Friday, September 07, 2007
What Is A Successful Holland Breeder?
When I first got into Hollands, I observed those who were considered to be successful in breeding and exhibiting Holland lops. I inferred that to be successful, you should buy expensive stock (the best you can afford), breed heavily, cull hard, show a lot, attend national shows, and carefully monitor your national sweeps points.
So I did. Although I never bought any outrageously priced Hollands, I spent money and occasionally got my money's worth. I bred, bred, bred. I showed, showed, showed. And I placed fairly well in sweeps, quality points, and herdsman points.
But what did it get me? Tired, behind on the rest of my life, and contacted by a lot of people I don't know who decided they wanted to buy my bunnies. Of course, they wanted Java or May or Rio, who aren't going anywhere. And the points didn't show up until I was in a totally different stage in my rabbitry. In the end, it wasn't really very satisfying.
So I'm no longer convinced that is the path to being a successful Holland breeder. Or at least, it wasn't for me. If it suits other people, that's great for them.
So what are some other ways to be successful?
I see some people working hard to improve a single variety or to develop a new variety. I would think that would be highly satisfying. Competition takes on a new meaning since you are really competing mostly with yourself.
I would like to do that someday. Right now, I don't have my torts where I'd like them to be. But once I get there (or close - I suppose I'll never really arrive at my destination), I would like to pick a variety to improve.
Some Holland breeders seem to take pride in helping others get started or in supporting other breeders. Sure, they thrill over successes on the table, but they seem to enjoy the moment rather than see a win as contributing to their overall point standings. They can be just as thrilled to see an exhibitor win his or her first leg or first Best of Breed. They put relationships before bunnies. I think that being successful that way would be highly satisfying, too.
Then there are other breeders, actually of any breed, who split their time between their herd and their clubs. They organize and plan, prepare, work the show, and wrap up afterwards, only to start planning for the next show. They know that there would be no exhibitors were it not for folks like them. Involvement is important to many people and could be a very satisfying way to be successful.
There are probably many, many other ways to be successful in Hollands. For me, working on a tightly bred, successful line of rabbits that reproduce their quality reliably is where I define my success or progress toward success anyway.
So if you look at some "successful" breeders and think that you can never compete with that or would never want to do all of the things they do, perhaps you just need to redefine success. Look around for the people who are very satisfied with their Holland hobby. Could they hold one of the many different keys to success?
Laurie ¶ 7:42 AM
So I did. Although I never bought any outrageously priced Hollands, I spent money and occasionally got my money's worth. I bred, bred, bred. I showed, showed, showed. And I placed fairly well in sweeps, quality points, and herdsman points.
But what did it get me? Tired, behind on the rest of my life, and contacted by a lot of people I don't know who decided they wanted to buy my bunnies. Of course, they wanted Java or May or Rio, who aren't going anywhere. And the points didn't show up until I was in a totally different stage in my rabbitry. In the end, it wasn't really very satisfying.
So I'm no longer convinced that is the path to being a successful Holland breeder. Or at least, it wasn't for me. If it suits other people, that's great for them.
So what are some other ways to be successful?
I see some people working hard to improve a single variety or to develop a new variety. I would think that would be highly satisfying. Competition takes on a new meaning since you are really competing mostly with yourself.
I would like to do that someday. Right now, I don't have my torts where I'd like them to be. But once I get there (or close - I suppose I'll never really arrive at my destination), I would like to pick a variety to improve.
Some Holland breeders seem to take pride in helping others get started or in supporting other breeders. Sure, they thrill over successes on the table, but they seem to enjoy the moment rather than see a win as contributing to their overall point standings. They can be just as thrilled to see an exhibitor win his or her first leg or first Best of Breed. They put relationships before bunnies. I think that being successful that way would be highly satisfying, too.
Then there are other breeders, actually of any breed, who split their time between their herd and their clubs. They organize and plan, prepare, work the show, and wrap up afterwards, only to start planning for the next show. They know that there would be no exhibitors were it not for folks like them. Involvement is important to many people and could be a very satisfying way to be successful.
There are probably many, many other ways to be successful in Hollands. For me, working on a tightly bred, successful line of rabbits that reproduce their quality reliably is where I define my success or progress toward success anyway.
So if you look at some "successful" breeders and think that you can never compete with that or would never want to do all of the things they do, perhaps you just need to redefine success. Look around for the people who are very satisfied with their Holland hobby. Could they hold one of the many different keys to success?
Laurie ¶ 7:42 AM
