Here are some of the most common mistakes I see made by color breeders. Many of these mistakes are ones I have even made myself in the past!
1. Having too many color projects. The fact is, every color project is going to take up a certain number of holes. For example, if I had a chocolate project, I might need to set aside 20-30 holes absolute minimum. If I wanted to work with pointed whites, I might need to set aside another 20+ holes. Each of those projects is going to take up my time, feed, and money. Not only that, but it takes a lot of energy to keep on top of breeding/culling decisions and still enjoy the hobby enough to make it worth keeping them. So generally, the people I have seen with more than one or two color projects tend to either a) not have a clear trajectory or goal in their program, or b) get burnt out and start to view rabbits as a chore rather than a hobby.
2. Being too obsessed with the color itself. This is kind of counter-intuitive, but the more obsessed you are with the color itself, the slower your progress will be. Some people like to have an entire barn full of pretty colors and work from there, which generally means extremely slow, if any, progress. The trouble with only keeping colors is that by selecting on color, you are automatically making type a lower priority. This means that at best, you will make hardly any progress on improving type, and at worst you will make steps backward. In general, the people I know of who have had success with their colored Hollands on a national level tend to bring in non-carriers to achieve type, and work with carriers and possible carriers until they ultimately produce quality colors. Therefore they do not tend to have an entire barn of their desired color.
3. Buying a lot of colored Hollands right off the bat. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the previous points, and it is actually one of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started out. It's so tempting in the beginning, and even later down the road, to buy a billion colored Hollands. I can't say I blame you, Hollands are addictive, and colors are even more so!! However, the more you buy, the more muddled and confusing your gene pool will become, especially if they are from multiple different lines. It's not a bad thing to bring in the occasional outcross if you want to improve something specific, but in general you should be establishing your own line, not collecting a bunch of others just for the sake of owning them. Be a breeder, not a collector.
4. Lack of understanding of genetics. I know a lot of people find genetics confusing or frustrating, but the unfortunate truth is that if you want to work with project colors, you've got to understand genetics. The reason for this is that by understanding genetics, you will be able to work with carriers, avoid color crosses you might regret later, and make smarter breeding choices in general. By not understanding genetics, you are not only shooting yourself in the foot, but you might also make decisions that negatively impact others who purchase rabbits out of your line in the future. There is tons of great information on basic genetics available on the internet, and if you ask around, you might even be able to find a rabbit breeder who can explain it to you. It might take a little while to understand, but it is totally possible! If you would prefer not to learn genetics, that is fine, but you will have so much more success and fulfillment in the hobby if you just stick to torts. :)
5. Breeders (especially newer or less established ones) tend to be strongly discouraged from breeding colors. When I first started, I was openly told by multiple breeders that I should start with torts and forget about otters. However, I enjoyed the challenge of working with a difficult color project, so I stuck with it and kept working. If I had listened to their advice, I would not have won the Open SJD class at ARBA Convention with a black otter two years later.
6. Not crossing to torts. This is a big one. The fact is, torts are the most competitive and predominant color in our breed. This means that there are far more high quality torts available than high quality colors. If you want to produce high quality colors, the quickest and most effective way of doing so is to breed to the highest quality torts that you can possibly find. Using this method, you can take 1-2 generations to produce animals that would take others 4 or 5 years to accomplish by just breeding color to color.
7. Fear of unshowable colors. I saved the biggest one for last. I have such a big problem with this that I've written multiple other articles just on this subject. I'll spare you most of the detail, but I strongly believe that the number one reason why there are so few quality colored Hollands out there is that there seems to be this unnecessary fear of producing or breeding unshowable colors. This fear seems shortsighted to me. Since when did anyone show every rabbit in their barn? Moreover, is there anyone who shows every good quality rabbit in their barn? Several of my nicest rabbits have never left the barn because they're just too valuable to be worth risking. Also, most breeders will use Charlies, normals, or rabbits that are missing nails in their herds. Those rabbits are unshowable. So why is an unshowable variety any different? Hint: it’s not. Some of my best rabbits in my barn are unshowable colors, and rather than lamenting their nonexistent show careers, I feel excited and proud to have animals of their quality in my barn. If you want to make good quality colored Hollands, breed on type rather than color.
