Staying Inspired or "Don't Give Up!"
by Debbie Vigue
One of the best pieces of advice for the novice breeder and also for us "oldies" - don't give up on getting the traits you want. You might not be able to get short ears the first generation but may be able to fix it in second or third generations. If you are culling for EVERYTHING at 5 weeks of age, move to another breed. Some things are hard to fix and you can't always do it in the first generation even if one of the parents exhibits the trait you are trying to get. The proof isn't only in the bunny sitting in front of you, it's in what you do with it. Don't rely too heavily on the intangibles like some big name
convention winning bunny listed on the pedigree a zillion times or a list of legs on the parent a mile long. Why? Because shortly it will become your line dependent on which direction you take it.
Take the next step - you have nothing to lose but the experience. Years back I had a doe that was real nice and did her share of winning. She threw a doe with terrible ears and no crown but I kept her anyway. Her body was decent so she had that much going for her and you never know when something will happen, like losing the mom. Good thing I kept her as I got few babies from her mom. The poor eared doe threw me two very nice bucks. One placed at two conventions. His ears and crown are wonderful as is his half brothers'. If I hadn't had faith and taken a step towards the next generation, I'd never have produced the second generation that worked for me. I would have thought the doe's first breeding a failure. I may even have gone out and bought more stock to "fix it". There have been nice animals subsequent to the third and fourth generations. The best part is that the later, nicer animals, are "my" animals from the line I created.
It's easy to look at two rabbits and want to combine the best traits but genes don't always work that way but once they are "there", they can show up in successive litters. You will seldom have one superior animal that has a great impact on your entire herd. They are out there and it happens but the majority of improvements are done piece by piece, one generation at a time.
Problem with looonnnger hollands? Longer bodies, heads and ears? You will notice that once you start shortening the body (adding more dwarfing gene), the shorter ears, shorter face, shorter feet and shorter bone will follow. Usually rabbits that are longer in their feet are also longer in their body and ears. So take a good look at those tookie toes. A longer face goes along with it. I find it helpful to check their feet even when 6 weeks old. If you have a few short bodied animals, take them out and compare their feet with your longer bodied animals. It is easier to see it, than have someone tell you about it. Honest, try it. If you don't have any that are short coupled, ask to look at another breeders bunnies. Do comparisons. The more you see, the more you learn.
Play nice - Remember! You are not the only one responsible for ultimately getting the type of HL you want. Treat other breeders the same way you would like to be treated. We all get some pet quality animals, when possible, they should be sold as pets. There is another level that hopefully comes out more often, breeder quality and show quality animals. There is always a market for good quality animals in both Open and Youth. Share the Wealth!!!