ND Doe Critique PIC Heavy

[lelanatty]

These are some does out of Natty Dwarfs Rabbitry, and I'd like to know what you all think of them. The first two are littermate sisters born in late August, they are almost seniors now. I had sold them as FFA projects, but got the opportunity to buy them back and jumped at the chance. All three of these does are out of the same sire. The third is three and a half months old. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Natty's Big Sandy, BUD

Natty's Cedar

Natty's Aransas

Thanks again for your comments

 

[Shaded Night Rabbitry]

Hey Lela! Long time no talk... again~

Big Sandy;
Not something I would personally use, even considering the variety. The head doens't balance, which I would much prefer to see a still balanced head with a BUD. I do like the thickness to the ears, and they look to be decently rounded, but are also folded and longer. Decent color. Not a fan on the midsection, which is mostly why I don't like this doe. I tried using a girl that looked *very* similar, and she's still 'haunting' my program four generations after. It took strict daughter to father/grandpa/great grandpa to even been a decent length of body and head back, don't even get my started on the ears or color! lol Looks to be a touch pinched in HQ, and not super full.

Cedar;
Getting better. For an otter, i'm not a fan. but if she's a carrier of genes for silver martens then I'm more okay with her. Head's too small to balance, but has an okay shape. Looks like she's molting the head which means it might round out more. Ears look to be an okay length, but are folded and pointed. Would like to see more rufus, but the tan pattern is nice. Decent bone. I'm not sure what she's lacking... Might just be lacking mass all over? Looks very dainty. Needs more in her HQ.

Aransas;
will be a nice brood. Ears too long to balance, pointed. Head's small but as a promising shape. Overall long in body type. Looks to be just a little pinched in HQ. Needs more ticking in the tan pattern.


How's the rest of the herd doin'?

 

[Tobi]

Hi, All three does look to me as pet quality all three have longer ears they do look longer then the SOP calls for they need much heavier bone and are long in the midsection giving them that sloped off apperance. if you do plan on breeding then pick a buck that is very short extreamly heavy in bone and has shorter ears you just need a buck with overall mass compared to the does.

 

[lelanatty]

Shaded Night Rabbitry wrote:

Hey Lela! Long time no talk... again~

How's the rest of the herd doin'?

The rest of the herd is great, lacking in new babies but otherwise very good. I am breeding tonight, though.I have one more critique I will be posting sometime soon onmy homegrown otter buck.

I will be showing Cedar soon. She is actually really good for a doe in this area and since the NDshow classesare mostlySr. Bucks, I think she stands a very good chance, espcially compared tothe doesI have been seeing up on the show tables lately.

We are definitely still a work in progress and have quite a ways to go, but I am seeing improvements in my herd.

I agree with you on all of those critiques. This is their sire (all three):

See the resemblance? :biggrin:

and this is who I will be breeding them to:

 

[TinysMom]

All I can say is...you're making me want to have a Netherland dwarf again....

Yikes...I better stay out of this thread.

 

[MelissaPenguin]

The bun in the last photo is so adorable! I do agree though, the does are a little misshapen. I love the otter colors though (just my opinion). They look a lot like my otter mini rex, instead of a ND in my opinion.

 

[lelanatty]

MelissaPenguin wrote:

The bun in the last photo is so adorable! I do agree though, the does are a little misshapen. I love the otter colors though (just my opinion). They look a lot like my otter mini rex, instead of a ND in my opinion.

The only otter is Natty's Cedar. The other ones are a different tan pattern color called Silver Marten. They are working on Silver Marten mini rex too.

 

[woahlookitsme]

i love cedars eye compared to the other.

 

[mistyjr]

I love the first picture!

 

[lelanatty]

Another one of my babies came back to me yesterday!

I haven't found her a name yet, but wanted to see what you all think of her.

Thanks!

