Blue Silver Fox rabbits

[Carla D]

does anyone have any experience raising Blue Silver Fox rabbits? That is a breed my BIL has recommended and I know I can get some in our area. We want to raise rabbits for meat, pelts, and pets. I have read good things about this breed. Just wondering if anyone in here has had experience, good or bad with this breed.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

I breed Silver Foxes. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! I also have a soft spot for the blues!

I started with New Zealand Whites, one of the more common meat rabbits, so with that breed as a comparison...

Silver Foxes have smaller kindles, but more easily managed. I have never had to shelve half to save the other half as I did with NZWs with 11 to 14 kits at times. Never had a bad SF mom, although some first time clueless ones. Rarely have lost SF kits before but now we have a drop nest so even less.

They are by far easier to handle! Sweet pet personality—even so I do not recommend them as pets, because of their size. What was cute as a 5 to 7 pound bunny often gets returned when it reaches senior weight.

They only thing I will say that I have found a bit frustrating with SFs is pretty much the same issue that most of the docile breeds have in common...breeding. I could throw in a NZW doe with a buck and have three fall offs in minutes. Silver Foxes...not that common in my experience. I use a "get acquainted" method of placing the buck and doe in adjoining cages for three days and check if the doe is ready before trying to breed them with much better results.

The other downside is that Silver Fox are not that heat tolerant, probably because they have longer fur. I live in the southeast and we manage, but we use fans when it is hot and we do not breed in the summer. Most of the bucks will go sterile in the heat, but it is particularly hard on the does with pregnancy. Some living in extreme winter areas do not breed them in the winter, but can in the summer. Some only breed in the fall and spring.

Whatever their shortcomings in these aspects is far outweighed by their good traits.

With that said, I was a meat breeder until this past year when I decided to go into showing. It took some time to find better stock to show. Silver Foxes have a troubled history mostly because they were rare and then there was a body type change by the ARBA that took many SF breeders by surprise. Many meat breeders have remnants of the original body type, a more mandolin style. This is why I would strongly advise you to consider going to a show or connecting with a SF breeder that shows, because even meat breeders should try to breed towards the Standard of Perfection. It makes for a meatier rabbit!

 

[Carla D]

I breed Silver Foxes. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! I also have a soft spot for the blues!

I started with New Zealand Whites, one of the more common meat rabbits, so with that breed as a comparison...

Silver Foxes have smaller kindles, but more easily managed. I have never had to shelve half to save the other half as I did with NZWs with 11 to 14 kits at times. Never had a bad SF mom, although some first time clueless ones. Rarely have lost SF kits before but now we have a drop nest so even less.

They are by far easier to handle! Sweet pet personality—even so I do not recommend them as pets, because of their size. What was cute as a 5 to 7 pound bunny often gets returned when it reaches senior weight.

They only thing I will say that I have found a bit frustrating with SFs is pretty much the same issue that most of the docile breeds have in common...breeding. I could throw in a NZW doe with a buck and have three fall offs in minutes. Silver Foxes...not that common in my experience. I use a "get acquainted" method of placing the buck and doe in adjoining cages for three days and check if the doe is ready before trying to breed them with much better results.

The other downside is that Silver Fox are not that heat tolerant, probably because they have longer fur. I live in the southeast and we manage, but we use fans when it is hot and we do not breed in the summer. Most of the bucks will go sterile in the heat, but it is particularly hard on the does with pregnancy. Some living in extreme winter areas do not breed them in the winter, but can in the summer. Some only breed in the fall and spring.

Whatever their shortcomings in these aspects is far outweighed by their good traits.

With that said, I was a meat breeder until this past year when I decided to go into showing. It took some time to find better stock to show. Silver Foxes have a troubled history mostly because they were rare and then there was a body type change by the ARBA that took many SF breeders by surprise. Many meat breeders have remnants of the original body type, a more mandolin style. This is why I would strongly advise you to consider going to a show or connecting with a SF breeder that shows, because even meat breeders should try to breed towards the Standard of Perfection. It makes for a meatier rabbit!

Thank you. I will be adopting my nieces NZ and FR in a few days. I was thinking about breeding the NZ to at least one of my rabbits for Easter bunnies. She pretty big for being a lionhead/mini Rex mix. Going to a show is a very good idea. We are in a cooler region. But since they are on the list for animal conservation it is important to keep the breed standards and improve on them.