The official Working Breed name will be Senita Partiquin Composites were bred by Mary-Margaret Conley in 2018. Stephanie Hughes joined the project in 2020, and Elizabeth Yardley Kangas came on board in 2023. Madison Simmons of Colorado Spring CO joined Fall of 2024 along with A few others who are helping with the project.
The Partiquin Composite “ Senita “ was started by crossing between a Japanese Harlequin-colored non-pedigreed Doe and a New Zealand red, then crossed back to a New Zealand broken Black.
About the Project
This project involves selecting people who primarily breed rabbits for meat. Many rabbits will be culled. No Senita rabbit will be sold as a pet, and no culls will be sold as breeders.
I kindly request to be involved in the process of selecting the Breeding Stock, as well as in mentoring and assisting with choosing the best matches and deciding what gets culled. While I hold the final decision-making authority due to the project being under my responsibility, I highly value and rely on second opinions. Typically, I seek input from at least two other individuals for evaluation, and I greatly respect the opinions of Stephanie, a former ARBA judge, and Madison at Itty Bitty Homestead.
This project is not a dictatorship; it’s more of a committee. Your input is valuable, and I want to hear your opinion because of your hands-on experience. I believe in fostering a learning environment where critical feedback is encouraged. Additionally, external perspectives can provide valuable insights.
To aid in selecting breeding stock for the project, I kindly request that pictures from at least 3 sides of the stock be provided for evaluation. Additionally, weights should be recorded at specific milestones. Here are the metrics to note:
- Kit weigh-in and posed picture evaluation at 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks, 6 months, 8 months, 12 months, and 16 months. More frequent evaluations are also welcomed, but it’s crucial to note these milestones.
- Furthermore, when they reach 8lbs, this should be recorded. If they have passed for type, this weight should mark their first breed back.
Myself, Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Madison can also assist you in choosing additional stock for the project if a trait not currently in the line needs to be added. This project is still quite young, and the rabbit’s studbook is open. I will be setting up a Google Form to track litters. This way, people in the project can simply input a few data points: rabbit tattoo, buck bred to, date bred, date born, and how many are in the litter, so we can keep track.