question about lineage?

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Hi, I'm talking to a dwarf hotot breeder in my city, and she's selling a kit to me when he's ready. She said that the kits are from the Mingus and Percy lines. I don't know anything about dwarf hotot lines. Are these good lines? This is her first Hotot litter, usually she breeds Holland lops.

 

[JBun]

Those are both well known lines. Is this just going to be a pet or do you plan on showing?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I just bought my first pair of Hotots at Convention and Patty Percy was recommended to me by a number of friends. I ended up getting my pair from her and am VERY pleased!

However, be careful about buying lines and not the rabbit themselves. Every rabbit should be evaluated for its own individual characteristics. Once a rabbit leaves the barn of a well-known breeder, those breeders are no longer in control of what they're bred to, what the babies are sold as, etc. The name on a pedigree doesn't guarantee quality- the characteristics of the rabbit itself does. If the rabbit is well bred, having that consistent, well-known line behind it is then a benefit because you have the opportunity to reproduce the characteristics of the line with careful breeding.

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Jbun, I might dabble in a little bit of showing, but mostly I just fell in love with the breed and HAD to have one sooner or later. It's sooner rather than later though because my mom said I could have one as my 'big' Christmas present. This lady is the same woman who bred Snickers, and he's healthy and happy and high quality. I'll definitely evaluate the babies and make sure I'm getting a good bunny, though.

 

[JBun]

Since you want to show, you'lll want to become really familiar with the breed and the type of characteristics that you want in a show rabbit, as well as becoming familiar with things that are disqualifications. You wouldn't want to think you are getting a rabbit to show, and at a show have it disqualified for something.

I love my hotots and their beautiful eyes! Mine weren't terribly friendly when I first got them but I won them over, and now they are constantly begging for nose rubs

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

I've seen pictures of both of the parents and both babies, there's no disqualifying marks or anything, but I'm not entirely sure of all of them, I'm still researching. They're a week old today so I have plenty of time to learn as much as I can.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Most disqualifications won't be apparent at only a week old. Especially on a marked breed where stray spots may develop later on.

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Like I said, I'm a novice when it comes to showing.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Good Advice given I just wanted to say good luck!

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Like I said, I'm a novice when it comes to showing.

That's why we're offering advice.

You might consider purchasing the Standard of Perfection booklet from the ARBA's website. This has the standard for each breed inside, broken down by point value, so you can learn more about what to look for in the breeds you're interested in. It also lists specific disqualifications that you can watch for when you to pick out your new bunny.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

rabbit=OakRidgeRabbits;947809]That's why we're offering advice.

You might consider purchasing the Standard of Perfection booklet from the ARBA's website. This has the standard for each breed inside, broken down by point value, so you can learn more about what to look for in the breeds you're interested in. It also lists specific disqualifications that you can watch for when you to pick out your new bunny.[/QUOTE]

I found a PDF copy of the dwarf hotot part and I downloaded it. I've been reading up as much as I can, but I don't have a credit card to order the actual book. Do you know of any good websites I could check out? I'm also teaching myself about genetics in case one day I want to breed.

 

[pamnock]

You might find my "Dwarf Hotot Photo Essay" helpful. http://midatlanticdwarfhotot.com/articles.html

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Here's some pictures of the babies and their mama

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Also, thanks Pamnock!

 

[KittyKatMe]

Sooo cute!

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

Here's the rest of the pictures the breeder sent me. The one of the adult poking his head out of his cage and the one with the red eye glare is the babies' father.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Super cute pix! Good luck!

 

[JBun]

It's hard to tell, but the mom and dad don't look too bad, ears look decent. The dads eyebands look like they might be pretty nice. Hopefully he passed that on to his babies. I'm no expert though. I think pammock knows alot about hotots. Maybe she'll chime in.

Of the two babies, the small one on the left could be promising. The one on the right looks pretty big, and if it grows to be over 3 lb. then it can't be shown, so that's something you'll want to keep in mind as it grows older if you still plan on showing your rabbit.

Something that I've found with the different rabbits and babies that I've had, The longer they stay with mom, and the later they are weaned, the better, between 6-8 weeks. There's always the health benefit from nursing from mom longer, plus I've noticed that it also can help behavior wise. They seem to learn better manners from being with mom and siblings longer. I suppose the exception would be if mom isn't people friendly and passes that on to her babies. I would make sure you talk to the breeder about when she plans on weaning the bunnies. Weaning at 7 weeks would be ok, 8 weeks would be even better. You absolutely don't want it weaned earlier than 6 weeks, 7 would be alot better though. If the breeder plans on weanning before 6 weeks, ask if they could be weaned later than that.

I bet you're pretty excited! It's so fun to get a new baby Good luck!

 

[12lawliet12Snickers, Truffle]

The breeder said she doesn't give anyone babies under 8 weeks old. And I'm very excited! I absolutely LOVE hotots and I can't believe I found a breeder within 20 minutes of me!