New litter and some other breedings...

There is a litter of pure HT in the nest right now, they'll be 20 days old on May 11th. It was a litter of 8. One was a runt, leaving 7. Four of those are big, healthy beautifully marked Hotots. Two are sports with a few small black spots and one is a dutched sport.
The breeding was April x Spot so I expect a few big, well typed rabbits from this litter.

In addition to the outcross litters, coming up, there are two more litters of pure HT due in the next 30 days or so. I'll post about them when they happen. So with a little luck, it will be a busy May-June!

Blanc de Hotot x Satin Cross UPDATE

I'll try and get some pictures up of my Satin cross doe as soon as I make up my mind. It is down to two candidates. They both have nice type, one possibly better than the other, but I can't decide.
One will sit and let me pose it up perfectly and stay that way for a few seconds. This rabbit appears to have really, really nice type. Super compact with an immediate rise from the back of the skull, nice shoulder, good flesh and and rounds to the table nicely.
The other appears to have almost or as good type, but won't sit still for a second! And this feisty one is heavier that it's litter-mate. Given the choice, with type being equal, I will always choose the heavier rabbit. In this case, my choice would have been: lighter rabbit with great type or heavier rabbit with what looks to be good type,.. but I can't tell because she won't sit still!!
So I put them both back in the cage and will look again in a day or two.

Blanc de Hotot x Californian cross UPDATE

This HT x CA doe took her first breeding today (5/1/10).

She was bred to HT Buck 0C36B, who has 4 GC legs. She has an almost immediate rise from the back of the skull with nice depth, and rounds nicely to the table. Her fur also is dense with visible guard hairs. The roll-back fur is is just starting to be noticeable of course. She is compact, a trait needed in the breed. The dewlap will have to be reduced, since no dewlap is allowed on bucks and only a small dewlap is allowed on does.

Her weight is a hair over 9 lbs. She maintains that on 3/4 cup of feed daily with no supplements.

Easily making Sr. weight and staying there without having to be on free-feed and being an overweight ball of fat is a must in my opinion. Fat rabbits aren't healthy and can have problems conceiving.

If they make Sr weight with a lean body, it is then easy to put them in show condition, and they'll be right in the middle or top of the breed weight range and in nice flesh.

Californian x Beveren cross UPDATE

The Ca x BV doe took her first breeding this week. She was bred to HT buck 0C12D, a pure HT that has 3 GC legs. He is also more compact, since the longer shoulder from the Beveren needs to be shortened up. Well, it's no surprise, I knew this would be a longer road than with a Californian or Satin.

Highlights in this doe? I feel there are a lot! First is the fur of course. The BV fur is the big attraction to this cross, it it roll back and longer than most other breeds so it is already the right fur, and it is pretty great! This F1 doe has dense, long fur with the roll back well on its way. Just a great thing to run your fingers through!

She has no blue in her eyes which is a good thing, but we all know that Vienna Gene is waiting there to pop out sometime.

The small dewlap is a good thing too. Better than having to breed it down, that's for sure!

The loin and hind quarter are MASSIVE! While the CA I used in this initial cross was a compact rabbit with a strong shoulder, I give credit to Kim Calloway who bred the Beveren I used in this cross, for the rear 3/4 of this rabbit. Kim's rabbits have loins that are wider than the palm of your hand, and the depth in his rabbits is just great too. He's been breeding Beverens for 30 years or more and has what are generally considered some of the best if not the best there are.

This doe weighs in at 9 and a half pounds, and true to requirements, she maintains that weight on 3/4 cup of feed a day.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the results of this first step in my BV project. If the shoulder can be shortened up and the fur maintained, I think that will be the biggest part of the battle.