We are continually working to improve our lines at all times. Every time we evaluate our stock we look closely at every detail and strive to select stock that is going to help us improve. It is a continual balancing act. We completely understand each animal has certain parts that are more valuable for our herd. Some does we keep specifically for their balanced body, even though they may lack bone, or head. Some we keep because they are massive and can help us with bone and hind quarters and shoulders. Some we keep to size down our stock. And in the event we end up with someone special to show, then that is great. But the important part here is we are working always to improve. We are not keeping stock because it's fluffy or cute. We aren't keeping it because of it's color. We are only keeping it because we feel it can improve the Holland Lop Breed in our barn.
That being said I took a side by side picture of Buddah and his son. It is not an easy task to get two bucks to sit together I have learned. I was able to get a shot that truly demonstrates my point. When we purchased Buddah we had specific things we wanted to work on. We had some narrow head issues going on and some mass issues. Of course he wasn't the biggest boned buck on the block, but he was an improvement. From one of his litters we kept a very large boned gal. She was full in every which way. From her we produced our cute little Rudy. Naturally he isn't perfect, I would love to fix that crown, but if you look at them, you can clearly see that we have improved on shoulders and bone! Look at the width between his legs, vs his sires. And look at the bone in those front limbs. Hooray for visual improvement!
I wish I had the patience to take more side by sides of sires and offspring... perhaps I will attempt that next month. It is fascinating to see the transformation from where we started. I can't wait to look back in 5 years and see how much we have changed.
That being said... I will put my 2 cents in here. It's not about making babies or making money. That is beyond shallow and just plain stupid. If you're going to pursue this hobby, at least work at doing something great with your herd. Quit selling your babies off for profit. Grow your stock and understand your lines and work to improve. Yeah you won't get rich that way, but the benefits far outweigh the money you make from being a sleezy pet breeder. You truly can't improve by selling off your litters. And there is no such thing as a pick of the litter when it comes to juniors. It takes time and patience and much of the time that pick of the litter you had your eye on becomes the ugly duck by the end of 6 months. I've had my favorite ones go down the hill time and time again, where the ones in my cull pen ended up being my favorite. In fact, our cute little Rudy was actually for sale on KSL because we didn't think he was going to work for us. Glad we removed that ad quick and reconsidered. It seemed like the very next week he blossomed from a long eared gangly Holland into something we really wanted to hang on to. At this point I honestly feel that letting go of most of your stuff before 6 months can lead to some big mistakes. By 4 months I feel comfortable with figuring out who can offer what to our herd and if we need it or not. But if I have doubts on any, it's staying for at least a few more months.
That being said I took a side by side picture of Buddah and his son. It is not an easy task to get two bucks to sit together I have learned. I was able to get a shot that truly demonstrates my point. When we purchased Buddah we had specific things we wanted to work on. We had some narrow head issues going on and some mass issues. Of course he wasn't the biggest boned buck on the block, but he was an improvement. From one of his litters we kept a very large boned gal. She was full in every which way. From her we produced our cute little Rudy. Naturally he isn't perfect, I would love to fix that crown, but if you look at them, you can clearly see that we have improved on shoulders and bone! Look at the width between his legs, vs his sires. And look at the bone in those front limbs. Hooray for visual improvement!
I wish I had the patience to take more side by sides of sires and offspring... perhaps I will attempt that next month. It is fascinating to see the transformation from where we started. I can't wait to look back in 5 years and see how much we have changed.
That being said... I will put my 2 cents in here. It's not about making babies or making money. That is beyond shallow and just plain stupid. If you're going to pursue this hobby, at least work at doing something great with your herd. Quit selling your babies off for profit. Grow your stock and understand your lines and work to improve. Yeah you won't get rich that way, but the benefits far outweigh the money you make from being a sleezy pet breeder. You truly can't improve by selling off your litters. And there is no such thing as a pick of the litter when it comes to juniors. It takes time and patience and much of the time that pick of the litter you had your eye on becomes the ugly duck by the end of 6 months. I've had my favorite ones go down the hill time and time again, where the ones in my cull pen ended up being my favorite. In fact, our cute little Rudy was actually for sale on KSL because we didn't think he was going to work for us. Glad we removed that ad quick and reconsidered. It seemed like the very next week he blossomed from a long eared gangly Holland into something we really wanted to hang on to. At this point I honestly feel that letting go of most of your stuff before 6 months can lead to some big mistakes. By 4 months I feel comfortable with figuring out who can offer what to our herd and if we need it or not. But if I have doubts on any, it's staying for at least a few more months.
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