Do these rabbits have good Type?

[Bee's Beautiful Bunnies]

Hello everybunny! I have a 4 month old Cream Harlequin colored Holland Lop doe and am trying to find a buck to pair her with. I'm mostly going to be selling the kits as pets but want them to have good type as well. So far, I found one 4 week old Holland Lop buck but am trying to figure out if I should get him or not. The buck is the blue tort-ish looking one (I can't really tell from picture) and my doe is the harlequin one.

 

[SableSteel]

The baby buck definitely has better type of the two, but 4 weeks is way too young to tell. Nobody should be decided that young whether a rabbit is breeding quality or not, especially in holland lops where they mature so slowly. Even if you are very familiar with the line, I would wait until 10-12 weeks to determine which ones might potentially be worth breeding. The doe does not have good breed type. She is long in the ear, slipped in the crown, and plain the head. Plus, she is a harlequin (I cant tell which variety of harlequin; they only come in four shades - black, blue, chocolate and lilac. Not cream. I am leaning towards black harlequin, but it is hard to tell in pictures. You always go off of the dark patches of the fur when determining harlequin color, never off of the light/orange patches) which is not a standardized color. People use harlequins to make tricolors, which is a standardized color, but for that to happen she needs to be bred to a tricolor or broken pattern buck.

 

[Bee's Beautiful Bunnies]

The baby buck definitely has better type of the two, but 4 weeks is way too young to tell. Nobody should be decided that young whether a rabbit is breeding quality or not, especially in holland lops where they mature so slowly. Even if you are very familiar with the line, I would wait until 10-12 weeks to determine which ones might potentially be worth breeding. The doe does not have good breed type. She is long in the ear, slipped in the crown, and plain the head. Plus, she is a harlequin (I cant tell which variety of harlequin; they only come in four shades - black, blue, chocolate and lilac. Not cream. I am leaning towards black harlequin, but it is hard to tell in pictures. You always go off of the dark patches of the fur when determining harlequin color, never off of the light/orange patches) which is not a standardized color. People use harlequins to make tricolors, which is a standardized color, but for that to happen she needs to be bred to a tricolor or broken pattern buck.

Okay, thanks for letting me know! I breed for pets so I'm not worried about showable coloring but I'm just wanting to improve type. The breeder was wanting me to pick one out now and place a deposit on it at 6 weeks old so I'm not locked in to getting it yet so I'll have her send more pictures when he's a bit older.

 

[i🤍hollands]

Hello everybunny! I have a 4 month old Cream Harlequin colored Holland Lop doe and am trying to find a buck to pair her with. I'm mostly going to be selling the kits as pets but want them to have good type as well. So far, I found one 4 week old Holland Lop buck but am trying to figure out if I should get him or not. The buck is the blue tort-ish looking one (I can't really tell from picture) and my doe is the harlequin one.

I agree with SableSteel! The buck shows promise in his conformation, but it's definitely too early to tell for sure now. However, you could purchase him now, and watch him grow out for a couple months! At that point, if you feel he's not a benefit to your herd, you can find him the perfect pet home. Keep in mind they may take up to 4-6 months to get out of their 'uglies' stage. If that's something you don't feel interested in doing, I'd look out for an older, maybe proven buck. Make sure you find one that complements your does flaws. Although she's definitely lacking in type, you could work towards it with a buck that's got nice ear/crown placement, and a big chunky head with a lot of width. Don't be scared to just buy a black tort! They're common, but the pet world doesn't know it! And a large majority have good type and good lines.
I think your doe is a beautiful color for pet breeding! I believe she is a chocolate harlequin, although she could be a just a lighter black harlequin. Time will tell for sure on that! And I'm glad you're working towards type, that's something I wish I had started with as a pet breeder. Sometimes the colors are too much to resist! Good luck

 

[Bee's Beautiful Bunnies]

I agree with SableSteel! The buck shows promise in his conformation, but it's definitely too early to tell for sure now. However, you could purchase him now, and watch him grow out for a couple months! At that point, if you feel he's not a benefit to your herd, you can find him the perfect pet home. Keep in mind they may take up to 4-6 months to get out of their 'uglies' stage. If that's something you don't feel interested in doing, I'd look out for an older, maybe proven buck. Make sure you find one that complements your does flaws. Although she's definitely lacking in type, you could work towards it with a buck that's got nice ear/crown placement, and a big chunky head with a lot of width. Don't be scared to just buy a black tort! They're common, but the pet world doesn't know it! And a large majority have good type and good lines.
I think your doe is a beautiful color for pet breeding! I believe she is a chocolate harlequin, although she could be a just a lighter black harlequin. Time will tell for sure on that! And I'm glad you're working towards type, that's something I wish I had started with as a pet breeder. Sometimes the colors are too much to resist! Good luck

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm the type of person who gets attached to pets so I wouldn't want to get him and have to rehome him haha. Thanks again!

 

[i🤍hollands]

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm the type of person who gets attached to pets so I wouldn't want to get him and have to rehome him haha. Thanks again!

No problem! And one more thing, here's an amazingly helpful link to a fellow breeders site. She's really good at explaining and showing the difference between good and bad type, as well as many other helpful articles about Hollands! I'd highly recommend browsing her site.

http://www.lotsoflops.com/judging-the-holland-lop.html

 

[Bee's Beautiful Bunnies]

No problem! And one more thing, here's an amazingly helpful link to a fellow breeders site. She's really good at explaining and showing the difference between good and bad type, as well as many other helpful articles about Hollands! I'd highly recommend browsing her site.

http://www.lotsoflops.com/judging-the-holland-lop.html

I actually just contacted her recently to get her opinion on the matter haha. I've also been using her site for a while and I agree, it is very useful!