# Rabbit Inbreeding



## ChuckNora

We're getting closer to breeding day! May this year we will breed our two does to our buck. All three of them have the same father, the buck has a different mother than the does.

I was just told this was bad. Inbreeding in rabbits is an acceptable practice, but only when it's father to daughter, mother to son, or cousins. They said not to breed brother and sister.

Which brings me to my next issue. The fawn doe that I'm picking up Sunday is was planning to breed with my fawn buck. I recently learned they are full siblings. I thought they had different moms, but I was wrong. So now I'm wondering if I can breed them.

So far our long term plans have us getting a red and white buck sometime next year, both of which will have no relation to our rabbits. They will be bred with the offspring of the 3 does we have now. So there will be fresh blood.

I hope this isn't confusing, I'm just wondering if my plan is doable. Any changes you'd make? Questions you have?

EDIT: Then I find this article http://rabbitsmarties.com/2011/03/line-breeding-rabbits/ I realize there is a plethora of information out there, and finding conflicting information is not uncommon. I just don't know who to believe! Trial and error I suppose. Though I'd like to hear some first hand techniques.


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## rabbitgeek

Half brother to sister is allowable for breeding in rabbits

Breeding father to daughter, mother to son, or cousins is called line breeding.
http://www.nockrabbits.com/LineBreedingChart.html

Use what you can get. Unless there is a serious defect that is in the bloodline, the breeding should be compatible. A serious defect would make itself known quickly.

Have a good day!


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## ChuckNora

Thanks bunches! We'll go ahead and breed the bro and sis. We are getting the doe because she is also a New Zealand Fawn. I'm interested to see what they'd make. They're both gorgeous rabbits. And if something goes wrong we can cull and stop with those two.

LOVE the chart!


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## HayBabies

You can breed brother/sister, father/daughter, mother/son what ever you want. Just don't take those babies and breed them to something that is related. They are rodents.. lol.


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## Honorine

I purposely breed siblings, parents/offspring for multiple generations, its how you fix traits quickly, both good and bad. Rabbits can handle a lot of inbreeding, there was a study done years ago that crossed full siblings for 18 generations before having any problems. I wouldn't go that far, and I'm still looking for an article on that study on the web. Gotta find it for reference. But in the meantime some tight crosses aren't going to do any harm, just keep the best and eat the rest.


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## ChuckNora

Awesome. Thanks guys. I really can't wait to get started. The older does will breed in May. So I'm trying to read up on it and form a plan. Then put it all to work and learn!


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## saritamae

I wish you were closer, I would offer to trade you a NZR for a fawn!  
BTW, I can't wait to see pics!


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## Fetherhd

When you breed siblings you either get really really good rabbits or really really really bad ones.


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## KSALguy

the only reason you will get BAD is if you have animals that are carying junk in their genetic makeup, if you have junk in the mix you want to get rid of it anyway, the only way to find this and get rid of it is to breed close relitives and see what comes out, keep the best and eat the rest, its not the end of the world, Rabbits actually have a high thresh hold for this sort of thing, you can breed very closely for a long time and as long as you didnt start off with crap and you ONLY keep the BEST to breed from your good, 

Inbreeding is a TOOL, it DOES NOT CREATE problems it FINDS them if they exist, it is used to set type and eleminate or strengthen things in the blood line that is needed, EVERY breed known to exist now was created with InBreeding after some Crossbreeding,


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## ChuckNora

I'm pretty excited about it too. I guess we'll just have to see. If it doesn't turn out well, we'll probably not breed her to him anymore. I may have a place to get a breeding age NZW. I could have broken fawns! lol


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## arnie

I wolld not think twice .about breeding related closely rabbits from good stock.as long as there were no inherited troubles in the line I do it and so far so good


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## mekasmom

If you are eating them, and they are healthy, then it doesn't matter. Incest occurs naturally in the world of animals. If you aren't planning on selling them, or showing them, then it just doesn't matter. The only thing you are concerned with is health. As long as everyone stays healthy, it is ok.
And I will tell you a secret..... Inbred mutt rabbits taste the same as super high-quality show rabbits that are unrelated. It really just does not make a difference for meat rabbits.


