# Is it efficient to cross breed Flemish and New Zealands?



## BlsdMama

We went to a swap. 'Nuff said.
:icecream:

DS(10) had $$ in his hand and wanted to spend. And, try as I might, he wanted a buck. It's a Flemish Giant, though he's little right now. I'm wondering how well it work to use him with our New Zealand does. I've heard that Flemish aren't very cost effective as far as translating food to weight gain efficiently. But I thought perhaps the crossing of the two breeds could work well? Thoughts?


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## MaggieJ

Too bad it's a buck. I'd have concerns breeding a NZW doe to a buck that is going to be so much larger. If it had been the other way around, I'd say give it a try. 

Flemish Giants are not considered as cost effective as NZW because they have a heavy bone structure giving a lower meat/bone ratio at dress-out. But they certainly can be used for meat and from what I have heard they were originally developed as a meat breed.


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## jhuebner

I'd not put a Flemish Giant Buck w/ a New Zeland doe, Flemish babies are 1/2 again as big when they are born as a NZ. The 1st 15 weeks Flemish GROW FAST. Then they slow down ALOT! 

a Doe reaches full maturity in one year, bucks really take 1/5yrs. They are big, they are SO FRIENDLY, but they grow slow to get there!

JLH 

Oldhaus Fibers & Rabbits
Flemish Giants, 
Giant Angora, French Angora, Satin Angora
American Fuzzy Lops

www.oldhaus.net


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## micsminnie

I have a Flemish male that I breed to a New Zealand doe and they have done fine, in fact I have a litter of 8 out there right now that are 5 1/2 weeks old. This is this momâs fourth litter from him. However I should probably say that we are only raising for our own consumption.


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## MaggieJ

micsminnie said:


> I have a Flemish male that I breed to a New Zealand doe and they have done fine, in fact I have a litter of 8 out there right now that are 5 1/2 weeks old. This is this momâs fourth litter from him. However I should probably say that we are only raising for our own consumption.


I'm glad these matings have not had any unfortunate outcomes, Micsminnie, but whenever you breed a much larger buck to a doe there is the risk of birthing complications -- such as a kit stuck in the birth canal. You can lose a good doe that way. This goes double if the doe is a first-timer or if the litter consists of only a few kits. Larger litters do tend to keep the birth weights of the kits down, but one cannot guarantee that every litter will be a big one. It is not a practice I can recommend.


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## orphy

I see no problems, I have been breeding Harliquin with my Flemish for awhile now. I also have a friend with a production barn who's best rabbit is a Flemish/NZ cross. I have had mini lops bred to a Lionhead that have gotten a baby stuck and died. That can happen anywhere.JMO


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## Honorine

Humor me, what color is the Flemish Buck?


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## KSALguy

rabbits seem to have less trouble with breeding a large male to small female than other animals, the large litters help keep down the size and the fact that they deliver WELL before they are fully done growing also helps, the only time i have heard of or SEEN a female RABBIT have a large kit get stuck is when she had a single and the kit had no competition in there and grew large to fill up the empty space, and like Orphy said, that can happen to ANY breed


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## MaggieJ

Well, maybe I'm wrong about this... wouldn't be the first time!  I hope so.


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## SFM in KY

I've not tried it with rabbits, though I have with the horses/ponies and even with big size differences, no problems.

I have talked to one rabbit breeder who has done some of the big buck/ small doe crosses pretty consistently some years ago and she said she had no more problems with those crosses than with any of the other breedings.


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## Wildfire_Jewel

We do Giant Chinchilla bucks on Californian does and get an outstanding meat rabbit with better growouts and meat percentages than our pure Cal crosses. We do not put the buck on the doe until she has had a litter with a smaller buck just to be on the safe side. We have never had a problem yet and our best producer is a Cal/Giant Chin cross doe named Sinister Bunny 
Try it and see if you like your outcome. It will also depend on the production genetics you have in your rabbits so it may not turn out as well for you as it does for others.
Melissa


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## susieM

I've used a giant buck with smaller females, and have never had a problem. But one of the local farmers says he can't sell mixed breed babies because his customers think that the rabbits are too big and old to eat because they don't understand that that the buck was a giant.


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## laughaha

I don't agree about the cost effectiveness of raising flemish giants for meat. These rabbits grow EXTREMELY fast even when over 1/2 their diet is hay/grass/weeds. Granted, I don't have any experience with anything other than flemish's, but I'm pretty happy. 

The only problem I'm having is that everyone is buying them off of me so fast I haven't gotten to eat one yet. Current litter is sold with the exception of a male if it stays a male, if it's female, it's gone too. I put the add on craigslist 3 days ago and almost all were gone within 24 hours. 

With one litter, Cindy Lu has paid for their feed for a year. Next litter should pay for the new cage. We may eat one out of the next litter just to see what $40 tastes like (I won't eat a female- they are $60). This rabbit breed has the capability to COMPLETELY pay for all it's care costs and keep me in rabbit meat if I choose. I'd say that's pretty thrifty.

My suggestion is cross-breed the flemy with the NZ (to eat and widen gene pools) but to ALSO buy a few female flemy's and sell their off-spring.


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## susieM

Plus, those rabbits are so 'zen' and friendly.


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## jen74145

My main issue with FLemish is it is so hard to give them enough room. I adore them, but goodness, they don't need a cage, they need a run.

I am considering buying a pair again when I get the rabbit barn finished; toying with attaching a chainlink dog run to the side for them and just let a pair be loose in it.


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## BlsdMama

Honorine said:


> Humor me, what color is the Flemish Buck?


LOL. He's a little wild bunny looking thing. Truth is he's so little that I really wonder about the truth to it being a Flemish. He looks just like any other rabbit, except that he is by FAR the friendliest, least nervous little guy I've ever seen. I'm trying to get pictures but want to finish "decorating" the colony first. 

I think perhaps we'll take a "we'll see" approach. I'll have experienced does by the time he's ready to breed so we'll only use him on those and leave the newbies to my smaller buck. Thank you so much for the info.


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## pietru

I have one flemish buck, 1 flemish doe and 4 New Zealand does and the flemish are so much nicer... they are not as afraid and very curious. Haven't had a problem with breeding so far.


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## laughaha

BlsdMama said:


> LOL. He's a little wild bunny looking thing. Truth is he's so little that I really wonder about the truth to it being a Flemish. He looks just like any other rabbit, except that he is by FAR the friendliest, least nervous little guy I've ever seen. I'm trying to get pictures but want to finish "decorating" the colony first.
> 
> I think perhaps we'll take a "we'll see" approach. I'll have experienced does by the time he's ready to breed so we'll only use him on those and leave the newbies to my smaller buck. Thank you so much for the info.


He's a sandy. That is the color of my flemy's. Mine look like wild bunnies, just GIANT wild bunnies.


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