Ethics of Breeding: Part 3
Now that you have determined the quality of your rabbits, and are ready to move forward, you need to define your breeding goals.
Breeding Goals?
Perhaps your heart is in the right place, but you haven't really thought about actual goals? With anything in life, you have 2 types of goals: short term, and long term. The easiest place to start goal setting is with your long-term goal. For most of us, the long-term goal is to improve the breed in general. You will have to define how to measure your own success. For many, multiple BIS wins at national convention would be a good measure of accomplishing your goal of improving the breed. Linda Cassella has accomplished this. But, would she consider that a measurement of her success? You would have to ask her, because these answers are pretty personal and subjective. For others, perfecting "difficult" colors is a great measure of success. Colleen Wagner has made great strides with her opal program. Is a BIS with an opal a measurement of her success? Or is it just a milestone reached along the way? Again, you would have to ask her.
The great thing about setting goals in your breeding program, is that you are answering to yourself. You get to decide whether you are succeeding or failing. When things don't go how you planned, you get to decide whether it is a failure, or a minor setback.
After you set your long-term goal, and determine how you will measure your success, you need short-term goals. Short-term goals are generally the goals you have with each litter. So, instead of saying "He is cute and she's a sweetheart, I'm going to breed them together" you want to look at all of your options. Start with the doe you want to breed. Look at her true qualities. How is her coat? Is the texture correct? Is the density there? How is her body? Look at her worst flaws. This takes some real honesty. Once you determine her worst flaws, select a buck that shares the least mount of those flaws with her. Place priority on the more important things. For example: I would breed for wide shoulders before worrying about a wide nose. I would breed for a compact body before worrying about facial furnishings. (However, if the furnishings are practically non-existent, I wouldn't breed the rabbit at all.) Place emphasis on the most important things first. Later down the road you should be able to narrow in on the little things.
Exactly what goals to set, and what features to breed for first, are entirely up to you. But if you keep setting goals, and working hard to accomplish them, you should see progress that you are proud of.
What not to do: Don't breed 'nilly-willy.' Don't just throw a couple of rabbits together for more babies without carefuly thought and planning. I was a newbie like everyone else once. I did that with my first litter. Most of us have. I'm not perfect. Nobody is. We grow as we learn. We realize the mistakes we made, and we try to encourage others to not make the same mistakes.
See part 4 of our breeding segment here
Breeding Goals?
Perhaps your heart is in the right place, but you haven't really thought about actual goals? With anything in life, you have 2 types of goals: short term, and long term. The easiest place to start goal setting is with your long-term goal. For most of us, the long-term goal is to improve the breed in general. You will have to define how to measure your own success. For many, multiple BIS wins at national convention would be a good measure of accomplishing your goal of improving the breed. Linda Cassella has accomplished this. But, would she consider that a measurement of her success? You would have to ask her, because these answers are pretty personal and subjective. For others, perfecting "difficult" colors is a great measure of success. Colleen Wagner has made great strides with her opal program. Is a BIS with an opal a measurement of her success? Or is it just a milestone reached along the way? Again, you would have to ask her.
The great thing about setting goals in your breeding program, is that you are answering to yourself. You get to decide whether you are succeeding or failing. When things don't go how you planned, you get to decide whether it is a failure, or a minor setback.
After you set your long-term goal, and determine how you will measure your success, you need short-term goals. Short-term goals are generally the goals you have with each litter. So, instead of saying "He is cute and she's a sweetheart, I'm going to breed them together" you want to look at all of your options. Start with the doe you want to breed. Look at her true qualities. How is her coat? Is the texture correct? Is the density there? How is her body? Look at her worst flaws. This takes some real honesty. Once you determine her worst flaws, select a buck that shares the least mount of those flaws with her. Place priority on the more important things. For example: I would breed for wide shoulders before worrying about a wide nose. I would breed for a compact body before worrying about facial furnishings. (However, if the furnishings are practically non-existent, I wouldn't breed the rabbit at all.) Place emphasis on the most important things first. Later down the road you should be able to narrow in on the little things.
Exactly what goals to set, and what features to breed for first, are entirely up to you. But if you keep setting goals, and working hard to accomplish them, you should see progress that you are proud of.
What not to do: Don't breed 'nilly-willy.' Don't just throw a couple of rabbits together for more babies without carefuly thought and planning. I was a newbie like everyone else once. I did that with my first litter. Most of us have. I'm not perfect. Nobody is. We grow as we learn. We realize the mistakes we made, and we try to encourage others to not make the same mistakes.
See part 4 of our breeding segment here