Rabbit breeding and showing?

[lexiredhead]

That is exactly what I mean. Awesome! Thanks! Sorry about that. Ididn't mean to make it confusing.

 

[Bunnylady]

The Creme D'Argent is a beautiful breed. Do you know anybody that breeds them? It's one of the rarer breeds, and while it's a great thing to want to support a rare breed, finding good stock can be tricky, and you may find that you are the only person at a show with them. Also, if you are new to a breed, you will need a mentor to teach you the finer points of the breed. Chatting on the internet is wonderful, but with any breed, there will always be some things that you need to be able to get your hands on the rabbit to understand. It can be hard to find homes for commercial-sized pet quality rabbits; would you be eating your culls?

The Holland Lop is an extremely popular breed. Getting good ones shouldn't be hard, though competition at shows is going to be tough with so many breeders out there. Also, you may find the market is already full of pet-quality Hollands, so getting rid of your culls may be easy, or not - hard to know what things are like in your area.

A marked breed like the Harlequin or Dutch is always going to produce a lot of pretty rabbits that aren't show quality, so they can be really frustrating for a beginning breeder. On the other hand, it may be easier to recognize good markings than it is to grasp the vagaries of good type.

People often ask what the temperament of a certain breed is like. There isn't an easy answer for that, IME, there are nice and nasty animals in just about every breed. Generally speaking, larger breeds tend to be quieter, smaller breeds are often a bit more active. A certain amount of personality seems to be inheritable, so rabbits that are laid-back and friendly frequently produce offspring that are like that as well. Of course, lots of handling as babies makes for better pets, too.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

That is exactly what I mean. Awesome! Thanks! Sorry about that. Ididn't mean to make it confusing.

ok, cool Glad i could answer it.

The Creme D'Argent is a beautiful breed. Do you know anybody that breeds them? It's one of the rarer breeds, and while it's a great thing to want to support a rare breed, finding good stock can be tricky, and you may find that you are the only person at a show with them. Also, if you are new to a breed, you will need a mentor to teach you the finer points of the breed. Chatting on the internet is wonderful, but with any breed, there will always be some things that you need to be able to get your hands on the rabbit to understand. It can be hard to find homes for commercial-sized pet quality rabbits; would you be eating your culls?

The Holland Lop is an extremely popular breed. Getting good ones shouldn't be hard, though competition at shows is going to be tough with so many breeders out there. Also, you may find the market is already full of pet-quality Hollands, so getting rid of your culls may be easy, or not - hard to know what things are like in your area.

A marked breed like the Harlequin or Dutch is always going to produce a lot of pretty rabbits that aren't show quality, so they can be really frustrating for a beginning breeder. On the other hand, it may be easier to recognize good markings than it is to grasp the vagaries of good type.

People often ask what the temperament of a certain breed is like. There isn't an easy answer for that, IME, there are nice and nasty animals in just about every breed. Generally speaking, larger breeds tend to be quieter, smaller breeds are often a bit more active. A certain amount of personality seems to be inheritable, so rabbits that are laid-back and friendly frequently produce offspring that are like that as well. Of course, lots of handling as babies makes for better pets, too.

The dutch is a pretty easy one to recognize the right markings, so are not nearly as hard as the harlequin. Harlequins have such a complicated pattern, that even recognizing the right pattern is hard and takes a lot of practice.

Who knows if i will ever try to breed for show.

 

[Bunnylady]

I've bred Harlies for over 20 years - tell me about it.

Spotting the right pattern on the Dutch may not be hard, but as they say, "the Devil is in the details," and a few white hairs in just the wrong place can make the difference between first and last in a class with Dutch. With Harlequins, they aren't that picky. I've only seen a few rabbits that did the entire pattern (I've owned a few of them) but you don't have to have the whole pattern on a Harlie to show it. Part of the problem is learning what to look for, and having judges that know what to look for. I had one rabbit that an unknowledgeable judge practically sneered at, and put last in a class. A few weeks later, a judge who also bred Harlies picked her as Best of Breed, and offered to buy her!

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

I've bred Harlies for over 20 years - tell me about it.

Spotting the right pattern on the Dutch may not be hard, but as they say, "the Devil is in the details," and a few white hairs in just the wrong place can make the difference between first and last in a class with Dutch. With Harlequins, they aren't that picky. I've only seen a few rabbits that did the entire pattern (I've owned a few of them) but you don't have to have the whole pattern on a Harlie to show it. Part of the problem is learning what to look for, and having judges that know what to look for. I had one rabbit that an unknowledgeable judge practically sneered at, and put last in a class. A few weeks later, a judge who also bred Harlies picked her as Best of Breed, and offered to buy her!

Wow! 20 years is a long time That's true on the dutch...i didn't think about the white hairs

That's so cool that you owned some with the entire pattern...i've only seen 1 in person. I didn't know that they don't have to have the entire pattern to show. that really interesting.
sad that you got last because of the judge! that stinks! Did you sell her?

Thanks for sharing some knowledge! I alway want to learn more about harlies...i am totally in love with the breed. I hope to buy more breeders in the spring. We moved across the country and my parents made me sell some of my rabbits, so am excited to start building my herd up again!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: No, I didn't sell her. That rabbit had been born to a first-time mother who hadn't cleaned her babies up very well, so they were a mess when I first saw them. I had to clean them up myself, so I got to watch that bunny's pattern appear in my hand, as it were - I named her Magic. She was a Black Magpie with only a couple of bands on her body, but they were almost completely free of brindling. If you have dealt with Harlies much, you know that is unusual. She went on to get 3 grand champion legs, but a missing great-grandparent on her pedigree meant she couldn't be registered. I only had a few babies from her; none were anywhere near as good as she was. Oh, well, that's rabbits for you!

Right now, a Harlequin must have the split face - half dark, half light, divided down the middle, and more than two body bands to be showable. That's the minimum. The standard used to require at least the ears or chest/leg to reverse with the face, but the current standard doesn't even require that.

 

[lexiredhead]

Thank y'all so much!

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

No, I didn't sell her. That rabbit had been born to a first-time mother who hadn't cleaned her babies up very well, so they were a mess when I first saw them. I had to clean them up myself, so I got to watch that bunny's pattern appear in my hand, as it were - I named her Magic. She was a Black Magpie with only a couple of bands on her body, but they were almost completely free of brindling. If you have dealt with Harlies much, you know that is unusual. She went on to get 3 grand champion legs, but a missing great-grandparent on her pedigree meant she couldn't be registered. I only had a few babies from her; none were anywhere near as good as she was. Oh, well, that's rabbits for you!

Right now, a Harlequin must have the split face - half dark, half light, divided down the middle, and more than two body bands to be showable. That's the minimum. The standard used to require at least the ears or chest/leg to reverse with the face, but the current standard doesn't even require that.

cool...i wouldn't sell magic either Good name. Awesome color...i would love to see that. Bummer that she was missing something in her pedigree and couldn't be registered. Thanks for telling me what they require now, that makes it easier than i thought it was.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

Thank y'all so much!

you welcome.