Breeder Opinions

[bunnybunbunb]

Ok, I am at a bridge, this bridge has 3 forks leading off it and I currently don't know which way to go. To the point, I have a doe I am going to breed before the heat rolls in. I don't breed of the summer but I want to have a decent group of junior Lionheads to pick from to better my herd for fall breedings. I have a doe I want to breed that is black otterand I have 3 options(bucks) to pick from. All have cons but which cons is the best cons to have? I honestly don't know what to do at this moment.

The first buck, he is a tort otter, I like the otter color but breeders around here don't want to work with it so findinghomes the babies might be tough. He is also on the big side near 4 pounds. His head is wooly but everything else is pretty clean besides the little wool he has on his flanks, this being said his mane is pretty much unknown. It keeps chewed off. His body is a bit long but he is very solid and wide. His legs are shorter and lacks straitness. He is forsale but He is an option.

The second buck, he is a tort. Very tiny, under 3 lbs. He is very wooly but in the 3 months I have owned him it has not growned long. Only clean part is his back. His legs are decently long but like the first buck's they arn't strait enough. His ears are longer too. Also forsale.

The third buck, he is a black from both black but tort carrying parents. This is a big con for me, blacks arn't very wanted in the Lionhead world, or at least not here. I like black but the possiblities of having all black babies scares me a bit. He is a very tiny buck, around 2 1/2 lbs or something. His body is VERY clean, basicly no flank wool however his head is wooly. His mane has been tiny since I got him but it is getting longer. He is maybe a little long but has beautiful long strait legs! He is related to the doe making it a linebreeding of rabbits with great clean flanks and nice manes in the line.

What do you all think? They are my only 3 bucks and the first 2 are forsale. From my breedings I am working on getting a better buck to make my 2nd herd buckbut that won't work if I don't make the right pick.

No fights or telling me not to breed please. I have made up my mind on breeding the doe but I want others' opinions on what buck I should use.

Thank you all.

 

[TinysMom]

Can you give us any more information about what the bucks and doe are out of for parents?

The problem is - black otter is going to be dominant to both black and tort. If your black otter doe has any tort in her pedigree or even any self (black, blue, chocolate, lilac) - then you have a chance for selfs.

But with what you're telling us so far - you're most likely going to get black otter out of any of those breedings - simply because on the "a" gene - the otter is dominant over black and the tort comes from the "e" gene....

I'm not sure how to explain it without making it sound like a bowl of alphabet soup...

Peg

 

[TinysMom]

I'm going to go ahead and give you my answer - but I might change my answer depending upon how you describe the doe.

As a former lionhead breeder, I would almost always choose a smaller buck over a larger one - unless my doe had poor hindquarters (skinny).

I'm not sure what you mean by "straight" legs .... sorry. One of the main things I look for is the buck's "line". Let me see if I can post a couple of bucks for you.....

This is Castle Gate's Lil Rascal - I loved him dearly - a blue otter. He died way too young...

Notice the amount of "space" you see between his tummy and the table? It is because his body itself is "long"...the less space you see in that open area - the shorter your buck is and the better they are for breeding.

This is Sting as a baby - I need to take his picture now. He is very short in body - sits upright - but there is almost no space between his tummy and the table....

That is the first thing I look for - do they have a short body.

I also look at the head and ears because that has been changing - particularly in the NorthEast where they have a lot of lionhead shows.

This used to be what you'd see on lionheads for a head...

Now you see more like this (notice the head shape and ear shape)...

These two are of Isenstar - a sister to Sting up above...

Basically - the ears are becoming more "cat-like" and the heads are becoming rounder and less flat and long.

You might want to go to www.lionhead.us and look at pictures of last year's Nationals winners and try to find bucks that have that type of build?

Peg

 

[bunnybunbunb]

I'm pretty good in rabbit genetics, the doe is ataBBCCDDEeVv.

I just looked her over, like I said she is long but pretty full. She has the old type ears and head. I'm not great at lionhead type but try to pull what I can.

For the legs I ment you want the front legs to be as strait as possible, not to be curved.

The black buck is aaBBCCDDE-. He has cat ears, funny really. I had people come by looking at rabbits and when they seen him the one tapped the other and said "Look, that one with no ears" I kinda chuckled and said "No, he has ears they are just so short you can't see them over his mane". His head and ears are round. I personally like his look better then my other lionheads but he is more racey? I guess. He isn't as wide as my does. His line is mainly Dj's with Manely's, Prideland, and Cimmaron thrown in.

The tort otter buck is ataBBC-DDee(he has give sable point so i know he isn't CC). He comes from mostlyPrideland lines.

The tort buck is my least favorate in type. His body is like... I guess abox. When he poses his body is like a rectangle. Hate his ears too. He is from mostly lines around her, not very known breeders in the lionhead world but they are here.