What do you do when your favorite just isn't "good enough" quality?

[Somebunny2love]

Of my current Lionhead litter I had planned to keep 2 and sell the other. My favorite is a gorgeous little sable point doe. However, as she gets bigger, it becomes more and more clear that she just isn't good enough quality to breed when she's old enough. She is VM (one white foot and has blue eyes) and her ears look too wide and really far apart to me. I was really hoping to try for more sable points in the future, but I clearly can't breed this one to get them. My other option is to keep the sable point buck and find a doe to breed him with. He is also gorgeous, of course. I've just bonded with the doe. *sigh* Here are a few pics of her. I would really appreciate some honest opinions on what you would do with her if she was in one of your litters!

 

[terri9630]

We end up with another pet...

 

[pennylove]

You could keep her, breed her to a buck with EXCELLENT type and then take a look at the progeny. If you're lucky you'll get some with excellent or very good type, but if not, at least you'll have given it a try and you can retire her from breeding as a pet.

On the other hand, Lionheads are a pet breed and very small. Keeping her exclusively as a pet doesn't really seem like a big deal--she can't possibly cost much in feed or cage space!

 

[ILuvSheep]

You could keep her, breed her to a buck with EXCELLENT type and then take a look at the progeny. If you're lucky you'll get some with excellent or very good type, but if not, at least you'll have given it a try and you can retire her from breeding as a pet.

On the other hand, Lionheads are a pet breed and very small. Keeping her exclusively as a pet doesn't really seem like a big deal--she can't possibly cost much in feed or cage space!

That and you could breed her now and then and sell the babies as pets, make her a working pet (just not a good one, lol)

 

[TherapyBunnies]

I bought a breeding pair when the doe was 6 mo old. I did not like her very much at all. She hardly had any mane after I groomed her & seemed poor quality. I gave her a chance & bred her. Be a momma has done wonders for her. Since her mane has grown back out from nesting it is really pretty. She has filled out nicely as well. I have kept 2 of her kits & may keep another that has an awesome mane.

 

[BeltaineRabbitry]

I am in this situation now, we have a litter of satins, with only one in the color we are striving for (reds) but this girl is at least half the size of her siblings and has had a rough start. She has good color but her conformation isnt the best and since we breed for mostly meat, with the best going to show homes, I really hesitate to keep this girl in our herd, since we are limited on space. What my husband and I have finally decided to do, is to pick two we are looking at keeping to add to the herd, and letting this one and one of her sisters sit in the "maybe" spot. We are giving them until 12 wks to see what we have at that point (they are jut over 3 wks now), if she has caught up a bit and is still looking good we give her until 6 months old, if by then she isnt on par with her siblings then we dont use her. It is a bit extra feed, and another cage space taken, but since like you we are really looking for this color, we are giving her some extra time than we normally would to show her self.

Maybe that is what your little one needs to, is just a bit of extra time to grow into herself. And if her parents are well made, and you breed to a well made buck, theoretically you have the genes for well made babies, while pushing back her faults.

I wish you luck, I know what your going through and its not fun.