also crossovers between several litters at 4 and 6 weeks, as well.  That goes to show that weights before 7 weeks are not reliably indicative of weights at 8 weeks or more.

Comparing litter sizes:

	Litter size (number of litters)
	2 (2)	3	5	6 (2)	7 (3)	8 (4)	9 (2)
3-wk wt.	16.4	21.0	16.8	13.5	10.8	11.8	10.5
8-wk wt.	55.6	70.0	68.0	50.8	49.5	52.0	53.1

From that data, litter size plays a marginally significant role in litter weights.

I also thought you might want to look at the data which shows how parents' weights affect the weight of the litters:

As you might be able to see from the data, the parents' adult weights really don't play a role in the growing weights of the kits.

I promise I will collect more data from upcoming litters, and probably make a new post showing weights through 10 or 12 weeks old.  I may also put together a chart showing the breakdown by litter size.