What to Look For In Kits for Future Breeders

[JT17]

Well, my kits are 2 1/2 weeks old and growing fast. After all the research I've done it shocked me how fast they grow. You cant comprehend it until you have some before your eyes.
I'm considering keeping one of the doe's from this litter as future breeding stock. What do you personally look for in future breeders? These NZs are used mainly for meat and I have a few people interested in getting some in future litters to start their own "herds". What would you look for? And does the fastest growing kit play any part in your pick? Im definitely not choosing one yet as I want to see how they look at 10 or 12 weeks but just trying to plan ahead. Thanks!

 

[Suburban Rabbits]

I know it's been a few month, but this post deserve an answer.
You were right on wanting to keep the fastest growing kit. It is usually the healthier, the more active and the most inquisitive. Try her as a breeder/mother and see how she turns out. Then you will know if she is a keeper.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

I am just now seeing this also. I keep weekly health check and weight records with ratio increases of my kits from 3 weeks to 16 weeks of age. Much depends on the size of the kindle and the order of birth as well as size at birth. Also, there is a difference between the largest and the fastest growing. A larger kit may not be as fast growing as a smaller one, only one that started out larger and so stays ahead. Sometimes the smallest of the kits is the fastest growing and sometimes not. Typically, when kindled the ones who are born first get the most milk and that makes a huge difference in how strong they will be in fighting off the others to nurse every time thereafter, so its growth rate will seem faster, but by the time they are close to weaning, the growth rates even out and the ones that were bigger may stay the larger for some weeks but then the genetics kick in. I have a buck that teeters on the maximum senior weight but he was slightly smaller of the two juniors, and his brother teeters on the minimum senior weight. What I have found is the fastest growing kindles are smaller in size with a mama who has plenty of milk. For a meat breeder, you can cull toward size and/or growth, but what you really want is does with good milk production.