This was originally posted October 2017
Do you know how to create your own “line” of rabbits? Line breeding. Most of the best breeders out there line breed. Dispite what you may think, line breeding (or what those who do not do it call it, inbreeding) does not cause deformed rabbits or health issues. What exactly is line breeding? It’s when you breed a son back to his mother, or daughter back to her father. Half siblings, full siblings, grandparents to grandchildren, and so on. Your must choose carefully, though. Line breeding will set traits in your line. So don’t line breed two rabbits that have the same fault. For example, pinched hind quarters or low shoulders. That’s not something you want in your line, so if they have the same fault, so will the offspring. That is something you want to breed out of your line. Occasionally you may need to out-cross. This means bringing on a rabbit from a different line that is completely unrelated to your herd. You can do this if your line is lacking in something that line breeding won’t fix. That doesn’t mean this will fix all your problems, but then you can line breed back to your new addition. Not all species can be linebred. But rabbits can. Please keep in mind that if this is not something you agree with, there is nothing wrong with doing it and it’s a golden rule many follow. So don’t hate on the many of us that do. You are more than welcome to do as you please with your own herd. We won’t judge you.
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