Many breeders start selling their rabbits when they are 8 weeks old and on the other hand, buyers nowadays are fast learning to use bunny language, terms and lingo. But when both these situations collide, we do have a slight problem.
I am not sure how other breeders react to the question “Are they show or brood quality?”
I must say that this is a irrelevant question when it comes to buying a young rabbit. No one can guarantee if the rabbit at 8 weeks would turn out to be Show Quality or even winning material for the matter. I for one will never ever guarantee my 8 weeks old are show materials. I can see the potential but can never guarantee a 100% show quality.
In many incidents, I found that buyers can only relate the term “Show Quality” to the little chubby “bulldog”ish look in a Holland Lop and at the same time disregarding the Standard of Perfection altogether. They are not aware of the Standard of Perfection at all and as long as the little bunny is chubby and cute, anything goes. The term “Show Quality” is merely used as a search criteria just like how we enter keywords into Google for a quick search. It has lost all its meaning and weight.
As a friend commented on this subject, “even a show quality rabbit that is not well taken care of can turn out to be a pet quality rabbit”. I go a step further to say that even if it is a show quality animal, it is very subjective whether if it gets thrown off the show tables first or stay on and claim its Best of Breed title.
I have learned that this hobby is extremely dynamic and subjective. And like how my mentor puts it, we should breed according to the Standard of Perfection and also, “BREED FOR WHAT I LIKE”.
But just for the fun of it and throwing in a little humor into the subject, I would like to say that every 3 or 4 weeks old Holland Lop deserves the BIS title.
Let me tell you why with the photos below:
Perfect at 3 weeks?
The truth of the matter is, you can never be sure until the rabbit is at least 4 months old.
BUT, this should not be taken as an excuse to sell rabbits at 8 weeks and saying, “It’s hard to tell at 8 weeks”. There is a keyword called “Potential” and I shall leave that up to the breeder who you are buying the young rabbit from to explain further why he/she thinks the rabbit(s) in question have the potential.
Good luck in your search!
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 