Breeding Decisions

One of the toughest things for me to consider in my program is choosing the proper buck and doe to breed. These past few breedings were productive and I have 3 Juniors that are very promising, two in show coats and showing and one barely growing her coat. I am excited to see how they develop.

I already started choosing carefully which does are worthy of breeding. Quite frankly, I only keep the best rabbits I get from breedings and cull heavily. This has given me the opportunity to get some nice rabbits for showing.

Talking to friends, I notice the pressure to begin breeding in December for the ARBA Convention in November of 2014. The awesome thing is that the Convention will be held in Texas this year and I am ecstatic about it. I, like many other Texas breeders of the Angora rabbit, are feeling a bit of pressure since we want to present some wonderful rabbits that will compete at this National level. We all want to show everyone that Texas is able to produce show quality rabbits that can win at the table. This is a feat that we hope can be accomplished next year.

At RTA, I always look at the qualities I need to improve in my line and carefully plan how to do it. Having a very small herd is not tough, though it is mind bogling thinking of what each individual rabbit has to offer and how to pair them together is not as easy as one may think. While other individuals will breed "nilly willy" and hope for the best, I do not believe in that system, nor do I condone it.

When I am asked about planning breedings, I always say that I take my time, look at each rabbit, evaluate them carefully, and think very clearly what I want to accomplish with the breeding. I try my best to keep it simple, though at times, one gets more colors than one wants to work on.

I will see how these breeding decisions pan out...