Friday, July 29, 2005
Most Valued Does
From time to time, I review all of the does in my barn and determine which are the most valuable to me. I have a target goal of keeping twelve solid does and twelve broken does in production.
If I don't have a target, then I risk my rabbitry continuing to grow every time I add cages. Those cages are added to allow me to grow out more juniors for longer periods of time (which I feel is very important to the success of a Holland barn). If I just increase my producing does each time, I will always have to sell my juniors too soon due to lack of cage space. So, I've locked in my rabbitry size at 24 producing does.
So from time to time, I make this list of my does, from most to leave valuable. Usually the first two or three rabbits on the list are easy. Who has been producing my best show bunnies? In the middle of my list, I may have some that I am very hopeful about, but perhaps I haven't grown out their bunnies enough to tell for sure what the quality is. Or maybe I haven't made the best match for them. That's the vague, unknown middle of the list.
Near the bottom of the list are does that haven't produced what I'd hoped. Or perhaps I just can't seem to make a good match for them. And some have failed to produce at all. Or maybe they are almost duplicates of a better rabbit higher on the list.
I also drop does over 2 1/2 years old down the list because of age. They may have otherwise been high on the list, but if I'm going to sell them as proven brood does, they need to be young enough to have some litters for someone else. (Of course, some are so valuable to me that they will never drop down on the list and will retire here .)
And I drop a doe down on the list when her better daughter starts producing live bunnies. I use to drop her down when she had a better daughter, but I learned the hard way to wait until that daughter is actually producing before letting the mother go.
When I'm happy with my list (and I may juggle it several times before I'm done), I look very hard at numbers 13 and down. Those that can produce for someone else are earmarked to be sold (usually after one last litter!) Those that have not produced at all are sold as pets, sold to show-only homes (if appropriate), or raffled without pedigree and with a note that I have not gotten live babies. Sometimes I'll find someone else who wants to give her a go. The very next ltter may be the one, afterall. And that has happened.
By making myself take a hard look at my does every other month or so, I keep my brood does (and producing show does) culled very strictly. I only want to work with the very best animals available to me. And the only way I can do that is to make sure I frequently evaluate my herd.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
www.thenaturetrail.com/
www.thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
¶ 7:15 AM
If I don't have a target, then I risk my rabbitry continuing to grow every time I add cages. Those cages are added to allow me to grow out more juniors for longer periods of time (which I feel is very important to the success of a Holland barn). If I just increase my producing does each time, I will always have to sell my juniors too soon due to lack of cage space. So, I've locked in my rabbitry size at 24 producing does.
So from time to time, I make this list of my does, from most to leave valuable. Usually the first two or three rabbits on the list are easy. Who has been producing my best show bunnies? In the middle of my list, I may have some that I am very hopeful about, but perhaps I haven't grown out their bunnies enough to tell for sure what the quality is. Or maybe I haven't made the best match for them. That's the vague, unknown middle of the list.
Near the bottom of the list are does that haven't produced what I'd hoped. Or perhaps I just can't seem to make a good match for them. And some have failed to produce at all. Or maybe they are almost duplicates of a better rabbit higher on the list.
I also drop does over 2 1/2 years old down the list because of age. They may have otherwise been high on the list, but if I'm going to sell them as proven brood does, they need to be young enough to have some litters for someone else. (Of course, some are so valuable to me that they will never drop down on the list and will retire here .)
And I drop a doe down on the list when her better daughter starts producing live bunnies. I use to drop her down when she had a better daughter, but I learned the hard way to wait until that daughter is actually producing before letting the mother go.
When I'm happy with my list (and I may juggle it several times before I'm done), I look very hard at numbers 13 and down. Those that can produce for someone else are earmarked to be sold (usually after one last litter!) Those that have not produced at all are sold as pets, sold to show-only homes (if appropriate), or raffled without pedigree and with a note that I have not gotten live babies. Sometimes I'll find someone else who wants to give her a go. The very next ltter may be the one, afterall. And that has happened.
By making myself take a hard look at my does every other month or so, I keep my brood does (and producing show does) culled very strictly. I only want to work with the very best animals available to me. And the only way I can do that is to make sure I frequently evaluate my herd.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
www.thenaturetrail.com/
www.thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
¶ 7:15 AM
