Jun 5 • Breeding, Showing & Type eval.
Culls keep a herd healthy
This week, I took approximately 75 rabbits to be culled.
That is not something I say lightly, but it is part of responsible herd management.
Culling controls population, prevents overcrowding, reduces wasted feed, and helps ensure that rabbits with weak genetics are not passed forward into someone else’s barn, breeding program, or the pet trade.
I cull for size, color, type, structure, hardiness, and health.
My rabbits have to meet minimum standards before they stay here, leave as breeding stock, or are shown. If they do not meet those standards, they do not move forward.
Rabbits are hard-culled for issues such as:
undersize for breed or line
wrong color for the program
poor type
weak immunity
poor weather hardiness
malocclusion
pinched hips
undercut rears
weak feet
rangy or stringy build
failure to thrive
traits that do not improve the herd
I do not sell rabbits as “pet quality.” To me, that is not a real category. A rabbit that is not good enough to breed or show should not be passed off to someone else just because it is cute.
That is how poor genetics, poor structure, and health problems keep circulating.
A strict cull policy protects the rabbits I keep, the rabbits I sell, and the people who trust my breeding program.
It is also important to have a trusted cull buyer who will not turn around and sell those rabbits into the pet market. I only sell directly to processors or process them myself.
Culling is not the fun part of breeding.
But if you are breeding animals, you are responsible for the lives you create. That means knowing what stays, what leaves, and what should not be passed forward.
For other breeders: what are your automatic cull traits, and what traits are you willing to grow out and evaluate longer?
2
0 comments
Culls keep a herd healthy
powered by
skool.com/mmcbunclub-6215
Bun Club: science-based rabbit education promoting data-driven care, accurate nutrition, and verified research.
Suggested communities
Powered by