What Does “Breeding True” Really Mean?

Those two little words, “breeding true,” can stir up a whole lot of opinions in the rabbit world.

The subject came up during a recent group conversation, and it left me scratching my head.

What exactly are we breeding true to?

Are we breeding true to the ARBA Standard of Perfection? A pedigree? A color? One particular rabbit family? Or do we simply mean that all the babies in a litter look alike?

Those are not necessarily the same thing.

Watch the complete discussion here:

Predictable Does Not Always Mean Good

If all the babies in a litter look alike, but they are not very good examples of the breed, what have we really gained?

We may have produced a very predictable litter of rabbits that we do not need.

For me, breeding true means that a rabbit consistently passes the qualities I want to the next generation. However, I am not evaluating only one trait or one color gene. I am looking at the whole rabbit.

With Giant Angoras, that includes:

• Correct Giant Angora body and type

• Proper size

• Beautiful, useful three-fiber wool

• Correct furnishings

• Fertility

• Good mothering ability

• Health

• A sweet, manageable temperament

• A long and productive life

I am not expecting every baby to be a tiny copy of its parents. I want each litter to land within a useful range, and I want that range to move closer and closer to the Giant Angora I am trying to produce.

One Pretty Rabbit Does Not Prove a Breeding Program

One gorgeous rabbit can fool us.

I have seen beautiful show rabbits produce very average babies. I have also seen rabbits that were not the fanciest animals in the barn consistently produce babies I wanted to keep.

That is why I prefer to look at more than one litter whenever possible. I may also try a rabbit with more than one mate.

To me, breeding true is something the babies prove.

The pedigree can give us information, but the offspring tell us whether the breeding was worth doing.

Purebred, Linebred, Outcrossed, and Crossbred

These words sometimes get tossed into one big bucket, but they describe different things.

A purebred pedigree tells us where the rabbit came from. It does not automatically tell us whether that rabbit is a good example of its breed or whether it will reproduce its best qualities.

Linebreeding means breeding related rabbits to hold on to the influence of a certain rabbit or rabbit family. It can help make desirable traits appear more consistently. It can also make faults appear more consistently.

Outcrossing generally means breeding rabbits that are not closely related. Crossbreeding means bringing another breed into the breeding program.

None of those labels guarantees a good rabbit. Every breeding still needs a clear purpose.

Did I Create a New Breed?

Someone recently suggested that, with all the outcrossing and changes I have made, perhaps I had created a new breed.

That question stuck with me.

Yes, Kevin and I have developed a family of Giant Angoras with qualities that may not have been common in the breed for quite some time. We have worked hard to strengthen color and improve the commercial body. That body has been one of the most difficult pieces to build while retaining the wool, size, and furnishings we need.

But no, I have not created a new breed.

I am trying to make better Giant Angoras.

Every breeder’s barn eventually develops its own look. Breeders who share stock will naturally see similar traits within their rabbit families. That does not make those rabbits a different breed.

The ARBA Standard of Perfection keeps us tied to the Giant Angora. It describes the body, weight, wool, furnishings, and other characteristics that make a Giant Angora a Giant Angora.

My outcrosses must always take me back toward that standard.

The Standard Is My Bible, but I Also Have Barn Rules

The ARBA Standard of Perfection tells me whether I am producing a Giant Angora.

My barn rules tell me whether I want to live with a barn full of them.

Temperament is huge for me. These are wool rabbits. We spend a great deal of time handling, grooming, blowing, and shearing them.

Sweet is non-negotiable.

Playful and silly are fine. Mean and combative are not qualities I want to reproduce.

Mothering ability matters just as much. The prettiest doe in the barn cannot move my breeding program forward if she does not conceive, cannot raise her babies, or produces only one tiny litter.

No babies mean no selection and no progress.

When I say I want my Giant Angoras to breed true, I mean the whole rabbit.

Linebreeding Is a Tool

I am not saying linebreeding is bad. I use it, and it can be an extremely useful tool.

It can help us hold on to a particular look, strengthen desirable qualities, expose hidden faults, and show whether a beautiful buck can consistently pass his good qualities to his babies.

However, close breeding does not know the difference between good and bad. It can strengthen both.

A family may become known for wonderful wool. It may also become known for small litters, weak mothering ability, poor color, narrow shoulders, or rabbits that simply lack vigor.

Predictability does not always mean progress.

The Giant Angora Was Built Through Outcrossing

The Giant Angora itself exists because breeders brought different rabbits together, kept what worked, removed what did not, and continued breeding toward a clear standard.

Our breed does not have a huge population or an endless supply of unrelated rabbit families. Giant Angoras are often the smallest Angora entry at regular shows, if any Giants are entered at all.

We do not have a large genetic cushion.

That does not mean breeding anything to anything. Every outcross needs a reason.

Before making an outcross, I need to know what I am trying to improve. Is it color, body, size, wool, fertility, mothering ability, health, or temperament? I also need to know which Giant Angora qualities I refuse to lose.

“That rabbit was available” is not a breeding plan.

A thoughtful outcross can move an entire breeding program forward. An outcross without a clear purpose can create a tremendous amount of work.

Ask me how I know!

Keep the Best and Share the Best

Hard culling is important, but we also need to be careful that we do not quietly narrow our choices to one buck line or one doe family.

I want great sons from more than one buck. I want good mothers from more than one doe family. I want several dedicated breeders maintaining different quality rabbit families and sharing them honestly.

That means sharing rabbits we would love to keep, not simply offering the leftovers.

The future of colored Giant Angoras cannot remain tucked inside one barn or one small circle of friends. The new ARBA COD process gives us an opportunity to use the strength of an entire community.

We need quality rabbits in several barns, being tested, improved, exhibited, and shared.

Records Keep Us Honest

Our memories can become a little creative.

We remember the spectacular litter. We may forget the breedings that did not take, the tiny litter, or the babies that required constant help to survive.

Good records help us see what is truly happening.

I want to record:

• Whether the doe conceived

• The number of babies born

• The number born alive

• First-week survival

• Weaning numbers

• Whether fostering was needed

• Growth and senior weight

• Body, furnishings, color, and wool

• Health and temperament

• How long the rabbit remained productive

If you raise Giant Angoras, you can help us build a Giant Angora-specific growth chart by submitting your weights here:

https://forms.gle/Emt8y4bfMFbvd6bz6

My Kind of Breeding True

Do I want my Giant Angoras to breed true?

Absolutely.

But I do not want sameness simply for the sake of sameness. I want healthy, fertile rabbits that continue producing the correct Giant Angora body, wool, size, temperament, and mothering ability.

I am not breeding merely to make everything match.

I am breeding for repeatable excellence.

Keep the best. Share the best. Then make more that are even better than the generation that came before.

That is my kind of breeding true.

Now I want to hear from you.

• When you use the words “breeding true,” true to what?

• What is the one thing you will not budge on in your own barn, even if it is not written in the Standard of Perfection?

• For the love of Giants, Go Team Giants!

BTW, if you want to join our Colored Giant Village on Discord, Here's more information;

Colored Giant Angora Village

We’re creating more reasons for people to stay engaged, to show up at shows, and to fall in love with Angoras all over again. And that right there… is what this is all about.

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Stay Fluffy My Friends,

Tammy,

Life’s just better with a Giant Angora hug

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