1. Having too many color projects. The fact is, every color project is going to take up a certain number of holes. For example, if I had a chocolate project, I might need to set aside 20-30 holes absolute minimum. If I wanted to work with pointed whites, I might need to set aside another 20+ holes. Each of those projects is going to take up my time, feed, and money. Not only that, but it takes a lot of energy to keep on top of breeding/culling decisions and still enjoy the hobby enough to make it worth keeping them. So generally, the people I have seen with more than one or two color projects tend to either a) not have a clear trajectory or goal in their program, or b) get burnt out and start to view rabbits as a chore rather than a hobby.
2. Being too obsessed with the color itself. This is kind of counter-intuitive, but the more obsessed you are with the color itself, the slower your progress will be. Some people like to have an entire barn full of pretty colors and work from there, which generally means extremely slow, if any, progress. The trouble with only keeping colors is that by selecting on color, you are automatically making type a lower priority. This means that at best, you will make hardly any progress on improving type, and at worst you will make steps backward. In general, the people I know of who have had success with their colored Hollands on a national level tend to bring in non-carriers to achieve type, and work with carriers and possible carriers until they ultimately produce quality colors. Therefore they do not tend to have an entire barn of their desired color.
3. Buying a lot of colored Hollands right off the bat. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the previous points, and it is actually one of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started out. It's so tempting in the beginning, and even later down the road, to buy a billion colored Hollands. I can't say I blame you, Hollands are addictive, and colors are even more so!! However, the more you buy, the more muddled and confusing your gene pool will become, especially if they are from multiple different lines. It's not a bad thing to bring in the occasional outcross if you want to improve something specific, but in general you should be establishing your own line, not collecting a bunch of others just for the sake of owning them. Be a breeder, not a collector.
4. Lack of understanding of genetics. I know a lot of people find genetics confusing or frustrating, but the unfortunate truth is that if you want to work with project colors, you've got to understand genetics. The reason for this is that by understanding genetics, you will be able to work with carriers, avoid color crosses you might regret later, and make smarter breeding choices in general. By not understanding genetics, you are not only shooting yourself in the foot, but you might also make decisions that negatively impact others who purchase rabbits out of your line in the future. There is tons of great information on basic genetics available on the internet, and if you ask around, you might even be able to find a rabbit breeder who can explain it to you. It might take a little while to understand, but it is totally possible! If you would prefer not to learn genetics, that is fine, but you will have so much more success and fulfillment in the hobby if you just stick to torts. :)
5. Breeders (especially newer or less established ones) tend to be strongly discouraged from breeding colors. When I first started, I was openly told by multiple breeders that I should start with torts and forget about otters. However, I enjoyed the challenge of working with a difficult color project, so I stuck with it and kept working. If I had listened to their advice, I would not have won the Open SJD class at ARBA Convention with a black otter two years later.
6. Not crossing to torts. This is a big one. The fact is, torts are the most competitive and predominant color in our breed. This means that there are far more high quality torts available than high quality colors. If you want to produce high quality colors, the quickest and most effective way of doing so is to breed to the highest quality torts that you can possibly find. Using this method, you can take 1-2 generations to produce animals that would take others 4 or 5 years to accomplish by just breeding color to color.
7. Fear of unshowable colors. I saved the biggest one for last. I have such a big problem with this that I've written multiple other articles just on this subject. I'll spare you most of the detail, but I strongly believe that the number one reason why there are so few quality colored Hollands out there is that there seems to be this unnecessary fear of producing or breeding unshowable colors. This fear seems shortsighted to me. Since when did anyone show every rabbit in their barn? Moreover, is there anyone who shows every good quality rabbit in their barn? Several of my nicest rabbits have never left the barn because they're just too valuable to be worth risking. Also, most breeders will use Charlies, normals, or rabbits that are missing nails in their herds. Those rabbits are unshowable. So why is an unshowable variety any different? Hint: it’s not. Some of my best rabbits in my barn are unshowable colors, and rather than lamenting their nonexistent show careers, I feel excited and proud to have animals of their quality in my barn. If you want to make good quality colored Hollands, breed on type rather than color.