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It is always exciting for me when babies arrive, as
this provides opportunity to see if I made good judgement
in pairing a boar and sow. I'm not fooling myself into
thinking that success is credited entirely upon the
breeding decisions I make, because results can be unpredictable
for Brokens. Attaining both clean patches, with no brindling,
and well distributed patches are the most challenging
aspects of breeding Brokens and TSWs. They're like a
box of chocolates......
Overall
improvement of the herd can be attained by matching
an individual whose strengths will help minimize the
weaknesses of another. As an example, if I have a boar
that has great distribution but is a little weak on
type, and a sow that is weaker on distribution but excellent
on type, I will likely place those two together for
breeding. The result is more favorable, I believe, in
producing something in the litter that has better balance
of type, patching and distribution than either of the
parents have individually. So when a young cavy exhibits
finer qualities than another currently in the breeding
program, at some point, it may replace another. I usually
wait until a new breeder has produced at least one litter
before doing so. Faithfully culling cavies with undesirable
traits and replacing one with something better is the
only way to make significant progress in the development
of a line. Retired breeders make great pets and I have
been fortunate in finding good homes for them, boars
included.
To
purchase good quality stock, seek reputable breeders.
However it is unrealistic to expect your first purchase
to all be show quality. You work to develop that when
you breed your own line. And it is not necessarily show
quality parents that produce show quality babies.
Typically, I would not breed an intense-colored Broken
to a dilute-colored Broken, but because Dilute Agouti
Brokens are virtually non-existant in my area, I hope
to create a nice quality boar from my own line which
will then serve as the stud boar for the Dilute Agouti
Broken line that is being developed at Silvercrest.
Several of my intense Broken breeders are heterozygous
for the Pink-eye locus so I know that pairing them with
the Dilutes will, in theory, produce 50% Dilute Brokens,
one of which will be selected as the new boar.
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