Culling

[Claudia]

Ok, hope this don't start a uproar. But I keep onhearing culling. What do they actually do??? Do they really kill thebabies they don't want.

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Claudia,

Yes, that's right. Culling is being a low grade of animal used forprocessed meat food products. It is to select or separate out theinferior or worthless.

-Carolyn

 

[Buck Jones]

Some breeders refer to culling simply as meaningto diminish their herd by any method, to include selling to otherbreeders, to sellingas pets, to selling to meat packers, orselling as other animal food, or to provide food for their owntable. Those reputable breeders I am familiar with do notsell live rabbits as other animal food, but will often euthanize themfirst and sell them frozen. I suppose some might justeuthanize them and dispose of them, but that is not very costefficient, and most breeding is a losing proposition, economically, tobegin with. Few breeders would simply let their money go outin the garbage can that way, I would think.

Reputable breeders DO sell high quality rabbits at times, to enhancetheir own reputation, and because they often do not care to feed a lotof rabbits, even if high quality. They might tend to keep the"best" for improving their stock, but many "good" rabbits areoften sold and later become champions.

Buck

 

[Claudia]

Thanks, guys. I've been doing some research, andit seems that some breeders are killing some babies because they hadtoo many. Is this common.

 

[bunty]

I ma sure there are some out there that might doit but as a dog breeder to cull meant to keep the breeding stock andsell the rest to pet homes. I can not see a resposible breeder killingbut they do need to keep numbers in check by placing unbreedable olderstock into a new situation hopefully a home. There willalways be cruelity in this world but I do not believe killing is themost used and accepted way of removing stock from your herd

 

[bunty]

I understood that she meant a breeder will killyoung unhumanely. I do know that breeder do sell to processors and I amfine with that if they are humanely destroyed but I thought she meantlike in dogs breeders will wring a puppies neck to kill it

 

[bunty]

Thank you for your info and I wish you could getsome dog breeders to follow you methods I may pick your brain so morelater because I do need to do a thing on breeding for 4H andIhave never bred a rabbit at all

 

[batbunny]

hank, please dont take offense tothis, but just because you dont know any breeders who would dothat doesnt mean that theyre not out there. like everything, theresgood-like yourself... and bad.

 

[Carolyn]

So true that not all cases in culling is to kill, as stated above inremoval of the weakest one.

In my experience, more times than not, when abreeder isspeaking of culling,I've found it to be the case that they'dbe killing the rabbit, but of course, not in allcases. As to what they do with themafterwards, Only The Shadow knows.

Not all breeders kill them,and not all of them look too hard for homes.

There are two types of breeders: 'backyard breeders' and respectable breeders.

Depending upon what the ethics are of each is wherein lies the answer to culling procedures.

-Carolyn

 

[trekcip5]

Guess I should jump in here with MHO. Asfar as the rabbit world goes, it was always my understanding thatculling meant deciding which rabbits you are going to keep and whichyou are going to sell. Personally, I could never send arabbit to slaughter, but that is me. I try and sell what Ican. If I have any that are older and just can't sell, I waittill I go to a rabbit show and donate them to the raffle.They find a home, the sponsoring club makes some money, and I don;thave to feed a bun I am not using for breeding. Now I don'thave as many rabbits as some do, with a larger herd, this would not bean option, but it works for us. The only other time I haveheard the word culling used is in reference to livestock herds. as away of deciding which cows will go to market and which will be kept inthe herd. Culling does not mean killing, it just meansreducing the size of a group of animals, be it by selling as pets,breeding stock or market. Most farmers and ranchers who dothis do not kill their own stock. That is done at slaughterhouses, hopefully, humanly. I know when my husband was a kid,he and his brother raised hundreds of meat rabbits. The buyerwould come in his truck with a scale and weigh each rabbit put it inhis truck and pay them by the pound and go. Back then rabbitmeat was in high demand in this area.Anyway, just thought I would throw in my two cents worth.Donna

 

[batbunny]

whoops-sorry! i have a bad habit ofreading a whole post but skimming over the end. sorry aboutthat!