Harlequins - choosing between type and three part fronts...

[ladysown]

three kits in question

just two weeks old, so yeah I know they can change, but these three I've had my eye on since birth.

1. really light chocolate; best type of the litter
2. blue : so so type, good front
3. black : horrible type (for my eyes it will be lanky), excellent front.

ARGH!!!! hopefully the black will become a horrid three part frontal as it matures so I'm not tempted to keep it.....

all are potentially looking like does....so.. what would YOU do? go for type? go for markings? I cannot keep all three.

Going down to 17 rabbits in the fall... so only room for 3 does. A different doe will be leaving... Momma stays for one more shot with the hopefully soon to becoming new buck.

 

[eco2pia]

As I understand it, Harli markings aren't directly heritable, but more of a luck of the draw...so I would choose for type.

 

[ladysown]

that's what would make sense in the long run....
but three part fronts I can show....

Argh... I hate things like this. I'd rather have a litter of mismarks and one good typed one than to have two good marked kits and one good mismarked kit and have to think... breed for show? breed for type? maybe I'll be surprised by week 8.....

 

[mi_ku]

I cannot keep all three.

I'd say go for 2, she has a good front (so you can show her) and she has decent type that you can work on improving. I'd rule out 3. If the pattern isn't heritable, then there's no point in keeping her for breeding and I would hope she wouldn't do to well at shows, if she's so lacking in type. I think 2 is the happy medium here.

 

[5dognightfarm]

Keep the black and the chocolate. Breed the chocolate, show the black, breed the black to something with nice type. Or to a son of the chocolate