Thursday, April 03, 2008
Replacing Does
First, I'd like to report that May started eating her pellets. I'm quite relieved and much more optimistic about her full recovery now.
You identify a promising doe, show her a bit and put her to work producing. She misses or has a dead litter and you rebreed her. If all goes well, you get some live babies. Two are peanuts, two are false dwarfs, and one just might possibly be show quality. This pattern goes on with her sometimes missing, sometimes having problematic litters (like 6 peanuts), sometimes not having good milk, and then the weather gets some litters or one dies from enteritis.
And all the while you collect up the true dwarfs, and further cull them for conformation, trying to figure out which bucks she produces the best with.
And all of a sudden, she's 2 or 2 1/2 years old.
You realize that you should replace 1/3 of your does every year. Otherwise, you'll end up with a geriatric ward of does that produce one live baby a year each. But it seems that you finally got this doe figured out and it's time for her to leave!
My normal rule is that I sell a doe at 2 1/2, regardless of how well she is producing. Some breeders have a rule that does go by age 2. I personally want to sell a doe while she still has some productive life left in her. That way, I can make some feed money from her without worrying that I'm selling my friends something useless.
And it's fun to sell something that you believe can help someone else's herd. Winning isn't the only way to have fun and satisfaction in this hobby.
I have decided to make certain exceptions. Those exceptions may be for love. There are just some rabbits that you love and can't part with. Other exceptions may be for extraordinary producers who show no signs of slowing down (but will just two months after you decide to keep her!)
I'm having to make exceptions now because there are no does coming up to replace any of my girls. I've only produced and kept three does during the last 12 months - yikes!
But I hope to get back on course in the foreseeable future. When I have new does coming in, I will be more disciplined about selling does on time.
Following that policies means that my herd will always be youthful. It means that my gene pool will be out there, being worked, and perhaps occasionally making its way back to me, improved.
That policy also lights a fire under me, breeding-wise. I know that I have just so much time to produce something from a doe, so there's no time to waste.
I should say that if I purchase a doe that is 2 1/2 or older, then I keep her for the rest of her reproductive life or until I have a replacement doe. I know when I buy her that she's not got 3 more years in her. But she does come with a breeding history, so that takes a lot of the guesswork out of things. I should be able to find out from the past owner what she tends to throw and which lines she has crossed well with.
Laurie ¶ 2:34 PM
You identify a promising doe, show her a bit and put her to work producing. She misses or has a dead litter and you rebreed her. If all goes well, you get some live babies. Two are peanuts, two are false dwarfs, and one just might possibly be show quality. This pattern goes on with her sometimes missing, sometimes having problematic litters (like 6 peanuts), sometimes not having good milk, and then the weather gets some litters or one dies from enteritis.
And all the while you collect up the true dwarfs, and further cull them for conformation, trying to figure out which bucks she produces the best with.
And all of a sudden, she's 2 or 2 1/2 years old.
You realize that you should replace 1/3 of your does every year. Otherwise, you'll end up with a geriatric ward of does that produce one live baby a year each. But it seems that you finally got this doe figured out and it's time for her to leave!
My normal rule is that I sell a doe at 2 1/2, regardless of how well she is producing. Some breeders have a rule that does go by age 2. I personally want to sell a doe while she still has some productive life left in her. That way, I can make some feed money from her without worrying that I'm selling my friends something useless.
And it's fun to sell something that you believe can help someone else's herd. Winning isn't the only way to have fun and satisfaction in this hobby.
I have decided to make certain exceptions. Those exceptions may be for love. There are just some rabbits that you love and can't part with. Other exceptions may be for extraordinary producers who show no signs of slowing down (but will just two months after you decide to keep her!)
I'm having to make exceptions now because there are no does coming up to replace any of my girls. I've only produced and kept three does during the last 12 months - yikes!
But I hope to get back on course in the foreseeable future. When I have new does coming in, I will be more disciplined about selling does on time.
Following that policies means that my herd will always be youthful. It means that my gene pool will be out there, being worked, and perhaps occasionally making its way back to me, improved.
That policy also lights a fire under me, breeding-wise. I know that I have just so much time to produce something from a doe, so there's no time to waste.
I should say that if I purchase a doe that is 2 1/2 or older, then I keep her for the rest of her reproductive life or until I have a replacement doe. I know when I buy her that she's not got 3 more years in her. But she does come with a breeding history, so that takes a lot of the guesswork out of things. I should be able to find out from the past owner what she tends to throw and which lines she has crossed well with.
Laurie ¶ 2:34 PM
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Thanks for an awesome post- it really made me think about how to deal with our does. I do have a question though- if they are show does - do you have an age to breed them by or do you get them granded first?
Thanks
Three Little Ladies Rabbitry
Thanks
Three Little Ladies Rabbitry
# posted by 
: 9:47 AM
: 9:47 AM
I'll give a doe roughly 60 to 90 days to grand. After that, it's time sell or breed. Generally really nice does will have their two junior legs, but sometimes I've had does not mature until they were seniors. If they are going to grand, they can do it within that timeframe. If you are shopping them around longer than that, they probably aren't really GC material (or you had the bad luck of showing when some other doe was hot, hot, hot). NEVER LET YOUR BREEDING PROGRAM SUFFER DUE TO SHOWING.
Laurie
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Laurie
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