I'm new to Hollands and was wondering

[Bonniebunnies]

Would this buck be disqualified for any reason (that can easily be spotted)? I think he's just so sweet but I'm unsure if he is pet quality or could be show as well. Any help/advice would be helpful!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What a handsome little guy!

If his ears don't lop, that would be a DQ. How old is he?

 

[Bonniebunnies]

He's only 2 months old. I dont pick him up for another 3 weeks. He's just so adorable I would love to show him if he could potentially win

 

[Susie570]

I love his butterfly

 

[3girls&1man]

I have Holland Lops and usually their ears are already starting to drop by 8 weeks if not all the way down

 

[Susie570]

Sometimes they do take longer to drop though, or they drop early then stand up again, then drop later. His crown seems kind of 'tight' to me (I am still just learning about this stuff), but I could be wrong (??) and it's likely that his ears will still drop down when he gets older, but you really just never know.

I've heard from other breeders here that they can breed two rabbits with very nice 'crowns' together and end up with kits who have airplane ears, or even no lop at all.

I've been looking at this page to help learn about crowns, ears and such... http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-judging/judging-holland-lop-rabbit-ears-crowns/

 

[Dood]

He looks a bit big for 8 weeks, being over 4 pounds as an adult is a DQ and if his ears are not in the correct position other than i don't see any other disqualifications

 

[Bonniebunnies]

Ok, so if his ears don't lop is that a genetic default? I don't want to breed him if he will pass that on.

 

[Susie570]

Maybe... it's really hard to know, but I would think it's MORE LIKELY his kits would have tight crowns (little or no 'lop') than kits from parents with wider crowns.

 

[Prisma]

You can guess with a young junior like this based on parent looks, but to KNOW what he is going to look like as a senior is impossible. He could look nothing like he does now, good or bad. If his ears lop, he still looks like he's got a tight crown. If you can't fit 2 fingers on top of the head without touching the other ear, tight crown (or at least that is what I've found in my breedings). He looks like his crown is slipped pretty bad as well, which will make his ears look longer when they finally do drop. They aren't nice and open either from the looks of the picture. I know babies are adorable and can be a good draw of luck getting a good one cheaper at that age (giant lottery to a point cause there is no guarantee). Do you have any pictures of parents? Its hard to tell with the baby fluff, but the way the hq slopes off makes me wonder if he's chopped and undercut a bit. He's at that point where he's going to start into uglies too, he may look all franken bunny for a few months and you may wonder what you bought before he finally starts to grow back into himself at 6+ months old for a little while before he goes through another ugly stage (some lines take 2+ years to completely develop their heads/bodies). Have you asked how long kits usually take to grow out? Ugly stage times? Do you have a what would seem a good compatible doe for him when it comes to breeding? Almost every line (unless you get up there in price) has some kind of issue with crown placement, its a hard fix. IF you have a nice doe that can match his faults, you could get some nicer babies. There is no magic buck or doe to fix every problem though and you'll have to work improving with each generation (hopefully, some times it just doesn't work the way we want). Body/head are where the most importance seems to be put at the moment on the table (as long as ears are below horizontal plain, not a dq but a fault if not fully lopped). He does seem like he will have a decent head structure, if you place a triangle on his front shot, its all equal and very wide (good thing) and the side view shows a nice shape. With the right doe (like most others with potential) he may give you some nice babies. Holland Lops are VERY competitive, and depending on your area can seem/be even harder (if you have some national competitive people locally showing, great competition but very hard and can seem like you are getting no where even when you make big strides for yourself in breedings). Takes time and patients with HLs, he's a cute youngster with some potential but he's too young to say what for sure. This is, of course, all my opinion and what I've run into over the years....and every one has an opinion which can be very different from one person to the next. I don't know the line you're getting into, the parents, etc and just looking at what I have in picture (body feel can be so much more as that baby fur can hide structure issues like pin bones and pinched/chopped hq).

I've been breeding HL since 2001 showing since 2006, had a year off in 2012-2013. I work with some of the lesser varieties (chinchilla and tri mainly) and have just a few torts to help improve those. It has taken forever to get to some thing I think may do well in a breed class (and that was with a breeding outside from another breeder). I don't go to many shows and ones I do go to I still consistently place mid to upper mid class. Torts are best typed/built because of how they've been worked on so much. If you are really wanting to get into showing, look for an older junior or senior that's done okay or well on the table (if you can afford) and a brood doe or two from same line to work with. If you can't afford one like that, get the best you can so you can get farther faster in your breedings.

 

[Susie570]

Just wanted to say... we have such helpful people in this forum

 

[Bonniebunnies]

Ok so he was born February 24th. I'm going to find out all the specifics of parents too. I'm on a wait list for an older show rabbit but I started to get impatient and found this little guy And chose him basically for a pet and figures if he's show quality then I would go from there thank you for the help I appreciate it!

 

[Prisma]

Ah...well in that case...he looks like he'd make a fantastic mascot or...house bunny even If it wasn't for the siameses taking over here I'd probably have to sneak some one in lol.

 

[Bonniebunnies]

That's his brother. So the wider his head or crown the better?

 

[Susie570]

That's his brother. So the wider his head or crown the better?

Essentially... did you take a look at that link I posted? It talks all about ear placement, crowns and such.

*I* find it difficult to tell how wide a crown actually is, because with the ears UP the crown LOOKS narrower than when the ears are down. :/ There's probably some easy way to tell, but I haven't figured it out yet.

For example, we have a litter of ML x babies. At first I thought they would all have upright ears, then after about 7 weeks I think it was, one baby had one ear drop. She's already gone to a new home, but I've since been told that both of her ears have dropped. She looked like she had a narrow crown when her ears were up, but after they dropped, it looked wider. *shrug*

 

[Prisma]

Equally wide width is good, want wide head wide crown to a point (you don't want the ears starting at the mid side of the head which is very slipped giving the appearance of wide but not really being wide). All babies are really cute when little, can make drastic changes and not even look like the same rabbit in the middle and some times at the end. Since you're just trying to pick a cutie and hope that he's showable, use it as a learning experience to track the line progress so when you do breed from that line you have a better idea what happens as they grow.

It could be their age, but the black seems like a bit of a table hugger (sticks low). Some times this can be worked out, some times its structure. Just have to see which. If you can do hands on before you actually pick, would be best. Avoid any thing that from the side has an obvious dip at the shoulders, curve to the spine, or another deviation of spine issue...this is not good no matter how nice the rest of the rabbit is and often pass through many generations or can cause other issues including later mobility problems. If you can, check out The Nature Trail and Oak Ridge Holland Lops (cannot find the link any more though), they are both excellent sources on HLs for beginners and others.

If you'd like, I can send (I think) via pm 2 pdfs about pinched/narrow hq and general HL type created by another breeder. I just can't post to the group as asked not to.

http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-br ... formation/

http://www.threelittleladiesrabbitry.co ... psbody.php

 

[Susie570]

I wish the 'Three Little Ladies' link had a diagram like that for MLs :/

I guess it's fairly similar from the top... but I'm not sure because they have a different bone structure.

I know that judging the ears/crowns is basically the same between the two, from the nice article I've been studying.

 

[dangerbunny]

Cute little guy but if you are interested in showing I wouldn't recommend a baby. Hollands change a lot and most breeders won't sell one that young as a show prospect because they can change, a lot!

 

[Bonniebunnies]

Oh my goodness I have learned so much from everyone!! Thank you for the links and info im going to keep reading There's so much to learn.