Pure breds or X breeds?

Hi, we are looking at having a new bunny, a friend of ours bunny has just had a litter of X breds, are they stronger than pure breds or is there no difference? Snuggs our last bunny was a X breed and we loved him very much and any other bunny we have will be treated like royalty too.

Any advice or experiences would be welcome

Thanks :bunny:

dont know so cant help, sorry but i always wondered if xbreeds where hardier,?

Snuggs was strong but always had problems with his teeth.

bunnylove said:

dont know so cant help, sorry but i always wondered if xbreeds where hardier,?

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It would depend entirely on the breeds, parents and genetics the rabbit inherited.
For example, if someone crossed a Nethie with a Dutch to get a smaller rabbit without the squashed face, then it would have the benefit of being less prone to dental problems like purebred Nethies. However, you couldn't guarantee it would inherit these qualities, you could get a big rabbit that still had teeth problems.
Crossing a giant breed with a smaller rabbit could cause birthing problems and also if something with a rex build inherited the weight of a giant breed it would make the hock problems rex were prone to even worse.
Purebreds have the benefit that you can find a responsible breeder who screens lines for problems, whereas most crossbreeds are accidental litters or bred in a pet-home rather than a breeder setup.

my first bunny "chico" was a silver fox . He was stunning and I still miss him , he was very strong tho . Cheekybun was a cross between a lop and I,m not sure what else , but he had probs with his teeth due to cross breeding . Bailey and gizzy are x dutchies but have very long faces .
I really don,t think there is any truth in the fact about x breeds being stronger than select breeds . I think its all down to care and the immunity of the rabbit . My vet did say tho that many lops have teeth probs :?

Thanks everyone.

gina paul said:

My vet did say tho that many lops have teeth probs :?

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I think this is because many of the lop breeds have the shorter faces, like Netherland Dwarves, so the regular amount of teeth just won't fit in the smaller space and you get teeth problems as a side affect.

It really depends on the individual rabbit. Some problems are inherited like teeth problems but sdomething could be a reflection of environment - for example a rabbit taken away from it's mum to early would be more prone to gut problems.

I'm not sure that either pure breed or cross breed are healthier. You really need to go on the individual bunny. Many rescues will have the rabbit checked over including the teeth before rehoming it. Adopting an adult cross breed from a rescue that has been checked like this is probably the best way to get a 'healthy' rabbit rather than a 'pure bred' rabbit or cross bred. Problems might not be as apparent in a baby.

Tam

Snuggs, was very similar to the bunny in Karlys picture, and her explanation about the teeth made sense.

China is a Nethie-Polish X and has slightly mallocuded (sp?) teeth which could cause spurs. She needs checkups every couple of months. Rocket is probably pure Nethie and he's got no health trouble at all. Miles and Miffy are lops but have no idea if purebred or not. Both are healthy.

Of course I would say go to a rescue for your bunny! Or if you're really set on this one from your friend, get that one and then later get him/her a friend from a rescue!

AMETHYST

It is more complicated than simply X breeds or pedigree rabbits. Generally breeders avoid inbreeding their stock but pure breeds are more likely to have been bred with related animals than X breeds. Many pedigree breeds also have inherited problems from years of artificial breeding. Humans have selected animals with desireable features for example, the lop ears, but these come with other problems such as with the teeth. So many breeds do tend to suffer from more inherited diseases than X breeds. But it does depend on the rabbit, it's breed, it's background and the conditions it lives in. I would personally choose a rabbit based on personality and not breed. If you go to a rescue centre the X breeds are easily as beautiful as the pure breeds. Sorry for the genetics but I am half way through a module on animal genetics at uni!

X-breeds every time!! Please dont get me started on the HORRENDOUS problems of intensive line breeding to get the 'perfect' show rabbit. SORRY, this is currently a VERY hot topic at my Rabbit Refuge'.....Rant over!! JCO xx

As a rule there is no rules on this as tamsin said, there is no difference due to not knowing the breeding ,its pot luck. Although as a breeder and rescuer i could vouch for my own rabbits heath because i can go back to there great great grand parents, this does not exclude a lot of cross breeds being heathy. The main problem that lies with both is, was enough care taken on there backgrounds before they were bred. I have had lots of crosses come in with bad teeth and this is because irresponsable back street breeders will breed from any rabbit they have, and least most regestered breeders are keen not to breed rabbits with problems. val

I read that sometimes purebreds can have inbred depression so a x-breed would be safer if you didn't want that.

bunny_burrows said:

I read that sometimes purebreds can have inbred depression so a x-breed would be safer if you didn't want that.

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Inbred depression? :?

Yes i read it on another bunny forum, a breeder posted it. She gave this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbreeding_depression
She said it can happen in pure breds, not that it happens in all of them, i have two pure breds myself.

Thank you, I thought what you mean by depression was like the depression by what people can suffer with at first, but I know what you mean now, and this is something I aware of.
Clare

I have 2 pure breeds and 2 x breeds and personality wise the cross breeds are friendlier rabbits. Niamh (lionhead x nethy) and splodge (English spot x Dwarf lop) are much more sociable than Treacle (very timid)and Fudge (psychotic tendencies! :shock: ). But it's not really possible to make an accurate claim that x breeds are friendlier based on 4 bunnies! :?

I have two pedigrees and two of unknown back ground (although I don't think they are cross breeds but they weren't rung to show they were show quality).

One pedigree has been sickly, one healthy, one non-pedigree has been sickly, one healthy!

I think it is down to the individual rabbit!

Caz

Yes, it varies very much.

Purebreeds are generally very healthy unless they have come from a very bad breeder. Most breeders that I know are terrified of developing a sickly line so any suspect bunny doesn't have babies. Reasonably close breeding also is pretty natural in the rabbit - the social structure of a warren means that father/daughter matings won't be at all rare. I wouldn't advise this as regular practice though without ensuring that unrelated rabbits are put into the "line" regularly, and everyone who I have spoken to does this.

The idea that the flat face in the Nethie causes malocclusion is false - as with any breed some will have it but most won't. The skull is shorter but still lines up. In my experience, the Mini Lop with the worst breed for this.

Certain cross breeds are worth being wary of, those with one ear up and one ear down in particular. The skull is distorted which is what causes the difference. This isn't a problem but should the jaw also be slightly twisted, which is not unusual, then tooh problems can develop. Charles Darwin actually took an interest in this particular point, you can see his illustrations here http://pages.britishlibrary.net/charles.darwin/texts/variation/variation04.html. He also compares the skeletal structure of lops and normals. If you look carefully at the two sets of skull diagrams you can notice the difference. It is quite interesting if you are of a biological persuation

Also many cross breeds come from people who are not aware of the particulars of breeding rabbits, so whilst you know you are not getting a directly inbred rabbit you are taking a bit of a gamble. For a start, both parents may be highly inbred! :shock: In that case though, it is unlikely that any problematic recessives will be present on both sides.

I don't have anything against either in particular. I have many rabbits myself (about 25) and they are about 50:50 pure bred:cross breed. I also breed the occasional litter of Nethies. Nethies are easy to manage as you are looking at 2-3 babies, 4 absolute max!

I don't post much on many boards, hence why you may not have seen me, but I felt that I could contribute something worthwhile to this thread.

Cat x