LOL, Eric... I am just part of everyone. :)

Are you particularly wanting purebred rabbits? New Zealands (usually white with pink eyes but there are other colours) and Californians (white with dark ears and noses) are the most popular. A cross between the two is also very good.

Mine are mutts. Brian and I had talked about getting rabbits and then one day (just as he was finishing the cages) he came across some rabbits at a yard sale for $5 each and "surprised" me with them. They had not been well taken care of and frankly I thought we were wasting our time, but with clean, individual cages and gradually increasing green feeding they improved unbelievably. This was two years ago and up until then my only experience with rabbits was with a pet store bunny that I had bought for my son about 15 years before. I've learned a lot since then.

Anyway, to make a short story long, :) we bred the rabbits in the fall and got amazing litters of eleven and seven. I still have the doe that produces seven but we culled the other one last fall because although her litters were huge, they never did as well. She was a nervous mother and the kits grew up nervous. Now I have Patches, the original doe with reliable litters of seven and her daughter, Tuppence, who raised nine like a pro her first time. The buck is Patches son, Tao.

And no, I don't worry about inbreeding. With rabbits you can, with good healthy stock, go as many as 17 generations before you are likely to encounter degeneration. Of course, you must cull ruthlessly, but when you are breeding them for meat this is normal anyway. I only keep the very best for breeding. Good characteristics are enhanced by careful inbreeding or linebreeding and so are bad ones... so I am always watchful for problems. But so far they just keep getting better.

In my opinion, TYPE is more important than breed, although you will want to avoid the dwarf breeds since they are so small and typically have small litters. Look for a nice chunky standard rabbit with a wide rump. It will LOOK meaty. For a buck, a short compact body is best but more length can be an asset on a doe, as long as her hind-quarters are good.

Any rabbit you buy should be alert but calm, and have bright eyes, clean nose, properly aligned teeth and clean ears. If the ears are scabby or look like they have coffee grounds in them, the rabbits have ear mites. Treatable, but not what you really want to start with. Check the rabbits hocks too... you want a good padding of fur there so they don't develop sores from being on wire.

Friendliness is highly desirable too! They don't have to be cuddly and affectionate, but they should not be fearful or aggressive. Who wants to work with grumpy rabbits?

If you can go to a rabbit show or two, you will soon get a feel for what makes a good meat rabbit. Also, browse rabbit websites and study the pictures. If you do a Google search for meat rabbits (try an image search too) you will find some pictures that will give you a good idea of what I have been trying to explain. Have fun!