Xerocles
Loving the herd life
I am on track with my rabbitry. My goal was to be 100% ready to GET stock by mid December, and the prognosis is good.
BUT.
There's a fly in the ointment. I am going to have meat rabbits. And I have done LOTS of research. One buck, three does to cover my personal needs, allowing for an easy breeding schedule for the girls, off months for the heat, new mom disasters, and general screw-ups from me.
The plan: All pedigree stock...not show quality, but quality stock. Cross hybrid vigor, so an assortment of breeds. NZ and Californians don't seem like too much of a problem...plenty of relatively nearby breeders (quality???). But my third breed choice...Champagne d'Argent. Planned on a pair, for comparison of the hybrid vigor thing and to plan for future breeding buck. Why Champages? I don't know. They just captured my attention. Right size/grow-out/bone ratio/disposition and I find them aesthetically appealing.
Now, I can't find them. I found 5 breeders in my state for Chanpagnes. Four had unworking telephone numbers/web addresses. One I contacted and she no longer does rabbits. The ARBA only lists 3 breeders in the US, all in the northeast and 3 days drive. I FINALLY FOUND AN ACTIVE BREEDER! And he's only a 4 hour drive away. He's been doing this since the 40's and apparently was one of the driving forces for Champagnes in the US.(back when HE was in the N.E. also). Downside is he has no available stock at present, available in Feb. And apparently already spoken for...but maybe I can work a deal. Downsides? Doe and buck would be littermates AND obviously would put off breeding age to somewhere late spring. I'm patient...but not sure THAT patient.
Now the quandry, and its two pronged. Do I "settle" and go with available breeds to get the program started, and treat them as "training" stock, to get some meat in the freezer and retire them early when I can get what I really want? (A couple of roasters wouldn't be so bad in 6 months) Or do I just get young juniors and hone my patience skills?
The second prong of the dilemma plays into this decision now. Originally, this was purely for self consumption meat purposes. But now I find that the breed I like is seemingly scarce. Do I branch out (and to me this seems pretty silly in that I have no experience) and become a dual purpose program of meat AND....what do you even call this?....breed to keep the line active and provide more breeding stock? I'm not much of an entrepreneur, so that thought is kinda frightening. The grunt work I can handle, but the marketing is foreign to me.
I know that I, and only I can answer these questions. But often outside eyes, especially experienced ones, can help to illuminate the path. Thoughts, please?
BUT.
There's a fly in the ointment. I am going to have meat rabbits. And I have done LOTS of research. One buck, three does to cover my personal needs, allowing for an easy breeding schedule for the girls, off months for the heat, new mom disasters, and general screw-ups from me.
The plan: All pedigree stock...not show quality, but quality stock. Cross hybrid vigor, so an assortment of breeds. NZ and Californians don't seem like too much of a problem...plenty of relatively nearby breeders (quality???). But my third breed choice...Champagne d'Argent. Planned on a pair, for comparison of the hybrid vigor thing and to plan for future breeding buck. Why Champages? I don't know. They just captured my attention. Right size/grow-out/bone ratio/disposition and I find them aesthetically appealing.
Now, I can't find them. I found 5 breeders in my state for Chanpagnes. Four had unworking telephone numbers/web addresses. One I contacted and she no longer does rabbits. The ARBA only lists 3 breeders in the US, all in the northeast and 3 days drive. I FINALLY FOUND AN ACTIVE BREEDER! And he's only a 4 hour drive away. He's been doing this since the 40's and apparently was one of the driving forces for Champagnes in the US.(back when HE was in the N.E. also). Downside is he has no available stock at present, available in Feb. And apparently already spoken for...but maybe I can work a deal. Downsides? Doe and buck would be littermates AND obviously would put off breeding age to somewhere late spring. I'm patient...but not sure THAT patient.
Now the quandry, and its two pronged. Do I "settle" and go with available breeds to get the program started, and treat them as "training" stock, to get some meat in the freezer and retire them early when I can get what I really want? (A couple of roasters wouldn't be so bad in 6 months) Or do I just get young juniors and hone my patience skills?
The second prong of the dilemma plays into this decision now. Originally, this was purely for self consumption meat purposes. But now I find that the breed I like is seemingly scarce. Do I branch out (and to me this seems pretty silly in that I have no experience) and become a dual purpose program of meat AND....what do you even call this?....breed to keep the line active and provide more breeding stock? I'm not much of an entrepreneur, so that thought is kinda frightening. The grunt work I can handle, but the marketing is foreign to me.
I know that I, and only I can answer these questions. But often outside eyes, especially experienced ones, can help to illuminate the path. Thoughts, please?