Bet 'cha never heard that one before, huh? This post is meant to recognize the animals working "behind the curtain" (that curtain would be the Internet). My favorite brood does!! Many of them are not listed on my website and actually, I don't think I have even posted pictures of them on my blog! It's not necessarily that they're lesser quality animals-- many of them have shown very well and have exceptional type.
The truth of the matter is that once you breed a doe, they're no longer as nice as their maiden doe, selves. Their body tends to gain length and their once plump and wide bodies become somewhat pinched in appearance. As well as their coat begins to appear scruffy due to not only pulling a large majority of it out for their babies, but their babies often use their mother as a pillow and sit on her. They tend to not even bother showing the courtesy of moving to defecate in the corner of the cage like normal. Instead, they soil their mother's coat. If that wasn't enough, there's always the occasional litter that chews their mother's fur.
You now may realize why these does cannot be featured online. They're simply never in the condition to do so. They live a peaceful life in my rabbitry eating loads of food, getting Mani-Pedi's once a month, devouring treats of calf manna and hay, and being featured as the dam on the pedigrees of my best show stock.
However, I was walking around my barn late last night, checking on everyone and quietly thinking about future plans in my barn when I realized something I have been exceedingly blessed with. I realized that I have been blessed with a vast number of perfect first-time moms! This is not to say that I haven't had my share of horrid moms and does that I culled due to the fact that they were hopeless in a breeding program. I have experience in that as well. But looking around the rabbitry, I realized that nearly 3/4 of my does were perfect mothers their very first time. To list a few, Manda, Katara, Cosette, Lovie, Annie, Mia, Blue Boots, and Paramore were all perfect first timers! And the best part is that they are passing this first-timer instincts to their daughters who are in turn, becoming perfect first time moms!!
Looking at this, it has been proven to me that culling for mothering instincts is truly one of the most important things I have done so far. When purchasing my first Hollands, I specifically wanted a big brood doe who would produce nicely for me. Ladies and gentlemen, Manda, a two year old solid black tort BUD with fabulous genetics, was my first Holland doe since re-starting and she has been just that. A big brood doe who has produced nicely for me. And she's a ham... running madly around her cage until I come back and rub her head. <3
Re-starting my Hotot program, I wasn't quite as lucky. My first two does were a pain since day 1. The black banded doe wouldn't take and the sport kept losing her litters. Eventually I was able to get a litter from the sport but the banded was culled. I eventually got more does but as time and generations passed, I was increasingly unhappy with their production. I got a consistent 1-3 babies per litter, usually born on the wire, every litter had at least one fader, peanuts were there of course, the does took 1-3 litters before they'd even try to be good moms, they often delivered dead and stretched babies, etc. I could go on and on! I was lucky to get one baby out of each litter and that one baby would tend to lack in type significantly. I believe I was able to receive two decent animals, total out of that line after 5 years of struggle.
In November 2012, I introduced a new line with one pre-bred doe to my herd. The doe delivered her litter which consisted of 2 peanuts and 1 BUD. I raised the BUD and added her into my program. When she was 5 months old, I bred her and she delivered a litter of 4 bucks and was a fabulous first timer. I didn't like the type on the bucks so I sold them and bred this doe again. Long story, short, this doe now has 2 daughters and 1 son producing their own babies on my barn. Her daughters are excellent mothers and her son has sired nearly 15 litters in the couple of months that I have had him in the breeding crew.
Adding that single doe into my line one and a half years ago has resulted in excellent mothering instincts, increased production, phenomenal type, 3 generations passing, and that doe branched into 9 of my very best animals. And the best part? .... I only had this doe for two months before she tragically was killed by a predator when my rabbitry was still located outdoors. This doe had that massive impact on my herd by living here for 2 months and giving me 1 daughter. Her daughter was able to take and carry on her legacy long after she was gone.
It is through having excellent production and even better mothers in my barn that has helped me to move forward so quickly. Without these excellent mothers, I would still be struggling raising my herd of two so-so typed rabbits with horrible instincts and no babies.
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Paramore and her babies--
I love the little banded buck on the far left! |
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| Telsa and her babies |
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| Blue's 3 babies-- all 3 are blue... (sigh) |
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| Hollands make such perfect nests! |
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Cute little telsa doe at almost 4 weeks.
They're a pain to pose at this age! |
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