So if you follow us you will know we have spent the last year studying and learning from our little herd. One thing that I often ponder is using BUD and BUB in your breeding program. I have seen excellent breeders who are on both sides of the fence on this one. Some are against the big uglies where others thrive well with them. So being that I kind of like to see for myself, we kept a homegrown that is quite a large girl. Whenever I walk past her cage I imagine that song from "Just Dance" playing, "Big Girls you are Beautiful". Now this would of course make her brood however don't let that full you. She has bone and mass and a huge head to go with that large body and yes, she can also hold the holland pose which shows she is also proportionate.
So lets back up a bit. Had it been up to me I don't think I would have ran out and bought a doe this large even though many top breeders use them. I was very pleased with a perfect little bundle of all dwarf rabbits. I knew my rabbits were dwarf because of the peanuts I would get in my litters. However, from my two dwarf rabbits, I ended up with 2 peanuts, 1 dwarf and 2 normals. So I was hesitant to keep the normal doe, especially as she grew but chose to try it out. We have had one litter from her which is now almost 4 months old. Not one of them have gone over weight. They all are just the perfect size it seems. Of course now I can't quite tell if they are dwarf or normal until they are bred. But it was just a curious observation. I breed two small rabbits and get 2 large rabbits, I breed one large rabbit and get all small rabbits. Sigh. Not exactly sure there is any rhyme or reason to this sometimes. So size aside, my lovely large girl has produced some really nice stock. In our other litters we could usually go through and pick the nicest of the litter by 3 months and with her, that is not the case because they are all almost equally nice. So perhaps having a big girl is in your favor. We are expecting a new litter of torts this weekend so we will have to see how this all turns out in a few months.
So lets back up a bit. Had it been up to me I don't think I would have ran out and bought a doe this large even though many top breeders use them. I was very pleased with a perfect little bundle of all dwarf rabbits. I knew my rabbits were dwarf because of the peanuts I would get in my litters. However, from my two dwarf rabbits, I ended up with 2 peanuts, 1 dwarf and 2 normals. So I was hesitant to keep the normal doe, especially as she grew but chose to try it out. We have had one litter from her which is now almost 4 months old. Not one of them have gone over weight. They all are just the perfect size it seems. Of course now I can't quite tell if they are dwarf or normal until they are bred. But it was just a curious observation. I breed two small rabbits and get 2 large rabbits, I breed one large rabbit and get all small rabbits. Sigh. Not exactly sure there is any rhyme or reason to this sometimes. So size aside, my lovely large girl has produced some really nice stock. In our other litters we could usually go through and pick the nicest of the litter by 3 months and with her, that is not the case because they are all almost equally nice. So perhaps having a big girl is in your favor. We are expecting a new litter of torts this weekend so we will have to see how this all turns out in a few months.
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