I have run into a situation that I
feel should be brought to the attention of fellow Flemish
breeders. A very interested teen, who had a few Flemish and
had purchased a “Sandy” doe, showed me her pedigree, and I
saw that it had Fawn and White parents. The White parent had
in its background Lt. Grays, Blacks and Steels.
I have no idea if the breeder of
this doe knew a Flemish mixture of this sort should not be
sold with papers. This is not the first Flemish breeder I
have encountered who is doing this.
This very promising girl is not the
first to purchase a cheap, worthless (as far as breeding
stock is concerned) rabbit, and unless some of the more
principled and concerned breeders step in and try to help
and educate these people, she won’t be the last.
Hopefully, the vast majority of us
aren’t in it for only the money and prestige of winning, but
to help others learn about and enjoy these beautiful
rabbits. In particular, we need to be encouraging the
younger people, for without them the future of this great
breed is doomed.
The prospective new buyer of any
age, should ask about and be educated in the seven colors of
the Flemish. It should be explained to him/her the colors
that can be crossed and those that should not be. They
should be told what potential results can be expected if any
of the colors are mixed, such as Sandy and Fawn, or Black,
Lt. Gray, Steel, and White. It should be explained that
Blues should only be crossed with Black and only those with
as little of the other colors as possible. And that
Sandys and Fawns should NOT be mixed with ANY
of the others.
A prospective buyer should be
informed if the rabbit he/she is buying has a variety in it
that isn’t obvious from the color, such as a Fawn in a Sandy
or vice-versa, or in the Steel-Light.Gray-Blacks-Whites and
Blues. The novice buyer interested in this latter group may
not realize the variety he is purchasing is very likely to
have any one or more of the colors in his litters.
If Flemish breeders want to play
with colors, that is their choice, but it should be done
intelligently, and the offspring should NOT be sold
with pedigree papers or for breeding stock. We have had
enough problems in the past keeping the colors correct to
have to go back and start again. It takes much longer to
correct the mistakes than to avoid them in the first place.
We hate to lose new breeders because of a bad experience
they would not have made if they had been educated in the
colors.
On a much more pleasant note, the
young girl went home with a nice Sandy buck and bred Sandy
doe, who, subsequently, had a nice litter. Maybe someday
she will become a great promoter of our precious GIANTS!
Submitted by Lynn Bolyard