 

[Tobi]

Hi, the second buck is tons nicer then the first buck by head and ear but I am seeing a common flaw in all your rabbits witch is a very long mid section and the ears are longer thinner and not in the right position in does that’s great for brood does (longer bodies) but for a show rabbit it is not good you want them to be nice and short

Below is a picture of one of my bucks that I use on a regular basis notice how short his body is and how well rounded it is. also notice how nice and erect his ears are and the thickness to them when a netherland holds there ears back it is because the position of the ear is not where it should be but back to far on there head.

If you can get you hands on a REALLY nice Black Otter, Silver Marten or even a agouti (Chestnut, Chinn) with a super short body it will help your herd leaps and bounds even if it means digging deeper into your pocket. If not you are just going to be imprinting that long body into your herd deeper and it will start to show its self longer down your lines the idea is to get fide of the "unwanted" flaws in your rabbits as fast as possible .....good luck and if you need any more help pleas don’t hesitate to ask

 

[lelanatty]

Tobi wrote:

Hi, the second buck is tons nicer then the first buck by head and ear but I am seeing a common flaw in all your rabbits witch is a very long mid section and the ears are longer thinner and not in the right position in does that’s great for brood does (longer bodies) but for a show rabbit it is not good you want them to be nice and short

Below is a picture of one of my bucks that I use on a regular basis notice how short his body is and how well rounded it is. also notice how nice and erect his ears are and the thickness to them when a netherland holds there ears back it is because the position of the ear is not where it should be but back to far on there head.


If you can get you hands on a REALLY nice Black Otter, Silver Marten or even a agouti (Chestnut, Chinn) with a super short body it will help your herd leaps and bounds even if it means digging deeper into your pocket. If not you are just going to be imprinting that long body into your herd deeper and it will start to show its self longer down your lines the idea is to get fide of the "unwanted" flaws in your rabbits as fast as possible .....good luck and if you need any more help pleas don’t hesitate to ask

First of all, I am asking for a critique on my doe, not my bucks or my herd in general. I know what is wrong with them. I am currently working on breeding out pinched HQ's, which I think is much more important than midsections and ears at this time because it can affect reproduction. I just do these critique posts for fun as a learning experience and to see if anyone catches something in my rabbits which I didn't.

Secondly, there are no REALLY nice bucks for sale, everyone is using them. I don't live near Pa. like you do where there are tons and tons of ND's. I have been raising ND's for 4 years and it has taken me this long just to get to the quality I am at now. Believe me, I know what I am looking for, and because of that it is becoming exceedingly hard to find rabbits to buy that will actually provide a benefit to my herd without messing up something else that I have already culled out. The only place I could go to get a better rabbit is north, which I absolutely cannot do, so I have to work with what I have. Also, I have 9 holes, and before I had 6. I do not have the space to pick up every little schmuck bunny in the world and see if it grows out to be what I am looking for.

Thirdly, and the point that I am really trying to make, is I don't enjoy being spoken to in the condescending tone in which the latter portion of your post was written. I know you are probably just trying to be helpful, but the comments which you have made have nothing to do with what was asked for originally and therefore are not helpful at all. To prevent someone else from getting angry with you in the future I would suggest answering the questions asked instead of trying to tell them what they should do with their rabbits without knowing the full situation, or ask questions so that you do know the situation.

 

[Tobi]

you asked fof a critqe and I gave you one....i was just tring to help you out on how you needed to improve your rabbits the best. Just because I live where I do doesnt mean I have accese to a milion rabbits my rabbits have been breed by me to improve on the Netherland Dwarf breed. And no I dont know your situation why would I im not a mind reader. Next time you ask for a critqe dont take it so personal when you dont like what you hear I was just trying to help you out next time I will make sure I wont help you Have a nice day!

 

[LindyS]

I must have missed this post. Where have i been?

Im loving all these black otters!!!

I agree with the first post being pet quality as they look all unbalanced. I like round heads that match round bodies. Ears must be short and compliment the head shape.
When the ND is stacked it must show now light underneath and no light between the ears. Eyes must be big and round and be the first thing you notice.

Again I thank everyone for posting these pics, I love black otters.