Bunny Tails

Written by Chris Hemp

Paying attention to your rabbit’s tail can clue you into several issues that you should be aware of for the future of your Rabbitry. The Standard of Perfection talks about the tail carriage and shows drawings of the proper carriage being straight and pointing towards the head of the rabbit. It also mentions wry tail, or screw tail, as a disqualification. This is an abnormal tail that is carried or twisted to one side or bent. Most judges will check for the broken tail; few pay attention to the lazy tail that hints at hidden issues.

The lazy tail I am talking about sometimes aligns itself properly and sometimes lays off to one side or the other. Play with the tail a bit and see how the rabbit reacts to pulling it to one side and then letting go. Does it just lay there? Does the tail go into the upright position? Does it go to the other side? If you pull it into the straight up position, does the tail stay there or fall back to the side? Watch the rabbit as it moves away from you. Does it hold it to one side or the other? Run your fingers down the entire tail and check for any obvious injuries/crook/bend/widening in the tail? It could account for the way the tail lays. In that case it may not be genetic and nothing to worry about.

If your animal does not correct this, there are two alternatives. The first is to remove it from the breeding program. (Preferred) The second is to breed it to the best tail available and keep only the offspring with straight tails. Then replace the original animal as soon as possible. Keep a close eye on the next generations.

Playing with the lazy tail, I have seen two lazy tails leaning in the same direction create offspring with actual “wry tail”. Have also seen a rabbit that the tail was so “wry”, the rabbit looked to have no tail at all. The tail was twisted and tucked up under the rabbit so far it was not easily seen.

Not too long ago, a young judge noticed the tail and checked a little more thoroughly. He observed a crooked spine and a hip that was held a little higher than the other. Not having paid that close of attention before this, we looked at several other animals on the show table that day and found more spines/tails/hips that were out of alignment. There existed a major problem in some of these rabbits we had not noticed before. If you are not sure, close your eyes and run your hand over the rabbit. Many times your hand can tell you what you eye does not want to see.

Wry tail is a double recessive meaning that both parents must carry the gene for it to present. Making notes in my herd to see if this spine defect is also a double recessive. Do the two always go together?

A respected American breeder has been known to destroy all known carriers of genetic defects like this. She reduced her herd by one third, but she did not see the wry tail again for three more generations.  The Americans have enough other problems to try and correct without keeping that one in the genetic base. Breeding carefully and paying close attention for future generations can be a real bonus saving some future heartache.

The sad thing here is that most judges only check for the broken tail not the wry tail or curved spine. How many rabbits have made it across the show table and not been ‘seen’ in their true light. How many have been bred to carry it through to the next generation?  Have you paid attention which direction your bunny tail is pointing?

To produce the best Americans (or any breed) you possibly can....

• know your stock
• discover their weaknesses
• breed to eliminate the weakness
• sell only the best stock for the future of the American (or your breed)
• cull to the Standard of Perfection

This is MY breeding policy. It may not agree with any others out there. Only you can decide how strict to be in your program. Hope this helps.