# Breeding Dutch Doe to Californian Buck



## paulfaithw (Sep 17, 2013)

I bought a dutch doe about 5 weeks back that was suppose to be freshly bred to a satin buck. Well, 31 days came and went, and no babies. We are now at 34 days with no signs of bunnies. No fur pulling, nothing. I suspect she miscarried due to being moved just days after being  bred. 
The problem is now I don't have a dutch or satin buck to breed her to. My one dutch buck is 7 1/2 years old. Not going to work. :/
I was wondering about breeding her to my californian buck. He is a average to a little smaller than average sized. Would the babies be too big or would it not be a problem? Does anyone have any experience with dutch/cal mixes? I am just raising for meat.


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## sawfish99 (Sep 17, 2013)

For starters, how much does your dutch doe weigh?  That makes a big difference in the value of the breeding.

Can you breed them?  Sure.  Would I?  Probably not.  But it goes back to I suspect the dutch is to small to be of value as a meat animal for my farm.


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## animalmom (Sep 17, 2013)

I agree with Sawfish99 in that you should not breed a larger breed buck to a smaller breed doe.  

I think I take exception to Sawfish's idea that the Dutch wouldn't be a good choice on a meat breed.  My 2 cents is it all depends on what you want to do.  If you are feeding yourself and one other then the Dutch might be fine for a meat choice for you.  If, on the other hand, you are looking to provide meat for a growing family with children and/or growing teenage boys then the Dutch probably won't give you enough meat per rabbit as you need.

My mantra:  Mission Dictates Equipment.  

You might want to check out the ARBA website, arba.net, to see what the standard weight is for the Dutch and the California and then make the call if you want to breed your buck to the Dutch doe.


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## sawfish99 (Sep 17, 2013)

I wasn't trying to imply that you can't get meat off of a dutch.  Since the dutch standard is only 3.5-5.5lbs at maturity (over 6 months), it would be very expensive to raise only a small amount of meat.  We raise American Chinchillas (and mixes) for meat and generally hit 5 lbs anywhere from 10-14 weeks depending on litter size.  Since your package weight we be ~50% of live weight, there isn't a lot of meat on a 4lb rabbit.  

I would just reconsider the choice for meat breeding as specified by the OP.


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## treeclimber233 (Sep 17, 2013)

Smaller rabbits also eat less food. So the amount of feed per weight ratio might still be close.  I have eaten plenty of dwarf sized rabbits and there was plenty of meat on them for me.  A lot of people eat squirrel too.  And they don't weigh anywhere close to 4 pounds.  If there is not enough meat to go around just butcher another one.


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## paulfaithw (Sep 17, 2013)

Thanks for all the help folks.
From what I understand on dutch rabbits for meat- per pound of food they are better producers than larger breeds. I remember a university studied it, but I don't remember which one.
As for getting enough meat from one rabbit. That is a laughing matter no matter what size of rabbit we bred. We are a family of 7 with 4 teenagers. We also regularly have guests. So, even a large chicken is iffy when it comes to feeding our family. (Thus why we are trying to raise our own meat. )
My question stemmed more from a biological ability to breed a smaller doe to a larger buck.


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## Moonshine (Sep 17, 2013)

Breed her, its fine. As long as he's not huge it should be fine. We breed out Dutches to a NZ buck and they do fine. Little rabbits but still fine births.


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## UnlabeledMama (Sep 18, 2013)

How close are they in size?  We have a "mini" rex that is over size (just over 5 lbs) and a small NZ buck (nearly 8 lbs) and they have bred together without issues.


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## paulfaithw (Sep 19, 2013)

I feel that the dutch is average to a little small for her breed. The Californian buck is probably a little smaller than average. I would have to put them on our kitchen scale and weigh them, which I don't have time for this morning.
Thanks for all the input folks!


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## Citylife (Sep 19, 2013)

I wouldn't do it.


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