Holland Lops are hard to raise, but just what exactly does that mean? According to most breeders, the difficulty comes chiefly with reproduction. While there are other aspects of the breed that can present challenges, such as an ‘ugly stage,’ almost all complexities are related to breeding and reproduction in one way or another. Peanuts, fuzzies, faders, unshowable colors, bad mothers, false pregnancies, and does not conceiving are a few of the most common – and frustrating – issues that Holland breeders encounter.
To address these all in a single blog would require a LONG post, so I’ve chosen to focus today’s blog on presenting some statistics. I’ll be sharing a couple of charts that show percentages of offspring that we’ve gotten over the past couple of years of breeding.
The chart below shows our percentages of healthy kits vs. kits we’ve lost, over a period of two years and about 50 kits. The pink and blue sectors represent our healthy kits. The green, brown, and orange sectors represent the kits that ultimately didn’t make it. Peanuts are kits that are born with the lethal double dwarf gene (for more information on peanuts, click HERE). DOAs are born dead or have passed by the time we find them, and faders are kits that fail to thrive and pass sometime between birth and weaning.
Now, there are still several other types birth defects that can occur in dwarf breeds. We have been fortunate not to have to deal with any of these yet, but I do want to make sure that you’re aware of that.
The chart below shows our percentages of healthy kits vs. kits we’ve lost, over a period of two years and about 50 kits. The pink and blue sectors represent our healthy kits. The green, brown, and orange sectors represent the kits that ultimately didn’t make it. Peanuts are kits that are born with the lethal double dwarf gene (for more information on peanuts, click HERE). DOAs are born dead or have passed by the time we find them, and faders are kits that fail to thrive and pass sometime between birth and weaning.
Now, there are still several other types birth defects that can occur in dwarf breeds. We have been fortunate not to have to deal with any of these yet, but I do want to make sure that you’re aware of that.
As you can see based off these statistics, overall, we have lost about 25% of our kits and have raised about 75%. We have also averaged quite a few more bucks than does! I’m very grateful that we’ve been able to raise so many healthy kits, because the unfortunate reality is that we could have easily dealt with more loss. Other breeders, especially those with larger rabbitries, can report that it is not uncommon to loose whole litters, or get an entire litter of peanuts, or watch one kit fade after another. Overall, we’ve been very blessed with many healthy and adorable babies! But now, I’m going to show you two more charts. The first shows our statistics from this year, 2015, and the second shows our statistics from our first year of breeding, 2013. I think the results might surprise you.
This chart shows our offspring produced in 2015. As you can see, we had a successful year, and were blessed with lots of healthy babies. We lost only 1 peanut this year. Again, we ended up with lots of little bucks!
This chart shows our offspring produced in 2015. As you can see, we had a successful year, and were blessed with lots of healthy babies. We lost only 1 peanut this year. Again, we ended up with lots of little bucks!
Now this chart shows our offspring produced in 2013. In that year, we lost exactly 50% of our kits. I had one litter of all peanuts, one litter of all DOAs, dealt with stuck kits, and averaged more peanuts in each litter. I would say that this chart probably represents a more ‘typical’ look at what Holland Lop breeders deal with. Even though it’s sad to lose babies, the losses always encourage me to be even more grateful for healthy kits. On a happier note, this is the only year so far that we’ve had more little does than bucks!
Hopefully this look at our offspring statistics helped to show you what reproduction challenges can look like for breeders. Breeding Hollands is hard, but when you get that healthy litter of kits, or your homegrown Holland wins its first leg, it's all worth it! Do you have a way to keep records of babies born at your rabbitry? We'd love to hear about it!