Please tell me about new hollands - especially holland breeders!

[TinysMom]

I did get help from three breeders at the show this weekend in picking out my starting herd for holland lops. I know they aren't A-1 quality but they all had some strengths and weaknesses that we felt I could work with and hopefully work out.

The thing is - I'm not good at posing hollands or knowing how to pose them. They did explain to me about crown and what that means, etc.

Each of the bunnies is 3 months or slightly younger.

I apologize in advance for the thread being so picture-heavy but I don't know what you need to see.

Sher is the female with the white face - Cindy has the tort face and Dexter is the tort buck.

Cindy was shown this weekend and won a leg under Tonna Thomas - who felt like she had a promising show career but is still just a baby. (The Sr. doe came out of the coop and posed and Tonna said, "A rabbit that comes out and naturally poses...how can you not award that?").

All of us agreed that the crowns looked good - and that they were not fine boned. I don't remember all of the rest of the comments.

I think Sher is a TINY bit cowhocked...but not bad - there was a bit of a discussion about that and the breeders agreed that she wasn't cowhocked enough to say "no" to her.

Also - Dexter's ears haven't dropped yet but everyone felt they would drop soon and that he had a nice crown.

Do y'all agree with that? I know its hard without better pictures. But I'd love to hear comments from other experienced holland lop breeders.

Does this look like a good "starter herd"?

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[Mrs. PBJ]

I love them they look so much like Jessi. I have no idea about the breed show but I wanted to say congratulations.

 

[Myia09]

The tort looks really good in the face..lol..I am no professional but I have been reading alot.

But all three are adorable!

 

[Silver Star Rabbitry]

I don't breed Holland Lops but I have done research on them. All three of them look good.
A Holland Lops head is the last thing to grow, so it will be difficult to tell which on will be the best show wise until they are around 6 months.

Emily

Silver Star Rabbitry
Raising and Showing Quality Silver Marten Rabbits in North Louisiana.

http://silverstarsilvermartens.webs.com/
http://silverstarrabbitry.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

 

[bunnybunbunb]

My only true worry is everyone has a tight crown, and I see long shoulders and undercut bums. Maybe if they where posed better I could tell more. Everyone needs to fill it. Wider shorter heads on the does would be nice. But I am being picky. They are all so very cute. I love torts!

 

[mistyjr]

They are all cute Peg! Nice Job!!

 

[katt]

okay, here is my view on them, but remember that a) I haven't breed hollands in YEARS and b) they aren't posed so it is hard to tell.

the buck (solid tort)- great head, great ear length, needs to have a wider crown. looks a little long in the body, and looks to lack a little 'fullness' (or bulldogness) that you see in hollands, and he looks a little pinched in the HQ.

first doe (light face markings)- really nice 'buck' head, good ear length and thickness, looks to also lack the wider crown. appears to have a nice topline and a nice 'full' body

second doe (heavy face markings)- best crown of the bunch, ears are longer then the others, but not a bad length. she appears to have a 'doe' head though, and it could use some width to it, she also is lacking in the 'fullness' to the body. cannot tell anything on topline or HQ though.

so overall: good starting stock, very good starting stock!

I would honestly look for one more buck though, and get one with great HQ and a great crown.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

:inlove::inlove:

Can I have?? What is this cutie's colouring? If I ever get a Holland, I must be sure to get one who looks like this! S/he looks like a little Beethoven (the dog, Saint Bernard, ya know?)

Soooo cute!

Emily

 

[Silver Star Rabbitry]

She is a broken tort.

Emily

Silver Star Rabbitry
Raising and Showing Quality Silver Marten Rabbits in North Louisiana.

http://silverstarsilvermartens.webs.com/
http://silverstarrabbitry.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Silver Star Rabbitry wrote:

She is a broken tort.

Emily

Silver Star Rabbitry
Raising and Showing Quality Silver Marten Rabbits in North Louisiana.

http://silverstarsilvermartens.webs.com/
http://silverstarrabbitry.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

I'm guessing Broken Black Tort?

Emily

 

[TinysMom]

Both of the girls are broken black tort and the buck is black tort.

The girl with more color on her face won her first leg Saturday and Tonna Thomas felt like she had a lot of promise to her.

Katie - thanks for the comments - one of the things Tonna Thomas said was that the second doe (the only one who showed) needed some more meat on her body and to grow up a bit.

The idea was to breed them when they get old enough - and save enough from selling the littere to be able to buy a nicer buck.

Also - all the breeder I spoke to - stated that at this age it can be really hard to see things because they go through stages - but we were able to tell about the bone structure (fine boned or not), etc.

 

[TinysMom]

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

:inlove::inlove:

Can I have?? What is this cutie's colouring? If I ever get a Holland, I must be sure to get one who looks like this! S/he looks like a little Beethoven (the dog, Saint Bernard, ya know?)

