# Pinched hindquarters



## bunnygirl4jc (Jun 28, 2009)

I have some questions about pinched hindquarters...

1. Can you breed this out by breeding to a rabbit with a good or excellent hindquarter? How long would it take?

2. If a kit or young jr. - 8-12 wks or less - has pinched hindquarters will they straighten up or will they always have a pinched hindquarter? 

3. If they are pinched and their legs are like this - \ / - (90 degree angle) is this cow hocks?

Thanks


----------



## Starlight Rabbitry (Jun 28, 2009)

*bunnygirl4jc wrote: *


> I have some questions about pinched hindquarters...
> 
> 1. Can you breed this out by breeding to a rabbit with a good or excellent hindquarter? How long would it take?
> 
> ...



1. It would depend on how pinched they are as to whether I would even consider using them for breeding. If it is a doe, they tend to have problems kindling.

2. They could straighten out but they also may not. I have had babies that were pinched and stay that way. I always try to give them time to develop. If they still are pinched then I pet them out.

3. Not necessarily. If you turn the rabbit over and "tickle" their belly, their legs should straighten (||) If they continue tohold them in a v shape (V) then they are cowhawked.

Sharon


----------



## OakRidgeRabbits (Jun 28, 2009)

1. Yes, you can breed it out. I breed rabbits lacking in the hindquarter to a rabbit with an exceptional hindquarter. It's a pretty quick fix, depending on how the genetics line up. You can get full babies in a generation or two. 

2. A rabbit with pinched hindquarters will not "straighten up". Being pinched is a conformation error and will always be there. Sometimes they will fill out a little with age though.

3. Cow hocks is when the hind legs stick out straight from the body. It can be to varying degrees, but rabbits like this really shouldn't be bred. I'd just pet them out.


----------



## whaleyk98 (Jun 28, 2009)

Im sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question pertaining to this and instead of starting another thread with the same...oh, you know what I mean. Anywho, can someone post a pic with the difference between pinched and good hindquarters? Im a little confused as to what it looks like exactly.....in english lops anyway. Im sure pinched hindquarters is the same no matter what breed is though...right?


----------



## bunnygirl4jc (Jun 28, 2009)

Here are pictures of good hindquarter









Here are pictures of pinched hindquarter







See how in the top picture the feet are parallel? In the bottom picture the toes stick out and the heels stick in. These are Holland Lop Jr.s. Pinched hindquarters look the same in all breeds I believe.


----------



## OakRidgeRabbits (Jun 28, 2009)

Feet are not always an indicator since cowhocks can happen for a few different reasons.

Instead, you want to run your hand over the hindquarter- thumb around one side, fingers around the other. As you pet down the HQ- do your hands stay the same/widen or do they come in like a V? If they come in, it indicates a pinched hindquarter. You can also tell by looking at the HQ from the back of a rabbit. I'll see if I can get pictures of it...


----------



## pamnock (Jun 28, 2009)

Watching a rabbit hop away from you to see how straight it naturally tracks is the best way to check for cow hocks. 

I have a good top view photo of "pinched" hindquarters in this article that I wrote http://www.midatlanticdwarfhotot.com/TheDwarfHotot1.pdf

You can breed the fault out of your herd rather quickly by introducing rabbits with full hindquarters and culling offspring from the breeding program that have poor hindquarters.



Pam


----------

