Need help deciding!

[Easy Ears]

Hey guys! Decisions, decisions....
I raise Dutch, and I have a dwarf/dutch mix buck, and a Dutch/mini rex mix doe.
I recently found a person that has a show quality Dutch, so should I sell my old doe, and buy the new one?
My current doe has a longer snout...which I like the rounder face in the babies, but I guess I need some more info on the other doe....I don't know if they have bred before... Hmm.... questions? Suggestions?

Kara

 

[Bad Habit]

Be sure to ask :
Age
Breeding History(misses when bred, successful kindles, number of kits kindled vs number of kits weaned)
Pedigree(does she have it, is it full)
How well she handles(is she going to attack you when you reach in the cage? Does she tolerate nail clippings? Are you going to need welding gloves to handle her)
Is she destructive? Does she dig out her feeder all the time and waste food? Does she have a high chew drive? Pull the cage wires? Has she learned to open cages?

There are more questions, I know, that I just haven't added to my list and thus will continue to escape me until I buy a rabbit and find a reason to add it to the list.
The answer to these questions(and your desired answers) will help you decide if this new doe will be an asset to your herd or not.

 

[Easy Ears]

Thanks Bad Habit! That helps!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Easy Ears,

you say you raise Dutch, but then mention two rabbit mixes... so do you have purebreds and mixes? Or just the mixes?

Unless you are raising them for meat, I would get the purebred doe AND a buck and stop breeding the mixes. Not that the mixes can't make nice pets, but people will pay more for purebred rabbits, especially if you are showing them and do well. Dutch rabbits are tricky in that it is hard to get perfect show quality markings, so you will still have plenty that will be good only for pet homes.

 

[Easy Ears]

Hey MamaSheepdog!
I raise Dutch mixes. I know what you mean, but I'm attached to my male! :bunnyhop:
I just sell babies for a little extra saving money... it's not a big endeavor. I actually do get quite a bit for them! (If you call $30 a lot... They turn out really cute, cause my male is ND mix, so most of the babies have the round faces with chub cheeks!!!! :lol: SO CUTE!) my female is a minirex/Dutch cross, so she has a longer face...and less of the perfect Dutch markings, and I'm not as attached to her...but my male I cannot give up! :roll: Haha, I was just wondering if I should try to go for the more perfect markings...but the babies actually turn out pretty good! (If you'd like to see them I have a photo gallery on my website: http://easyearsrabbitry.jimdo.com/ )
But ya, I wanted to start out with purebred, but then I got attached to my breeders (male mostly), so I just decided to stick with them. :roll:
Haha, well I'm going to be getting into Holland's and ND's, so I'm making sure I at least get purebred, if not pedigree with them. Thanks for the input though!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Well, if you like them so much, why not keep back a doe kit and breed back to the dad? You can develop your own personal line of little pet bunnies!

I have a similar project myself, developing maned Rex rabbits. I haven't ever tried selling any for pets or anything, but it is fun to breed toward some type of goal. So decide which features you feel are most important in your buns and go on from there.

 

[Easy Ears]

The lady sold the doe. :x Oh well, I kind of made up my mind to keep my old girl! :cat-hug:

 

[shelly027]

I found a breeder close to me that has a silver Marten Netherland dwarf that is almost most 6 weeks old or a 6 week old broken color one that is a Netherland dwarf to. which one should I get for a pet rabbit ?we alreadyrabbit.Just want another.

__________ 6UTC18, 20142014-10-18T10:22:46+00:0031 15,2014 10:46 am10 __________

I found a breeder close to me that has a silver Marten Netherland dwarf that is almost most 6 weeks old or a 6 week old broken color one that is a Netherland dwarf to. which one should I get for a pet rabbit ?we alreadyrabbit.Just want another.

__________ 6UTC18, 20142014-10-18T10:22:54+00:0031 15,2014 10:46 am10 __________

I found a breeder close to me that has a silver Marten Netherland dwarf that is almost most 6 weeks old or a 6 week old broken color one that is a Netherland dwarf to. which one should I get for a pet rabbit ?we alreadyrabbit.Just want another. <br /><br /> __________ 6UTC18, 20142014-10-18T10:23:05+00:0031 15,2014 10:46 am10 __________ <br /><br /> I found a breeder close to me that has a silver Marten Netherland dwarf that is almost most 6 weeks old or a 6 week old broken color one that is a Netherland dwarf to. which one should I get for a pet rabbit ?we alreadyrabbit.Just want another.

 

[Easy Ears]

Have you met either of the rabbits? If not, you should set up a play date, and see which you like best. (And examine each rabbit thoroughly for any problems. )