Well the fall season is winding down and it seems that at its conclusion Mom and I have developed some spectacular Silver Fox in our breeding program. Quarry Ridge's Echo has won 4 legs, multiple BOB/BOS, and was barely edged out TWICE for Best 6 class. She is definitely a good representative of what Mom and I strive for in our Silver Fox. This show season our Foxes have been landing in the upper tiers on the show tables consistently, which means that our hard work with them is paying off.
As for news of our other two breeds: Hollands are hopping around in mass in our rabbitry. Each doe we bred in early fall has had a litter and those babies are now soon approaching weaning age. I'm finding it hard to evaluate Hollands as youngsters. They don't really grow into themselves until they are about 6 months old and even then they keep developing as they age into their senior type over their next few years. This of course makes it hard for me to see who I want to keep around and who I want to sell. The youngsters listed on the Holland page will be available at the PASARBA show in Lebanon, if not at an earlier show (if I find one!) Hotots are finally starting to produce. I am now in phase two of my breeding plan, which will be complete at phase four. I bred my "revolutionary" doe to Good Hope's Robert in hopes of putting DARK bands on its offspring. One kit has made it so far, and it is thriving! And, thank goodness, it has really DARK!!!! bands. This kit will be bred to one of my foundation stock in phase three, in order to pull out the good genes my herd carries. At phase 4 I will have my new rock of our herd, which will have the following characteristics: 1. Dark bands, appropriate size 2. A bold head 3. Thick, well furred ears 4. A high, muscular shoulder 5. A broad mid-section 6. A well-developed hindquarter 7. An ability to carry more kits (in does) 8. An apptitude to routinely breed despite climate or season I believe I can acquire each of these traits in the direction I am headed. I would like to see the breed improve beyond its current trend that I've seen on the show tables (any combination of poor shoulders, ragged bands, rough coat, rough hindquarters, big ears, poor heads, etc) in my district. There are breeders out there that I believe are in the right direction, however I strongly feel that Quarry Ridge can and will improve the Dwarf Hotot breed as a whole. We'll see!
0 Comments
|
Archives
March 2020
Categories |