Friday, February 29, 2008
It's Time Again To Evaluate
From time to time, you should go through a simple exercise that will help you improve your herd.
List your bucks in order from most valuable to least valuable and then do the same for your does.
We're not talking monetary value, what you paid or what you can sell them for. We're talking about the value of the rabbit to your herd.
If you can't make these lists mentally, then to go the barn and physically arrange your rabbits from best to worst. We're not talking about juniors today or senior bucks that you are waiting to see how they mature. We're talking about breeding and showing bucks and does.
Think carefully about the size of barn you want to maintain. If you have more bucks or does than your barn (and your energy and time) can handle, it's time to trim. Or, if as you were lining up your animals you noticed a line where the quality dramatically dropped off, you need to cull some animals.
Before you draw a line and lop off a group, though, do take some time to ask yourself whether any of those rabbits have a quality that you need that is missing in the upper group. That could be a very good reason to keep that rabbit. But be sure you ask yourself whether you could get that same quality elsewhere in a less-faulted rabbits that is compatible with your lines.
Spring is coming and so are hopefully full nest boxes and an active barn. Now is a good time to make some room for new growth.
Oh, you want to know about my lists? Here they are
List your bucks in order from most valuable to least valuable and then do the same for your does.
We're not talking monetary value, what you paid or what you can sell them for. We're talking about the value of the rabbit to your herd.
If you can't make these lists mentally, then to go the barn and physically arrange your rabbits from best to worst. We're not talking about juniors today or senior bucks that you are waiting to see how they mature. We're talking about breeding and showing bucks and does.
Think carefully about the size of barn you want to maintain. If you have more bucks or does than your barn (and your energy and time) can handle, it's time to trim. Or, if as you were lining up your animals you noticed a line where the quality dramatically dropped off, you need to cull some animals.
Before you draw a line and lop off a group, though, do take some time to ask yourself whether any of those rabbits have a quality that you need that is missing in the upper group. That could be a very good reason to keep that rabbit. But be sure you ask yourself whether you could get that same quality elsewhere in a less-faulted rabbits that is compatible with your lines.
Spring is coming and so are hopefully full nest boxes and an active barn. Now is a good time to make some room for new growth.
Oh, you want to know about my lists? Here they are
- Lord*
- Crazy Horse*
- Padawan*
- Rio*
- MLK*
- Java*
- Lex*
- Myrddin*
- Mars*
- May*
- Padme*
- Arabica*
- Fabrizia*
- Jamillia*
- Lexus*
- Roxie*
- Kazia*
- Francesca*
- Kizzy
- Evita
- Hope
- Belle
*Proven and actively producing
Some of those girls have the potential to move up when they start producing live young and then again when they produce live young that are keepers. Does have the potential to move down as their production declines. Only Kazia is not granded, but if there were more variation in their success on the table, that could affect their ranking, too.
Yes, that's really my herd - 22 seniors, 20 of which are granded. In the barn, I also have 1 junior brood doe, 1 pre-junior show doe (hopefully), 13 babies on the wire, and 6 babies in the nest box. In addition, I have two young senior bucks for sale and two rabbits sold, waiting for pick-up/delivery.
Laurie
¶ 10:57 AM