Soooo cute!

Emily

Isn't she precious? I love her face...just love it.

She is so funny too - they were on my lap on the way home (in an opened carrier) and she spent about 1/4 of the time looking out the window (with one ear up and one ear down) and then turning her head and looking back at me - then looking back out the window. She reminded me of a puppy dog the way she was doing it.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

TinysMom wrote:

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

:inlove::inlove:

Can I have?? What is this cutie's colouring? If I ever get a Holland, I must be sure to get one who looks like this! S/he looks like a little Beethoven (the dog, Saint Bernard, ya know?)

Soooo cute!

Emily

Isn't she precious? I love her face...just love it.

She is so funny too - they were on my lap on the way home (in an opened carrier) and she spent about 1/4 of the time looking out the window (with one ear up and one ear down) and then turning her head and looking back at me - then looking back out the window. She reminded me of a puppy dog the way she was doing it.

:inlove:That just makes me want her more!! I love her face too, her markings are just so cute!

So... when is her flight to Washington?

Emily

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

It is difficult to evaluate (or even make assumptions) with a Holland that is not in a correct pose. But I will tell you that, based on these pictures, you have a VERY nice start! Especially for being only 3 months old, I think you will be pleased as this bunch continues to mature.

Hollands often take until about 3-4 months old to start showing promise and then really come into themselves closer to 1-2 years of age. They're a slowly maturing breed but at this point in time, you look to have promising breeding stock!

 

[DeniseJP]

bunnybunbunb wrote:

My only true worry is everyone has a tight crown, and I see long shoulders and undercut bums. Maybe if they where posed better I could tell more. Everyone needs to fill it. Wider shorter heads on the does would be nice. But I am being picky. They are all so very cute. I love torts!

I would agree on the crowns... I cull mine hard as babies starting on the crowns... my best keepers from one line had fully lopped ears by 4-5 weeks and those were my top winners... working with a slower developing line now, the rules have changed.

The heads take longer to develop... imagine an upside down triangle between the eyes to the nose - the line of the triangle between the eyes should be the longest. Does will not have the clunky heads that the bucks have as a rule.

I met with a long time breeder this past weekend who gaveme some pointers on bone to help me find the "best bone" on their youngsters so I am still learning myself.

The best advice I was ever given was buy the best buck you can afford - and if you cannot buy him, save and buy him.

Your rabbits are all cute (love the tort's head to body comparison) and will continue to grow and develop... check out the articles on the Holland Lop Specialty Club website and ask the different breeders at shows about their rabbits - I have found everyone to be very helpful to get me restarted with this wonderful breed.

Posing takes practice for some bunnies - my Segal was good for the first show (he is a young senior) but for the second show he was overloaded and ticked off and would not pose at all. Axel is an older buck and he will go on the table and set himself up. Jemima poses naturally but I work with her to "get the look".

Good luck and congratulations at your show - can't wait to see how they develop!

Denise

 

[pamnock]

It does look like you have a very nice start!

 

[TinysMom]

I am bumping this thread because I found out this weekend that I owe you guys an apology. I know I got defensive in this thread a bit...and this weekend I found out how wrong I was.

You see - when I was at the show - a bunch of breeders and I went over two bucks - Finn and Dexter. We all agreed that Dexter had potential - but Finn was more of a pet rabbit.

I paid for Dexter - got his pedigree, etc. But you can't take rabbits out of the state show until the show is pronounced "over". So he stayed in his coop.

Shortly before we left - I grabbed Dexter - checked his ear - and walked around with him for a while. Then I put him back in his cage - and went and got Sher and Cindy to put in the carrier - with the intentions of putting him in last.

I went back to get him - grabbed him out of the coop after saying, "Your brother left you huh?" because his brother was in the next coop..and left.

I've been calling him Dexter all this time (I'm sure you see this coming) - and went to check his ear for his tattoo on Saturday morning - and found out I didn't have Dexter...I have Finn...the PET quality rabbit.

ARG!. One judge dq'd him for no crown - the other one didn't place him well at all and when I mentioned later about breeding him to Cindy - he tactfully said, "She really deserves a better buck than that one. You need one with a better crown".

The breeder I got him from was there - and I told her what happened (not blaming her at all).

It turns out that the person who bought Finn (and got Dexter) wanted him as a pet and paid cash for him - so she had no idea who the person was.

Can I cry? (Never mind - I already did).

So - I've bought what I hope is a better buck and I'm going to get Finn/Dexter a pet home.

But to those of you who criticized him - I'm sorry I wasn't as open as I should have been. You were right and I was just caught up in the "but three breeders said he would be ok...he wasn't bad like his brother".

DUH.