What if I crossed a New Zealand with a Palomino?

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

We are starting up a small scale meat rabbitry. Since we are mostly concerned about the does throwing vigorous, fast growing young, I do not have all the same breed. My buck is a good quality Palomino, the golden color, not lynx. I also have three does: A pretty good looking New Zealand White, a mostly black satin/California cross, and a New Zealand red that I think is either a little mixed or is just poor quality as far as type, but she is a proven meat producer. Yesterday my buck successfully bred the NZ white. Any ideas on what these babies are gonna look like? Just curious

. Any ideas on what the other crosses would look like if I bred them?

 

[KrisH]

For a minute, I thought you were talking about crossing a country on a particular color horse. Boy was I wrong!

RobertH

 

[Bunnylady]

I've never bred Palominos, so I'm just guessing based on the way the color looks and how it's described in the breed standard. The Golden color is Agouti-based, and I'm thinking most likely has the non-extension gene in the E series.

The New Zealand White is a bit of a puzzle. I've had only a little experience with outcrossing NZW's; the ones I bred carried the Steel gene. Steel is weird. It's a dominant gene, but apparently you generally get animals that look like Steels only when the Steel gene is paired with the normal full-color allele in the E series. Pair it with anything else (non-extension, harlequin, or another steel gene) and you'll get what looks like a (black) self. So there is a good chance that you'll get solid blacks or maybe steels from breeding your Pal to a NZW.

Red is based on the same Agouti/non-extension combination, the main difference being some modifier genes that dramatically increase the amount of red/yellow pigment in the hair. The most likely result of crossing a Pal with a NZR would be a shade of orange somewhere between that of the parents.

You said the Satin/Cali is mostly black - does that mean it's a Broken? I'd say the most likely result of crossing a Pal to a black self would be Chestnut, if the doe is a Broken, then some of her kits could be, too.

This one has me intrigued, because it's colors I haven't worked with before. Let us know how it comes out!

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

I'm not sure what you would call the satin/cali cross. I guess it would be broken, but she has a very small amount of white on her black coat. She has a little white spot on her nose and a small patch on her chest with a very thin line that comes off the chest patch and goes up part of her neck. She also has a few white toes but that's it. Does that qualify as broken?

Sounds like we could get all kinds of colors! I'm excited! I will definitely do an update when/if the doe kindles. This will be the NZW's fourth litter, first one with me. It was my buck's first successful attempt at breeding ever, he's about 8 months. So what I'm trying to say is I'm half expecting a false pregnancy but we can hope! Interesting that the potential offspring from this cross may look nothing like either parent. I love genetics!

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

For a minute, I thought you were talking about crossing a country on a particular color horse. Boy was I wrong!

RobertH

lol

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Good news! Yesterday the satin/cali cross was bred! Now hopefully we will see what those babies will look like too

. This is so much fun once you get it down...We've been trying to breed since September 1st with several different does and had horrible luck. I have christened the bred NZ white Big Momma, since she is the largest. She is doing well, but I won't know if she's bred for sure for at least another week I think. She has a good temperament. The cross has been dubbed Sweet Pea, since she is the absolute nicest doe we have. She is wonderful, and our buck, Bud, has the same sweet temperament so I think these will be good pet quality babies to sell and keep up with food costs. The final doe, the NZ red, is Gamble. Most of the time she is agreeable, but you never know what you're going to get with her! I bought her at a bargain price knowing she could be aggressive at times but she was also proven and I was desperate for proven does after trying to breed 5 others with no success. Since I brought her home she has gained a good amount of weight (she was skinny when I got her a few weeks ago) but I want another pound on her before I breed her. I think she was so cranky because she was hungry! She has only tried to get at me once in three weeks and I think it was because I had food in my hand. Hopefully she turns out to be a good mom. I'll give an update next week if I can feel babies! Thanks for reading!

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Well I tried to feel Big Momma today for possible babies and didn't feel anything notable, but then again I honestly have never done that before so I didn't palpate very hard, not wanting to hurt the possible babies and plus I'm not really sure what I was looking for anyway, apart for some bumps

Sweet Pea's been chillin' in her cage as usual. Just wondering, do pregnant does become less or more active in the first few weeks of pregnancy? Today I felt that Gamble had gained enough weight to be bred and she complied, although Big Momma and Sweet Pea took to Bud much more readily than she did. Hopefully all three are bred now! I wouldn't be disappointed if Big Momma wasn't though, considering it was Bud's first success and the summer was so blistering hot here it's possible he could be sterile for his first few times...Sweet Pea might not take either but I really think Gamble has a good chance of having a litter, we will see! Can't wait for the due dates, I'm so excited!

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Not having much luck. The due dates for Big Momma and Sweet Pea have passed, they didn't take. I expected this since my buck is young and survived an extremely hot summer though. Gamble is due this weekend, hoping for a litter. Question: I have heard that being out in very hot weather can make a buck sterile. Bud was born in February this year and lives outside. I'm afraid the heat did get to his 'buddies', if you know what I mean, and I was wondering, is this a permanent sterilization or will he just be shooting blanks for a while?

 

[Bunnylady]

His fertility should return with cooler weather. Also, for some reason, young bucks are less likely to be affected than older ones.

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Oh good, thanks for the reply. I didn't want to have to get rid of him, he is just so sweet and I bet his babies will be too.