03/16/2025
Today I saw a comment that said “your dinner doesn’t need a pedigree.” This was in regard to not needed to spend money on show stock and that showing is not necissary for homestead food production.
Why is it worth buying your meat rabbits from someone who breeds to standard?
The standard of perfection is designed to produce the highest meat yield for each commercial type breed. While your dinner doesn’t need a pedigree, it’s still important to start with quality stock. Poor loin depth, pinched hips and bad shoulders lead to lesser quality carcasses. These unwanted traits carry into the next generation leading to an over all lesser quality herd that may cost you more money in the long run.
Some breeds carry genetic issues like mega colon. This is a common trait found in some breeds like Hotots and some New Zealands. It is associated with the broken gene. This creates an enlarged colon which can result in low feed conversion and difficulty for the rabbit to maintain weight resulting in poor condition and lower mass. Other generic issues like sore hocks, split p***s and malocclusion can have detrimental effects on the quality of life of a rabbit and greatly impact the overall health of your herd.
There is also the idea that throwing giant breeds into the mix will result in more meat. This may or may not be the case in reality. While giant breeds produce larger carcasses, it’s important to note that these breeds have larger bone structure. In the early stages of life for these breeds, growth is primarily focused on bone development over meat development. When paired with a commercial meat breed, this trait can pass on to thd offspring. This can result in carcasses with lower meat to bone ratios at processing than their solely commercial type counterparts.
Ensuring that you are starting with quality stock to begin with can help save you time, money and a lot of headache. There are many who throw rabbits together to produce meat mutts without considering potential genetic issues and common breeds traits. Yes, show breeders typically charge more for their stock. Keep in mind that when you buy from a breeder that breeds to ARBA standard you are not only getting quality over quantity, but also the knowledge of that breeder, stock that has been tested against the standard and often times mentorship. It is worth investing a little more in your breeding stock in the long run.
Your dinner plate doesn’t require a pedigree, but neither does showing. It doesn’t even have to be purebred to go on a show table. What matters is that it is a healthy animal that exemplifies the standard for that breed.
If you can’t afford or don’t want to invest in a trio, you may still want to invest a little extra in your buck. You want something that is going to produce for you. Your buck is 50% of your herd. A show quality buck that has been tested against standard is more likely to set you up for success in the future.
