My rabbits :) . . . and their genetics

[chickenwhisperer]

Wow, I really thought I nailed it with that rabbit.
I read that the VM can show up as looking like a not-quite-dutch dutch.
Im getting the rabbit today in about an hour as a rescue, so I havent actually seen it yet in person.

I read that the white blaze and feet that look similar to but not as pronounced as a dutch is the VM.
Your dutch rabbit has the white shoulders and the lined color border, this 1 Im getting has only the feet and blaze.
So confusing, but I guess thats the name of the game when dealing with rescued mutts.


Why did I get myself into this?
Now its like . . I GOTTA know . . .

Anyway I look at it, Im learning TONS about rabbits and I really think they make great pets.
I have gotten some really nice rabbits that folks surrendered to me because they "werent friendly". . . a little affection, some good food, and lots of care and all these rabbits are extremely friendly.
Go figure- show a nuisance pet some proper care and they arent a nuisance anymore . . .

I love rabbits!


Quote:
A great read! Thanks!

 

[Bunnylady]

You can be absolutely certain that the blaze, etc. of a Dutch-marked rabbit comes from the Vienna gene only if:

1. You know the ancestry of the rabbit, and it has BEW behind it. OR

2. It has one or more blue eyes.

I have had purebred (including pedigree) Dutch that had kits with markings exactly like the black bunny in your picture. I have also had pedigreed Japanese Harlequins that threw an occasional bunny like that (Dutch is one of the foundation breeds for the Harlequin). I can be pretty confident that there is no BEW in my Harley lines. There may have been the odd outcross here or there in the past, but those are done to improve type, so would have been (typically) to something like a New Zealand. The only BEW's in this area are all small breeds, nobody would cross a 6-9 lb. breed to a dwarf breed to improve type!

Japanese Harlequins are not supposed to have any white on them (it's a DQ). They are supposed to have a specific pattern to the dark and light patches of their coats. For some reason, the sneaky little Dutch alleles that we Harley breeders just can't seem to get rid of seem to pal around with the pattern genes, because a lot of the very best patterned Harlies also wind up with white on them somewhere. I had one rabbit with a perfect split to its face (black on one side, orange on the other, all the way from the nose to the base of the ears) with a little white line about 5 hairs wide and less than an inch long right between its eyes. I have also had Harlies that had only a white toe, or a tiny white triangle on the nose. I have seen animals that had white on them, that I know was not caused by the Vienna gene, that were marked like almost every animal in a picture linked to this thread so far. The exception is those that have really wide, kinda lopsided blazes - those are almost always caused by the Vienna gene.

So confusing, but I guess thats the name of the game when dealing with rescued mutts.

Not just mutts! I have a bunny in my rabbitry now that has me scratching my head. Mother is a pedigreed REW Netherland Dwarf from some REW and Shaded lines that I've been working for donkey's years. No BEW's on any pedigree for at least 5 generations on that side. Father, while indisputably a Dwarf, did not come with a pedigree (breeder considered him pet quality). Father is black, not a white hair on him. Only one bunny of this litter survived, it is a black doe, with a slender white triangle on its nose and a few stray white hairs on its shoulder. The white is most likely caused by a Dutch gene (see earlier comments about horses and zebras) but since this is a Dwarf, BEW is a possibility too. I guess if I really want to find out which it is, I could keep the doe and breed her back to her father when she's old enough, that would let me know for sure. I'm not sure she's quite typey enough for me to want to do that, though.​

 

[chickenwhisperer]

So now that I have this rabbit, I can see that she does not have blue eyes, and is a black rabbit with the white on her facefeet and some white on her shoulder on one side.
It could be the sunlight on her shiny hair, or she might have some white ticking spread thinly over her.
She is very sweet and already likes me to pet her.
She just went back into her cage after exploring her new yard for about an hour.

She needed a home, and found a good one here!

Ill go take some pics of this cute new bunny after Im done eatin.


It really amazes me how people get these poor bunnies and spend alot of money on supplies and then 2 months later they dont want it.
All the stuff in my video, the rabbits the hutches the supplies are all from free rescues off CL.
And somebody else wants to drop off another tomoro . . . sheesh!

 

[kbhear80]

A good web site to check out would be arba.net (the american rabbit breeders association). There is a lot to learn with each breed. I have raised rabbits since I was a kid and now my kids raise and show rabbits in ARBA and in 4H. We mainly raise Mini Rex (i have had the breed since i was like 15 or so). I think every good breeder will know genetics but there is always new things poping up. Thats how new varities (colors) come about. Attending a show is a great way to pick up a lot of information to. The "rabbit" people are always so nice and there are always cage suppliers there and they have better deals than the local farm stores on stuff, but allot of times they will have books on the genetics and a standard book of perfection book which is a must have). Good luck with your bunnies
karey

 

[Akane]

You want to avoid rabbits with a heavily shaded (pointed whites), REW, or Chocolate background (or are any of those colors). Those WILL produce BEW's if Vienna's, but the rabbits eyes will be purple or violet instead of China Blue that is the color standard.

Must find a BEW mini rex to cross with my chocolates. Which also either carry himi or rew.

 

[kbhear80]

What state are you in. i know of several breeders working on the BEW in mini rex.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote:
Must find a BEW mini rex to cross with my chocolates. Which also either carry himi or rew.

Well, the color isn't really purple, more of a pale lavender. Chocolate-based chinchilla or squirrel produces a similar effect. I've had chocolate magpie Harlequins (mags have chinchilla genes) with lavender eyes.

 

[Akane]

I'm in eastern Iowa.

 

[kbhear80]

http://pub5.bravenet.com/classified/show.php?usernum=360211013

There are some postings on the national mini rex classifieds and there are a bunch of fantastic breeders going to convention in Minneapolis.

http://www.berlena.net/mybewminirex.htm

They have some very nice BEW but she is in CA.

I put the word out so I will let you know if anyone has any names for you.

 

[Akane]

The NMRRC classifieds aren't working for me. When I get all my cages built and my little herd sorted out better I might go try the yahoo groups for a BEW. I'm not sure if I want another quality buck or another doe to breed to my good chocolate buck. I have a broken castor buck but I'm not entirely happy with him. He might balance a little better when he's finished growing but he's still going to be long in the shoulder and his ears are exactly 3 1/2". I think his face might be a little pinched too. I'm hoping he at least gains some depth but I think my castors are only going to be producing pet quality or dog food and pelts depending on the pet market here.