Junebuggena, I don't mean to be picking on you, but you have said some things that I keep hearing, again and again, as though they were set in stone somewhere. Every time someone says these things, I wonder whether the people repeating them have any knowledge based on experience, or whether this may be one of those "I read it on the internet, so it must be true" situations.
I wonder, is anyone who makes these statements familiar with the Altex breed of rabbit? This is a strictly commercial breed, developed by researchers in Alabama and Texas. The same people who created this breed literally "wrote the book" on commercial rabbit production (seriously, the title of the book is "Rabbit Production"), so I have to think they know what they are doing. Their goal was to produce a breed that would produce rabbits that would reach market weight rapidly and consistently. To do this, they bred Flemish Giant bucks to Californian and Champagne D'Argent does, and then crossed the offspring for many generations. When the Altex was first "introduced" as a breed, they only sold bucks as "terminal cross" sires for commercial breeders to use over their Californian and NZW does. The goal of the breed is just to make lots of meat, fast; they even have rather thin coats so they will do better in the heat of the South.
A quick glance at the breed standards will show that even a small Flemish Giant is larger than any of the other above-mentioned breeds. With so much Flemish blood, the Altex is also a very large rabbit, frequently winding up in the 15-20 lb range as an adult. Now, I cannot believe that Dr. Lukefahr, et al. carelessly and ruthlessly sacrificed does to kindling issues in the development of this breed, nor do I think it likely that the commercial breeders that bought the bucks as terminal sires happily decimated their own herds by breeding these big bucks to does that couldn't give birth to the kits - rather, I think that would terminate the experiment right there. The fact that the Altex breed was created in the first place, and that it has persisted in commercial production, suggests to me that breeding a large buck to a doe that isn't as large really isn't an issue after all.
As for the reputed boniness of the Flemish - if they are all bones, as some seem to think, why would people who are in the business of meat production want anything to do with a breed that is genetically about half Flemish? The meat/waste ratios are just a few percentage points different; I doubt many would particularly notice if a fryer dressed out at 2 lbs, 12 oz of meat as opposed to 2 lbs, 13 oz. If maximum efficiency is of major importance, well, once again, we have commercial breeders that are willing to have a large dose of Flemish in the line for the sake of hybrid vigor; it can't be that bad, can it?
TroyerGal, if you want to breed Flemish, go for it! When it comes right down to it, you can eat any breed of rabbit; they all taste the same. I once knew a breeder of Netherland Dwarfs that ate his culls, though the only part worth bothering with was the hind legs . . . .
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so i'm not going to eat them
