Breeding

Breeding ethics

Way too many "advice for rabbit breeders " groups on Facebook have a wishy washy or down right unethical stance on "pet" breeding. This was again posted after yet another new breeder who is in need of guidance and hearing hard facts was coddled by group members and admins. administrators support unethical breeding practices by deleting comments and facts laid out as to why a pairing is not a good pairing and why the resulting kits should be culled.

In this case study :

• 1.The mom may be salvageable on type but the buck being paired with is a poor example of the breed and should be culled out of any future breeding programs. Their are times a out cross or a suppar in one area may be used for a very select out cross, maybe a poor ear set buck is a lop breed has a fanatasic body and the breeder is willing to take a risk that a body improvement is worth messing up ears for a generation. But out crosses like this come with the expectation that kits will be culled hard for quality and the very real possibility that none will be found worthy

• 2 Breeding broken to broken is not recommended. In this post the OP had bred a broken to a broken, new breeder who probably dosn't have a mentor ,and didn't do the research to understand why that is not recommended. Broken to Broken breeding be gives a 40% chance of the kits having megacolon a digestive tract deformity carried on the KIT Gene tied to charlies, which are double homozygous English Spot gene affected rabbits. Their are again occasions that a broken to broken breeding may be done but again like I mentioned in earset, out crosses come with the expectation that kits will be culled hard for quality and the very real possibility that none will be found worthy. The risk is calculated by the breeder.

• 3. Ear set is poor in dad, the Buck used in the breeding pictured by the op, is thin lanky has an upright earset, I doubt he is even a mini lop. So even with cavates as above this buck was never a candidate to be used in any program.

• 4. If your going to breed you need to remove emotions when evaluating stock. Herd blindness and "awe cute babies" is a thing. But in order to breed ethically you must evaluate the rabbit in front of you .

• 5. Their is no such thing as " breeding for pets" people whose goal is the pet market with no consideration to the health ,type or wellbeing of future generations of the breed are unethical period. Either get a breed mentor and breed towards a set standard for your breed or don't breed. Every pairing should have a long term goal in mind.

• 6. If you can't terminal cull , don't breed rabbits . If its not sound quality it shouldn't be leaving your farm . These are bred broken to broken so they all have a chance of megacolon which means unless they are absolutely perfect type, and you as the breeder are going to use them as part of your very select breeding goals, you need to cull them at home and not risk sending them out to some family to deal with a failing rabbit as they mature.

What Defines a Breed?

A breed is defined as a stock of animals or plants within a species having a distinctive appearance and typically having been developed by deliberate selection. New Breeds should have at least 3 distinctive features differentiating them from an already recognized breed, coat type, body structure, size, ear carriage, and color. A breed will exhibit a uniform repeatable appearance that will breed true to it's standard.

How Are Breeds Formed?

New breeds are formed when an individual notices a trait and type that they admire and want to further develop. From this humble beginning, they make test breedings to lock in those traits after several generations, slowly building up stock and culling so only the best examples of their goal remain. At this point a written Working Standard of Perfection should be adopted to further uniform development. From here ,that individual or group of individuals may start onboarding other breeders who want to work with a new breed development project. Once that project is producing stable lines, has three to 5 breeders working on development , and the original breeders decide it has a acceptable stable gene pool , they can choose to form a breed organization. The next steps needed for Official breed development is submitting for a certificate of development to ARBA .

https://arba.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Filing-a-COD1.pdf

"Certificates of Development should only be pursued if you have been raising this new breed for a number of years. If your herd consists of F2 and F3 crosses or you are still planning to import animals to establish your herd, this is not the time to file a COD. A Certificate of Development should only be pursued once you have identified that the breed is unique and will breed true, and if a foreign breed, has adapted to your climate and management practices. You should have studied, culled, and have a herd that can replicate its characteristics from generation to generation with consistency and quality. Up to 5 varieties may be proposed on a New Breed certificate of Development. Each of these varieties will require a separate presentation of 8 animals for a first presentation and 10 for a second and third presentation. The first variety or varieties to pass a third showing at an ARBA Convention will constitute a new breed, with any additional varieties on the original COD or subsequent CODs eligible to convert to new variety Certificates of Development.

Please note that applications for Broken patterned animals will not be accepted for a proposed new breed until after other colors/varieties have been accepted in the breed. If an application consists of multiple varieties, these must all be solid varieties."

“A proposed new breed, group or variety must possess qualifications of individual merit, unique to itself, identifying it as a separate and distinct breed, group or variety. These animals shall not be a breed, group or variety already recognized in the SOP with only a changed coat structure or altered ear carriage. A proposed new group or variety of an existing breed must possess the same type and coat requirements of the existing breed, differing only in color from the existing standard for the breed.” – ARBA Standard of Perfection, page 18