Breeding Holland Lops
By Allan Ormond
This is a subject that you could write books about. Many individuals want to
know how to breed the perfect Holland. There are a few hard and fast rules to
breeding. They are as follows:
One: Never give up, be persistent
Two: Know your genetics of who is who
Three: Never quit breeding, never quit breeding, even when the doe sits on the
litter, or scatters them, Or even doesn't take care of them over a couple of
weeks time.
Four: Never, never quit breeding. A very successful breeder shared with me her
secret to success, go out even at 2 am and breed those bunnies, in other words,
be persistent. I have had many people ask me what is the key to success -- And
my answer is always the same, persistence.
During the course of your breeding and raising this breed, you will notice
certain does seem to go with all your bucks. You need to learn which lines these
come out of. This is the key to your future success. Those does carry what I
like to call a generic wheel genetically. No matter where the genetic wheel
lands, they lock up good traits with all the bucks.
Another judge who doesn't raise rabbits anymore shared his secret to success, it
is to cull, cull, cull! You should take out about half of your stock in two
years time, and start over. Using this method, you move forward, force yourself
to be selective, and improve your herd. You can never have enough bucks. They
are a large part of your herd's success. A good aggressive buck will pass all
those good traits on to his offspring.
If you don't have the proper type, go out and purchase the best part you can for
the budget that you have. Don't expect a good breeder to sell his very best
stock just because you may need it. They will sell the very best pieces that
they can let go at the time. If you need a short body, you may have to accept
some other fault not as severe to get what you need.
This past convention we purchased a buck with a huge head, monstrous some would
say. Along with that came a lot of length in the mid section. We have does to
counterbalance that fault, and he is working nicely into our lines. He isn't a
great outcross, somewhat related, but new enough to jazz up the line.
You will see many differing styles of rabbits cross the tables. One problem that
I want to say a bit about is the white tail thing. This is an age-old problem in
Hollands. Some of the old time judges throw every tort off the table that has a
light tail, and it angers me greatly. If you put it up against your show jacket,
you see a difference. They throw it for having a white spot in a colored
section. That is perfectly legal, and I have done that very thing. But a light
tail has no business in that category. It is quickly rectified by just one
breeding to a buck or doe with a dark tail, thus masking the white tail problem
altogether.
If you are new to this breed, remember my four rules. Don't be discouraged, be
patient, be gracious. Remember that the so-called big names in any breed are
only people like yourself. Get to know these folks, pick their brain, and make
friends with them. All of a sudden we awoke one day to see we were the old
timers in this breed. I can still remember my first convention in Tulsa
Oklahoma. Where we are today is a direct product of the above processes. They
are kindness from old timers, patience with the breed, and perseverance to the
end.
Good luck to everyone!
