Bunnylady
Herd Master
The gene that causes the angora coat is recessive, meaning that a rabbit has to inherit it from both parents to have long hair. If you cross a longhair to a rabbit with a normal coat, you will get normal-coated babies. Though the coat from such a cross might be normal in length, that doesn't mean the texture will be normal; it may be denser and softer because of genes inherited from the angora. When you cross rabbits of different coat types, you can wind up with the worst of both worlds; some traits that make one type of coat good can be an absolute wreck on another type of coat.
The tricky part of pelt production is that shedding thing. A rabbit usually molts from nose to tail; there is usually a discernible line called a 'prime line' with fresh new coat behind it that moves down the rabbit's body as the molt progresses. A rabbit that has just completed a molt is said to be in prime coat; that's the goal in pelt production. The problem with pelts and fryers is timing - young rabbits usually start getting their first change of coat at about the same time as they reach slaughter weight. The pelt of a rabbit that was shedding when it was slaughtered is a mess; waiting until the rabbit has completed the molt means older, tougher meat - which is the reason that most people aim for meat production or pelt production, but not both.
The body type of basically all of the rabbit breeds you have mentioned is the same - what the ARBA calls commercial type. That means they are supposed to have well-filled, muscular bodies. Some may take a little bit longer to reach slaughter weight because their adult size is a bit smaller, but when you get down to it, you can eat any rabbit - they all taste the same. Shoot, I used to know a guy who bred dynamite Netherland Dwarfs, and ate his culls, though he said the only parts worth bothering with were the loin and back legs.
The tricky part of pelt production is that shedding thing. A rabbit usually molts from nose to tail; there is usually a discernible line called a 'prime line' with fresh new coat behind it that moves down the rabbit's body as the molt progresses. A rabbit that has just completed a molt is said to be in prime coat; that's the goal in pelt production. The problem with pelts and fryers is timing - young rabbits usually start getting their first change of coat at about the same time as they reach slaughter weight. The pelt of a rabbit that was shedding when it was slaughtered is a mess; waiting until the rabbit has completed the molt means older, tougher meat - which is the reason that most people aim for meat production or pelt production, but not both.
The body type of basically all of the rabbit breeds you have mentioned is the same - what the ARBA calls commercial type. That means they are supposed to have well-filled, muscular bodies. Some may take a little bit longer to reach slaughter weight because their adult size is a bit smaller, but when you get down to it, you can eat any rabbit - they all taste the same. Shoot, I used to know a guy who bred dynamite Netherland Dwarfs, and ate his culls, though he said the only parts worth bothering with were the loin and back legs.