Barn Blind

I have caught myself getting barn blind recently.

Actually- this most is mostly in regards to a single rabbit.

Some months ago I lost a VERY special rabbit. It was one of those things where he was fine in the morning and gone that afternoon and it broke my heart because I had loved him since he was two weeks old.

Since I had sold his dad not that long before he passed away, I had no way to repeat the breeding and pray to get another "just like him." So I used his half brother instead and I got a beautifully colored little buck that I named in his honor.

This buck, to put it frankly, has probably stayed longer than he should have.

Why? He's NOT the buck I lost. I knew early on he wasn't the same, but I hoped. I wanted so badly to have that first buck back. He's not coming back, and keeping an animal that won't help my program won't bring him back.

This is one of the causes of barn blindness. We get so wrapped up in who the parents are, who the rabbit is related to, the color, one aspect- and we can't do that. If my other buck was still alive, I know this one would have been gone months ago.

With my need for cage space, I've been slowly chipping away at this blindness- trying to make myself stop thinking of him in terms of who I wanted him to be and seeing what I really got.

It's hard. It's necessary though, because nothing is gained unless you keep the best fits for your herd- and unfortunately, I don't there there is a place here for this buck.

*sigh*

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry