Herd bucks are the most important part of a successful rabbitry. They can make or break your herd. They have the biggest influence on your future generations.
This is a post about how to choose a herd buck (or a buck you want to breed your does too) in a breed like Mini Rex.
Never use pet quality bucks or "brood" quality bucks. For your herd buck if you would never show it you should never breed it. Also bucks with the same faults as your does, or DQ's. You want a buck to be as close to the breed standard as possible.
1.) Stay away from big bucks, or bucks lacking a dwarf gene. For Mini Rex the max weight for a buck is 4lbs 4oz. A buck lacking a dwarf gene is characteristically having long ears, and a longer face, as well as longer type and will be over the max weight. You should try and stick to bucks no more then 4lbs to be safe.
2.) Bucks with lots of faults should be avoided. If you have a problem with does having long midsections you need a buck with a short midsection. Breeding two rabbits with the same faults will not improve anything.
3.) Keep the amount of bucks you have limited. a 1:5 ratio is a great place to start. I keep the amount of bucks I have very limited I have 18 does and only 2 bucks for Mini Rex. Line breeding with an excellent buck will keep the good genetics are the forefront.
4.) When looking for a buck don't fall for a breeder's bias check him out yourself. Try and avoid falling for things like "He's from the States" you can find a lot of great rabbits in the states but for every great rabbit there are 200 really really bad ones. Just like here. In Ontario the quality of rabbits is no different then in the USA. You've got you bad ones, and you've got your absolutely stunning ones.
If you're unsure of a buck go for proven and ask the breeder if they have any pictures of his offspring to give you an idea of what he can produce.
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