Input on Mercury (Flemish Giant)

[TinysMom]

I know these aren't show poses....I'm going to get a better picture later....but I'm wondering what y'all think of him - he's about 13 pounds now and 7 months I think?

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I don't know much of anything about Flemish type, but I just want to say he's SUPER cute and I love his colour. hehe.

Emily

 

[Elf Mommy]

I'm with Emily...I can't judge anything but my Love for that color and those EARS!!! Just a gorgeous guy!

 

[TinysMom]

This is gonna sound strange - but I really love his rear...it is nice and full (like it should be) - but I'm not sure about his arch. I really thought it looked nicer till I started looking at the pictures.

Now I'll be continually looking at him and trying to figure out how he is....I'd thought about taking him to Killeen along with Sophia but I don't know..a bit nervous.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Looks like a larger version of our Peter (Petey)--good looking Chinchilla--color not the animal.

 

[BlueGiants]

Awww.... Peg, you gotta give us better shots of him. Those are cute but don't do justice to his type. Tough to see his shoulders and proportions... He is a handsome boy... how is his ring color? (Is his left foot white/light on top or that just a reflection?)

 

[TinysMom]

BlueGiants wrote:

Awww.... Peg, you gotta give us better shots of him. Those are cute but don't do justice to his type. Tough to see his shoulders and proportions... He is a handsome boy... how is his ring color? (Is his left foot white/light on top or that just a reflection?)

I was afraid someone would say it was tough to judge from those photos - I'll get better ones later today when I have Robin to help me.

I'll look at his ring color better but I was thinking it was really nice when we got him from the breeder.

I'll have to look at his foot too as I don't know the answer to that question....

 

[TinysMom]

Cathy - all four of his feet are white on top....now to go read if that is a DQ or not...

 

[Myia09]

What an adorable flemish!

 

[TinysMom]

Hopefully these will be better for judging him...I didn't get his shoulders really well though...

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[/align][align=center]He is 13 pounds and 1/2 ounce and is about 7 1/2 months old if I remember right.
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[BlueGiants]

Better photo's! Much better! You can tell he is still young. His head still looks large in proportion to his body. Very nice rise, could be a "touch" fuller over the hips. From what I can see his shoulders look good. He could use a bit more length over the shoulders... but he's still young, that may come. His fur looks good, nice even color distribution, can't really see ring definition in that photo... He looks to have very good bone (it's tough to judge from a photo, but he has good balance.) And it looks like he's full to the table. (He's not pinched at the back)

Some judges would fault (not DQ) the white on the top of the feet. You need to check his nail color. White nails are often seen with the white feet, and that is a DQ.

7 months is an awkward stage, especially for the bucks. (That's why they show 6-8 month olds as Intermediates). Hehas VERY promising type. Good size on him... I like him a lot!

 

[TinysMom]

Thanks Cathy. I really think he has a lot of growing to do still - but he is looking now (in the rear at least) like his older brother that he is a repeat breeding of....and that rabbit has done very well on the tables.

I really like his rear because it feels full and rounded and not cut off at the end (I can't explain that well) and one of the reasons (besides his behavior) that I call him "puppy" is because his back feet are HUGE (at least to me). If you remember the buck that Juan has that I wanted to steal - his back feet remind me of that buck's back feet - very good bone density. His half sister Sophia also has good bone density like that - but her rear isn't as full as his - although it is shaped much the same.

 

[BlueGiants]

I really like how wide his stance is... good wide hips. That'll go a long way in your breeding program. (So many Flemish I see are so narrow (pinched) where their feet hit the table... )

LOL! The big feet indicate that he still has growing to do! He'll grow into those feet and they will balance out as he matures.

 

[TinysMom]

Thanks for the comments - I really appreciate both positive and negative because when I talk to Juan about what I'm looking for in rabbits - and what my rabbits' strengths and weaknesses are....I really want to be able to understand what I'm saying...

So I appreciate the negative as much or more as I do the positive.

 

[BlueGiants]

It is SO difficult to judge a Flemish without putting your hands on it. The only thing I'd look for in a doe that he is bred to isa little morelength. Otherwise, he has a lot that will compensate for any does shortcomings.

 

[pamnock]

I agree with Cathy's impressions of the photos. In the last photos, Mercury's feet are pushed too far forward. It would give a more accurate impression of his length and hindquarters to have his back feet properly positioned. As Cathy mentioned, it's difficult to evaluate Flemish without actual putting your hands on them. I always take a good look from all directions (including a rear view) in order to fully evaluate the hindquarters. (Can you properly pose him and give us a "butt view"?) However, what I'm seeing consistently from most of the photos is that he appears to peak early over the hindquarter, resulting in a slope in the rear of the hindquarter.

The color of the rear feet is actually the desired color (a thin strip of color running down the outside of the foot.) The top of the rear foot being white is normal. The Chinchilla breed is rather anal about the rear foot color - the critical assessment is to be certain that the "undercolor" on the top of the rear foot is slate blue. This is an important assessment of the Chinchilla breeds, however, I doubt you'll see many judges checking the undercolor of the foot of a light grayFlemish. I agree with Cathy that his color looks good for a young rabbit (which often don't have good ring definition).


As Cathy mentioned, Mercury is still young and has a lot of developing and growing to do.

Pam

 

[TinysMom]

I will definitely try to properly pose him later today and get some better pictures. I may also do Sophia (his half sister) and Hermes to get opinions on them also. I won't mess with Athena because she's on day 30 of her pregnancy.

 

[wabbitmom12]

This one is my favorite...LOVE THAT EAR! My very first impression was he had a good rear...so we are on the same wavelength there! It looks full/widein the first set of pics, but like Cathy said, butt shot needed

Such a handsome boy!

 

[nicolevins]

So cute