Silver Marten Critiques

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Silver Star Rabbitry

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I would like to get some critiques on these 4 month old does. It's probably not a good time to take pictures, they are kind of in an ugly stage since they are just starting to shed their Jr. coats, but I would love to here everyone's opinion. :)

Silver Star's Glitter at 4 months

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Glitter at 3 months

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Silver Star's Sugar

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Silver Star's Spice

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Silver Star's Shimmer

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Overall, I'd rate their general type as being very good, with Glitter being the one which catches my eye the most. The 3-month old pic of Glitter is that of an awesome animal with solid potential, at least in my humble opinion. Her body type is solid, sharp and consistent from the shoulder to the hind quarters, at least judging from the side view.

Is your rabbitry an outdoor setup? The reason I ask is that all 4 rabbits are showing signs of having been exposed to a bit too much direct sunlight. It can have a negative effect on their coats by giving a reddish, sunburnt tinge to the finish, and it's a particularly obvious problem when it involves darker-colored rabbits. I know it was a nightmare for me the first time around, especially with Black and Californian Satins.

If you have an outdoor rabbitry, I'd suggest moving their hutches to a more shaded area of your property, or create some artificial shading to offset the sunburning. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how much of a difference it makes in the overall finished product, and the extra "brownie points" it will earn you in the showroom.
 
Glitter: She peaks early which makes her HQ slope off instead of round out. She is also a little undercut and pinched. Good markings, she just needs to molt out that baby coat :)

Spice: I like her until you get to the Hindquarter she is undercut and pinched. She could use a little more depth over her hips but it's not to bad at all.

Sugar: PEaks early, so her HQ slopes and she is chopped and pinch in the hindquarter as well, and could also use more depth

Shimmer: I love love love the type on her, except for the chopped hindquarter if she rounded out better she's be perfect. So over all she is the smoothest, most balanced animal out of the four, she has killer depth and just looks good.
 
Thank you for all of the comments! :)
My rabbitry is indoors, but I think that all of the heat may have caused the sunburnt coats. Is that possible?

This is Sparkle. She is 4 months old in the first picture and 3 months in the others. Any comments?

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The heat likely caused the discoloration. Unless you have a climate controlled operation (something which few of us have), heat will always be a factor, and God only knows we had some bad heat this summer.
 
I like Sparkle she has good depth and width to her body, except she is really pinched you can see the way her heels turn in and her hips point outwards. Laso she is narrow in her shoulders, you don't want to much of a difference between the width of the shoulders and the width of the HQ's.
 
Here are some updated pictures of Spice. She is now 5 months. I think that she turned out pretty nice. Her hind quarters have filled out well and she ended up with a pretty good coat. I know that the pictures make her look kind of pinched. I don't think that she is, though.
Good enough to send to convention?

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You'll never know how well she could do at the convention unless you take her to Minnesota and put her across the table.
 
I agree with Billy. :)

I don't know enough about Martens regarding coat, etc., but her hindquarter has fleshed out more with growth/maturity for sure. When I looked at pictures of them online, they looked to be posed more like NZW's than compact breeds like Mini Lops. It looks like your pics might be a bit more scrunched (hind toes almost touching the front elbow), but I know it is hard to pose and take pics at the same time (and my Elops thwart me constantly in that regard, lol).

Do you have an ARBA membership? If so, there is a section in Domestic Rabbit magazine on judging four rabbits and placing them 1st-4th place. Last time they did New Zealand Whites and this time they are doing Mini Rex- I found it pretty neat and informative so far, so you might enjoy it too.

Also, here is a page I found on judging the Silver Marten:

http://www.terryfender.com/Judging-the- ... Marten.php

Best of luck with your pretty doe!

Lauren
 
Thanks.:)
I was planning on sending her and had contacted one of the people handling the entrees, because I was 2 days late, but the ARBA is saying that I am not a member even though I send in the $12, so I can't enter her. :no: Maybe next year.

Emily
 
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