While it’s true that this may not be the case for everyone who raises rabbits, one of my favorite parts is the record-keeping that is required to be able to manage your herd. While not every record I keep is strictly necessary, there are many that I still find useful. In this article, I will detail some types of records that I believe one should absolutely keep for their rabbitry, as well as some optional records that can still be useful.
Essential Records
Pedigrees
While not technically essential if you’re only raising rabbits for your own meat, pedigrees are something that you will want to have if you’re interested in selling stock for other breeders. These can provide a lot of value to your rabbits for several reasons. First, if someone is interested in showing rabbits, having a complete pedigree will be essential for being able to register a rabbit. A complete pedigree includes a name, ear number, weight, and variety for the current rabbit as well as the previous 3 generations. When raising a rabbit that comes in many colors, this is even more useful as you’re better able to predict what colors you can expect from a particular pairing. I believe it is worth the time to keep these records for your rabbits.
Breeding Information
You will want to keep track of any breeding information, especially for your does. You need to know who was bred to who, and when. It’s extremely helpful to be able to look back at the records from different rabbits when deciding who to keep in your breeding program as well as who should be paired together. If you have information on how large your litters usually are, their weights, how many were worthy to show or sell, etc. it makes it so easy to be able to make choices on the direction your herd is going.
We have a Breeding Doe Log and Grow-out Chart available to download from our Resources page. These can help you get started on keeping these invaluable records!
Optional Records
Breeding Chart
I like to keep a breeding chart to plan when I will breed each of my rabbits throughout the year. Having a plan of what will happen in the future helps me to make sure that I’m staggering litters to ensure I have space for everyone. I have a large grow-out pen for bucks and one for does. I want to make sure that when I wean a litter, any of the older, previous grow-outs have been moved out of there.
You can download the Breeding Plans Chart that I use from our Resources page.
List of Breeding Stock
I like to name my breeders per a breeding stock list I keep that’s “numbered” A-Z. This way, when I tattoo their kits I am able to tell at a glance who the kits parents were. For example, from the last litter we had, I held back a kit with an ear number of HK1. From this, I can tell her dam was Hart, and her sire was King Dude. Because of this system, I keep a list where I can fill in the information for a rabbit once their letter is “taken.” The HK1 kit I spoke about previously was named RavenOrange, as R was an open letter on my list.
This system obviously wouldn’t be necessary if you aren’t using this kind of numbering system for your kits, but you may want something similar to keep track of your breeders for whatever system you do that works for you.
Sales Notes
Whenever I sell a rabbit, I like to keep track of who I sold it to, their contact information, the price, and the pedigree number for that rabbit in my file system. This way, if I reconnect with this person in the future I will know exactly which rabbit was sold to them and what price I offered it at. I do like to keep pedigrees of sold stock as well, just in case the future owner misplaces it.
General Notes
The final thing I like to keep track of is simply general notes on each of my rabbits. I like to note their favorite treats, notable things that have happened in their past (including any medical issue), notes on their temperament and personality, as well as information on their body type and show-worthiness. For example, this way, when I am thinking of creating a breeding pair, I can review my notes and ensure I’m accurately remembering everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.
I hope that you’ve found this information on rabbitry recordkeeping helpful. If you have any other ideas, feel free to comment them below!
