Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Size DOES Matter
I'm going to preface everything I say in this article by stating upfront that Holland lops hide lots of surprises in their genetic code. Just about anything can and will happen just when you don't expect it, but we can still talk about trends and expectations that can serve us well more often than not. So, if you try out some of these ideas--just like they say in the car commercial--your actual results may vary.
Size does matter when you are selecting a dam and sire to breed. Holland lops that are around and below 3.00* have a harder time competing. Hollands over 4.00 can be disqualified. I read one claim that the Holland lop weight that wins the most is 3.08. And you probably have a target weight that you prefer.
One way to increase your chances of producing rabbits at your target weight is to breed two true dwarfs of that weight together. You will get some variation, but you will likely get some true dwarf rabbits of the same approximate weight. Or you can breed a true dwarf that is a few ounces above your ideal with one a few ounces below. You can get good results that way, too.
(Let me pause here and say that if you need to brush up on the true dwarf/false dwarf issue, you might like to take a look at www.thenaturetrail.com/Dwarfs.)
But how often do you have two rabbits that are already exactly the weight you are looking for that are complementary in other ways? And you want to be able to use false dwarfs in your breeding program, don't you? I do.
Now some folks just avoid using false dwarfs altogether and others only use false dwarf does. But I like to use the full range of good rabbits available to me, so I've paid attention to the effect of using various combinations of weight, and true and false dwarfs.
Let me tell you the kind of mistake I often made before I finally figured things out. I would have a tiny doe, perhaps 3.00. And I would have a false dwarf buck, 4.02. I wanted to produce 3.08 rabbits, so I would breed them together and expect medium-sized Hollands. It never worked. I ended up with 3.00 true dwarfs and 4.02 false dwarfs.
Finally a light bulb went on in my head. My 4.02 false dwarf buck always threw small true dwarfs because he was a small rabbit himself. But you are already saying that he was over show weight, how is that small?
I have noticed, and you probably have, too, that, within the same lines, the false dwarfs tend to be about 18 oz. heavier than the true dwarfs. So, in a smaller line, for example, the true dwarfs are running 2.14 to 3.04 and the false dwarfs are running 3.15 to 4.02. This is a small line, even though it includes rabbits over show weight.
Then I've had bigger bunnies. They tend to run 3.14 to 4.00 for true dwarfs and 4.08 to 5.00 for false dwarfs. This is a big line, even though it includes bunnies within the show weight limits.
Now this is the important part: that 4.02 false dwarf from the smaller line will throw smaller true dwarfs than the 3.14 true dwarf from the bigger line. Yes, the bigger bunny will throw smaller bunnies and the smaller one will throw the bigger ones.
The secret is realizing that there are two sizes in every line: the true dwarf size and the false dwarf size. So the sire or dam you plan to use in your breeding should not be considered big or small without first considering whether it is a true or false dwarf (obviously tiny bunnies are virtually always true dwarfs and 4.08 bunnies are virtually always false dwarfs--but I've had a 4.05 who was a true dwarf and think I may have a 3.07 who is a false so you must consider every rabbit individually).
The Nature Trail's Mercedes, 13 legs, has a 3.08 dam and a 4.02 false dwarf sire (yes, I have gotten some nice bunnies from false dwarf bucks). The dam comes from a line of larger bunnies; it was the 4.02 sire who brought her weight down to 3.00.
I think that knowing how to use false dwarfs better is extremely helpful. You can generally get a false dwarf from very good lines at a very reasonable price. Plus they may simply be available when show quality rabbits from the lines you desire are not.
Remind me to talk about how to determine if a rabbit is a false dwarf and how to pick out a worthy false dwarf Holland in a future article.
Happy breeding.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
http://thenaturetrail.com/
http://thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
*read 3.00 as 3 pounds, 4.02 is 4 pounds 2 oz.
¶ 4:52 PM
Size does matter when you are selecting a dam and sire to breed. Holland lops that are around and below 3.00* have a harder time competing. Hollands over 4.00 can be disqualified. I read one claim that the Holland lop weight that wins the most is 3.08. And you probably have a target weight that you prefer.
One way to increase your chances of producing rabbits at your target weight is to breed two true dwarfs of that weight together. You will get some variation, but you will likely get some true dwarf rabbits of the same approximate weight. Or you can breed a true dwarf that is a few ounces above your ideal with one a few ounces below. You can get good results that way, too.
(Let me pause here and say that if you need to brush up on the true dwarf/false dwarf issue, you might like to take a look at www.thenaturetrail.com/Dwarfs.)
But how often do you have two rabbits that are already exactly the weight you are looking for that are complementary in other ways? And you want to be able to use false dwarfs in your breeding program, don't you? I do.
Now some folks just avoid using false dwarfs altogether and others only use false dwarf does. But I like to use the full range of good rabbits available to me, so I've paid attention to the effect of using various combinations of weight, and true and false dwarfs.
Let me tell you the kind of mistake I often made before I finally figured things out. I would have a tiny doe, perhaps 3.00. And I would have a false dwarf buck, 4.02. I wanted to produce 3.08 rabbits, so I would breed them together and expect medium-sized Hollands. It never worked. I ended up with 3.00 true dwarfs and 4.02 false dwarfs.
Finally a light bulb went on in my head. My 4.02 false dwarf buck always threw small true dwarfs because he was a small rabbit himself. But you are already saying that he was over show weight, how is that small?
I have noticed, and you probably have, too, that, within the same lines, the false dwarfs tend to be about 18 oz. heavier than the true dwarfs. So, in a smaller line, for example, the true dwarfs are running 2.14 to 3.04 and the false dwarfs are running 3.15 to 4.02. This is a small line, even though it includes rabbits over show weight.
Then I've had bigger bunnies. They tend to run 3.14 to 4.00 for true dwarfs and 4.08 to 5.00 for false dwarfs. This is a big line, even though it includes bunnies within the show weight limits.
Now this is the important part: that 4.02 false dwarf from the smaller line will throw smaller true dwarfs than the 3.14 true dwarf from the bigger line. Yes, the bigger bunny will throw smaller bunnies and the smaller one will throw the bigger ones.
The secret is realizing that there are two sizes in every line: the true dwarf size and the false dwarf size. So the sire or dam you plan to use in your breeding should not be considered big or small without first considering whether it is a true or false dwarf (obviously tiny bunnies are virtually always true dwarfs and 4.08 bunnies are virtually always false dwarfs--but I've had a 4.05 who was a true dwarf and think I may have a 3.07 who is a false so you must consider every rabbit individually).
The Nature Trail's Mercedes, 13 legs, has a 3.08 dam and a 4.02 false dwarf sire (yes, I have gotten some nice bunnies from false dwarf bucks). The dam comes from a line of larger bunnies; it was the 4.02 sire who brought her weight down to 3.00.
I think that knowing how to use false dwarfs better is extremely helpful. You can generally get a false dwarf from very good lines at a very reasonable price. Plus they may simply be available when show quality rabbits from the lines you desire are not.
Remind me to talk about how to determine if a rabbit is a false dwarf and how to pick out a worthy false dwarf Holland in a future article.
Happy breeding.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
"Holland Lops of Distinction"
http://thenaturetrail.com/
http://thenaturetrail.com/blog/BLOG
*read 3.00 as 3 pounds, 4.02 is 4 pounds 2 oz.
¶ 4:52 PM
