# Mix or Purebred?



## Hop N'Tail (Jan 25, 2011)

I was also wondering should I get a purebred or a mix? If it is a mix what breed should be good? I would like to get NZ but not to sure.


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## Hooligan Farm (Jan 25, 2011)

Hop N'Tail said:
			
		

> I was also wondering should I get a purebred or a mix? If it is a mix what breed should be good? I would like to get NZ but not to sure.


Mine are NZ/Rex crosses. Where are you in Jersey?


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## DianeS (Jan 25, 2011)

I have a NZ buck and Californian does. The kits I will have for meat will be mixes, but if I ever want a purebred litter I only have to buy a NZ doe or Cali buck to get it.


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## tortoise (Jan 26, 2011)

DianeS said:
			
		

> I have a NZ buck and Californian does. The kits I will have for meat will be mixes, but if I ever want a purebred litter I only have to buy a NZ doe or Cali buck to get it.


That is smart thinking Diane!


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## Hop N'Tail (Jan 27, 2011)

I'm in northern NJ


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## cattlecait (Jan 28, 2011)

If they're purely for meat and you never want to show them, go with a cross. I've heard some of the best crosses are New Zealand doe X Florida White buck, New Zealand X Californian, or New Zealand buck and Flemish doe. I guess it depends how big of a meat rabbit you want.


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## Lorelai (Jan 28, 2011)

We started with a purebred set of Calis and a purebred set of NZWs, so we could mix and match. We also have a NZB/Flemish cross doe (not sure of the percentage, either 50/50 or 75/25)... her babies are less calm and seem to grow a bit slower. Definitely they eat more and their meat to bone ratio doesn't seem quite as good. If you're going to mix breeds for meat, I'd personally recommend staying away from the giant breeds. They are very likable rabbits, but not quite as efficient as, say, the Cali, NZ, Florida White, Rex, etc. The standard size rabbits seem to be the most efficient, but a lot of people have great things to say about the FWs as well.  But this is just my opinion based on experience, albeit limited.


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## cattlecait (Jan 30, 2011)

I've been told (not from my own experience) that Florida's have a much better meat:bone ratio than the bigger Cals and NZ, that's why they make a nice meat rabbit with the cross. Again, not from my own experience. We always just ate the Harlequins that we couldn't sell.


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## Hop N'Tail (Jan 30, 2011)

Ok, Thanks. I'll be asking somebody soon about building something for the meat rabbits. I think I migh just keep up to 10 holes. I'll be doing lots of culling. Maybe I can find something from Craiglist or something and go on from there. I'll just see what happens, I would like to raise meat rabbits though!


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## Citylife (Apr 2, 2011)

Wow!  I have not been on here in 7 months or so and it is so nice to see so many new people.  Welcome everyone!

I looked into the CA, NZ and FW.  After reading Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits and more research I choose the Florida White.  
I also, had a pet quality dutch I bred to my FW buck.  And the babies looked great.  Felt real good and solid but still had a bit of a different feel to them then the pure FW bunnies.  At butcher time I was really shocked at how much more fat the crosses had and the bones were larger.  Their bodies were close in size, but definataly the pure fW's utilized their food better.  I said, "well I wont do that again"
Then after some thought I decided to add a CA female to the lot.  In Storey's book it tells you to use a large FW doe with a small CA buck.  I never got an answer from anyone on why not the other way around.
Well now..........  my experiance with that breeding was not succesfull.  He tried man times (for weeks) and she would tuck down so hard he couldnt accomplish anything but wire burn.  I would hold her up and I am sorry to say...  the poor guys business can not get past the tail.  When I butchered her, I again was amazed at how much fat she had compared to a FW and the Huge size of the bones.
I choose the FW for its size, meat to bone ratio (is amazing), and one 1 1/2 lb. butchered rabbit feeds 2 adults, 2 meals.  I love it.  I do not butcher till 10-12 weeks but not past.  Their leg bones are smaller then a pencil and have about the same meat as  a med chicken thigh. 
I do not see any mixes in my herd, as I am so happy with the FW I figure I should quit dabbling.
And, fortunately I have a nice easy clean set up for them to make care easier.

the lady with 4 dogs, 3 city chickens, meat rabbits and a lizard


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## hoodat (Apr 3, 2011)

Floridas have several advantages. They are usually nice tempered and easily handled; also usually quite healthy. Because of their smaller size they can be raised in smaller cages. Their size can be either an advantage or disadvantage depending on how much meat you want.
A lot of us just use "Meat mutts". You can start with them and improve the quality till you breed up your own strain that can often be very well proportioned for meat.
Pure breeds of some types have issues with inbreeding, especially the rarer types with small gene pools.


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