What to look for in NDs

[CoolWaterRabbitry]

So my mother is taking up breeding/showing Netherland Dwarfs (hehe the rabbit bug is spreading ^.^) and I'd like to help her pick out a good starter setat the next show.

I know several breeders here have them, so what are the key points when looking for a ND?

 

[Shaded Night Rabbitry]

CHUNK.

XD

You want a nice, bold head with some great curvature. A lot of people want chunky jowels, too.
Very solid body. Short midsection, strong shoulders. Be wary of long midsections and weak shoulders (ESPECIALLY DIPS).
Straight back feet. Short, too.
Heavy bone is always a plus! (Trust me, you'll fight for a long time to try to get it.)
Correct toe-nail color. I see lots of mismatched toes lately. X.x;

Just a small list. X3

 

[Silver Star Rabbitry]

You will also want to look for short, thick ears.
Some dwarfs have temperament and breeding issues, so I would also look for rabbits out of easy producing, calm parents.

Emily

Silver Star Rabbitry
Raising and Showing Quality Silver Marten Rabbits in North Louisiana.

http://silverstarsilvermartens.webs.com/
http://silverstarrabbitry.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

 

[CoolWaterRabbitry]

Well, a breeder she's in contact with now is going to be sending her pictures of a few, one is a jr. black buck who's sire has won 18 G.C. legs so we're hoping that this buck will fit the description that you have stated and that's in the SoP.

Along with that she's looking at a few tonight as well. So I'll post pics as soon as she takes them. :biggrin2:

 

[lelanatty]

Can't wait to see what you come up with!
Is she interested in any particular varieties?

 

[CoolWaterRabbitry]

She LOVES the sable marten color, she was looking at a jr. doe tonight of that color. Other than that I think she'll be looking into the main varieties (blacks, blues, chocolates?, possibly brokens) and maybe otters....no clue lol

 

[CoolWaterRabbitry]

She bought the sable marten ^.^

She's not posed the best since mom is still learning, and it looks like she hasn't gone through her jr. molt yet (I think she said she's...9 weeks on her pedigree). But my mother really wants to have this color in her barn.

What do you think?


*edit, sorry if the second picture comes out big (its the same size as the first just looks huge on my computer)*

 

[Jaded]

GOOD Type, Color & ears, Size are the main things to looks for

 

[lelanatty]

A very cute little girl! She ought to be an excellent brood doe if not more!
Sable martens should be fairly easy to find. They pop up quite a bit, it seems.
Do you know how many holes she is planning on having or any other logistics? I am sure she is just happy to have her first bunny! :biggrin:

 

[CoolWaterRabbitry]

She's not quite worried about rabbitry size, its more of buying the quality and turning it into quantity (mom mother's house is on 12 acres so size wise she can expand all she likes lol).

Really breeders around her tend to cull sable martens so when they pop up they're very hard to get (at least with the breeders we've talked to).

The sable marten I think will be her "color" breed, but she'll focus more on the common varieties for showing. I know she's talked about getting breeding pairs of a few colors, all of show type, but wants to get at least the bucks on the show tables if the does are proven and out of showing condition. If anything she'd show both genders and get the judges comments on them all to see what she needs to work on with breeding.



I like the little girl too, she has a ton of growing out to do still (from the picture her shoulders look a tad bit low).

 

[lelanatty]

If I am seeing correctly, It looks like she is in a head molt, where it looks like she has a triangle going down her forehead, and this, in my opinion, is indicative of the beginning of the junior gangly stage.
At this point in time her ears are just a tad long and her head is not very round like we like to see, but her hindquarters look good.
Her body is posed better in the second picture, and it doesn't look exactly like her shoulders are low, maybe just lacking depth, and she could be slightly long in the midsection. But, those are the characteristics you look for in a brood doe, and that could all completely change by the time she is 4 months old.

Can't wait to see how she turns out

 

[Jaded]

Need to work on those ears too, i really like her color! her color is very rare in my country.