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## rockyhillrabbits

I personally would rather not see any inbreeding/linebreeding in my rabbit's pedigree but it happens and like others have said, it can either accentuate the good traits or bring out the bad traits. The Rex I bought recently all came from the same breeder who has decades of rabbit breeding experience and she's very successful but all my rabbits are related.  My white doe was bred back to her sire, resulting in my white buck. My blue doe's grandsire on dam side is the white doe's sire and the blue otter buck is also out of the white doe but has a different sire. I really prefer them to be unrelated in the first two generations so I'm looking for new blood.


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## Danaus29

180degreesaboutface said:


> Fun fact you are wrong! Inbreeding is bad and what you are doing is the worst kind of inbreeding known as close breeding. Do not believe everything you hear, read or see. Take classes on animal husbandry or consult experts. I am an expert rabbit breeder and I can't tell you how many times I see or hear breeders saying that this is ok when it is not. Linebreeding with 4 degrees of separation is the only acceptable method of inbreeding. Anything less than that and you are going to have problems in the long or short run. People will tell you it's fine, but their rabbits aren't at risk. Yours are. Only lazy or uneducated people will take this route and everyone else suffers the consequences. It creates poor stock which people then breed which creates more bad stock. These actions have far reaching consequences. Don't be lazy. Do the right thing.


And you are a troll who wastes time by digging up old threads to chastize long-gone posters about their breeding method for meat rabbits.


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## Pony

180degreesaboutface said:


> I’m a troll for posting accurate information? And if the users are long gone, what are you doing here? Perhaps posting on this old thread is useful after all. Breeding isn’t a method it’s a science. It’s not a matter of opinion or “what works for me”. When you inbreed you cause genetic damage which may not be visible. If you don’t believe me then fact check me.
> 
> Google: inbreeding depression, allelic deletion, autosomal dominance, genetic bottlenecks, deleterious effects from inbreeding, scientific research articles on rabbit inbreeding experiments, the helmeted honey eater, the Florida panther, extinction vortex, checkered giant inbreeding experiment, Linebreeding mechanics involving degrees of separation, close breed inbreeding, the fugue family, the hadsburg jaw, inbreeding in Hereford cattle, introgression and Haldanes law, the list goes on. Maybe gaslight someone who isn’t smarter than you.


Welcome to the board! 

Thanks so much for coming in and, with your very first posts, tell us what ignorant idiots we are. Not only that, you dragged out a 9 year old post to do so.

Kudos to you! All hail the rabbit purist, the resurrecter of zombie posts!

Oh, BTW: Inbreeding can and does work. If your only option is to use closely related stock, then that's what you have to work with. Not everyone lives in the land of instant accessibility to high quality breeders. 

Now here: Have a cookie, and settle down. I'm sure you have a lot to offer, but you really need to hakuna your tatas.


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## Danaus29

Apparently you know nothing about the history of the development of rabbit, cattle, dog, chicken or horse breeds. But that's ok. Other people who know what they are doing know genetics better than you do.



180degreesaboutface said:


> I’m a troll for posting accurate information?


You are a troll for your attitude. You start a post, not in an effort to educate people but to call people lazy and ignorant. You offer no links to your claims and you have a nasty attitude.


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## Danaus29

Inbreeding has it's uses, and is irrelevant when a person is breeding only for thier own use for meat animals.









Inbreeding: Its Meaning, Uses and Effects on Farm Animals


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extension.missouri.edu


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## Pony

180degreesaboutface said:


> It’s weird that your link didn’t require moderator approval, but mine did. Benefits of premium membership I suppose. Dollar votes and all that.


You have no idea what it takes to be a premium member here. It ain't about bucks.

Hint: Attitude is everything.

Another hint: Your attitude is rather aggressive, and actually a bit pugilistic. 

Since you seem to be relatively proficient at utilizing a search engine to identify data that supports only your POV, perhaps you could also do a bit of a search to work on your social skills. May I recommend "How to make friends and influence people" as your initial search string?


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## Danaus29

Hmmm, maybe I should go back and delete my posts quoting a banned and removed poster. They sound a bit mean and stupid now.


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