A recent HLRSC IMO question, that's a Hollander magazine feature where a question is posed and members give their "In My Opinion" answers. This one had to do with "when do you retire does?" I think we all tend to try longer to get litters out of bought does than homegrown ones as we try to justify having spent the money. When it is just a head game we are playing with ourselves. They are either going to be good producers or not regardless of dollars spent. And if you finally get a litter or two from a doe that has taken way too many tries, do you really want to keep a daughter from her?
This of course sparked a trip down memory lane thinking of my brooddoes. It reminded me of my best homegrown brooddoe called BBF's Nica. Nica wasn't a show doe but she sure produced many. She also gave me a lot of daughters which started a matriarch line going several generations, which I have today. Nica still produced babies in her 6th year and would have continued to do so if she hadn't gotten a boo-boo on her foot which would not heal. There is no way to keep a bandaid on a furry foot. She produced 18 litters with a total of 69 babies of which 45 survived. Anyone producing Hollands can attest that you lose some being peanuts and doa's. She was one of those 10%'ers that give you 90% of your best rabbits.
Going out to the rabbitry and finding a nice fur-lined nestbox with little "squirming vermin" in it is like Christmas morning with lots of pressies. I know we aren't supposed to attribute human feelings onto our animals but some of those does act so proud it's hard not to. The praise, extra treats, head pats and cheek tickles are all they ask.