iš¤hollands
Active Member
Hello! As some of you know I breed Holland Lops. I have a question regarding possibly inbreeding... is this a no-no or is it okay with legitimate reasons?
Backstory- I have this buck I really really love, his name is Dylan and he's a 4 year old harlequin buck. I got him last year and he has sired some of my favorite litters, he has incredible type for his color and an amazingly sweet personality. I bred him in May to 2 different does, and I was planning on keeping one of his babies. Neither doe gave birth after 4 falls each. I put it down to the heat(even though he's raised indoors with AC) and bred him to another different girl. Still no babies. I tried one more time with a completely different girl, and this doe just passed her due date with no sign of any babies. He had 2-5 fall offs each of these times. I'm finally admitting to myself that his breeding days are done, but I'm heartbroken I never kept a baby! I reached out to few different homes that his buck babies have gone to(they all happen to be pet homes, no breeders) telling them the story and asking them if I could possibly breed their bunny(so Dylan's baby) to one of my does. I got a no, neuter conformation, or no response, from everyone except for one. Pecan is a blue tort buck from Dylan's very last litter born in April whose owner was happy to let me breed him to the doe in hopes of getting a baby related to Dylan to carry on his type and legacy! Pecan gets neutered on October 7th, so I was just in time. But the problem is, the doe I was planning on breeding, and in fact the only not pregnant/nursing doe I have, is Pecan's dam.
Is it completely unethical to breed Pecan to his dam, Autumn, then keep a baby from that litter to breed to unrelated bunnies? I know a few breeders do this regularly to improve their lines, but I've never had a need to do it and quite frankly it scares me. What is the likelihood of it harming the babies, or causing genetic defects? Dylan has been one of the best overall bunnies I've ever had(and I've had a lot) and I just can't stand to watch him leave my rabbitry without a baby to remember him by. But at the same time, I would NEVER intentionally do something that could bring imperfect bunnies into the world. I appreciate any and all advice on this.
Photos for reference
Dylan
Autumn
Baby Pecan
Backstory- I have this buck I really really love, his name is Dylan and he's a 4 year old harlequin buck. I got him last year and he has sired some of my favorite litters, he has incredible type for his color and an amazingly sweet personality. I bred him in May to 2 different does, and I was planning on keeping one of his babies. Neither doe gave birth after 4 falls each. I put it down to the heat(even though he's raised indoors with AC) and bred him to another different girl. Still no babies. I tried one more time with a completely different girl, and this doe just passed her due date with no sign of any babies. He had 2-5 fall offs each of these times. I'm finally admitting to myself that his breeding days are done, but I'm heartbroken I never kept a baby! I reached out to few different homes that his buck babies have gone to(they all happen to be pet homes, no breeders) telling them the story and asking them if I could possibly breed their bunny(so Dylan's baby) to one of my does. I got a no, neuter conformation, or no response, from everyone except for one. Pecan is a blue tort buck from Dylan's very last litter born in April whose owner was happy to let me breed him to the doe in hopes of getting a baby related to Dylan to carry on his type and legacy! Pecan gets neutered on October 7th, so I was just in time. But the problem is, the doe I was planning on breeding, and in fact the only not pregnant/nursing doe I have, is Pecan's dam.
Is it completely unethical to breed Pecan to his dam, Autumn, then keep a baby from that litter to breed to unrelated bunnies? I know a few breeders do this regularly to improve their lines, but I've never had a need to do it and quite frankly it scares me. What is the likelihood of it harming the babies, or causing genetic defects? Dylan has been one of the best overall bunnies I've ever had(and I've had a lot) and I just can't stand to watch him leave my rabbitry without a baby to remember him by. But at the same time, I would NEVER intentionally do something that could bring imperfect bunnies into the world. I appreciate any and all advice on this.
Photos for reference
Dylan
Autumn
Baby Pecan
