With regard to the dwarf gene, Holland lops come in three types: true dwarfs, false dwarfs, and peanuts. Peanuts do not grow and always die, usually within a few days, but occasionally last a week or two. False dwarfs are also called “normals” and can make good brood animals. Show rabbits are typically true dwarfs.
False dwarfs are more likely to be long, have longer ears and back feet, and often exceed four pounds in adulthood. These are tendencies and not absolute proof of being a false dwarf.
The rabbits that most often do well on the show table are true dwarfs. They tend to be truer to type–shorter, with shorter ears and back feet, more balanced, and more likely to fall within the allowable show weight range of two to four pounds.
How do you tell if your newborn rabbits are peanuts?
You will recognize peanuts in your litter by several characteristics. First, at birth peanuts weigh about 3/4 of an ounce, whereas other kits weigh about 1 1/2 ounces or more (the two newborn bunnies to the far left in the picture are peanuts). Peanuts may have bulging skulls with ears that are set further back. Also their hips are often underdeveloped and their back legs may cross. Since the peanuts will die anyway (they lack growth tissue so they never develop), some breeders remove them from the kindling box as birth. Others allow them to remain with the litter until they die a natural death. But either way, peanuts are ultimately a non-issue on your quest for ideal true dwarf Holland lops.
So how do you breed for true dwarfs? You might be tempted to think that breeding a true dwarf to a true dwarf would yield a litter of true dwarfs. But that’s not how it works. First, we need to know that a true dwarf has one true dwarf gene (or just “dwarf gene”) and one false dwarf (or “normal gene”). A false dwarf has two normal genes and a peanut has two dwarf genes.
If you breed two true dwarfs together, on the average, one of four would be peanuts, two of four (or 1/2) would be true dwarfs, and one of four would be false dwarfs. Since the peanuts will certainly die, two out of three of the surviving kits would be true dwarfs and one out of three would be false dwarfs. Remember, these numbers are averages. Your actual results will vary.
If you breed a false dwarf with a true dwarf (and it doesn’t matter whether the doe or the buck is the false dwarf), you have the following results on the average: two of four (or 1/2) will be true dwarfs and two of four (or 1/2) will be false dwarfs. Notice there are no peanuts in these litters. The only way to produce peanuts is by breeding two true dwarfs.
If you breed a false dwarf with a true dwarf (and it doesn’t matter whether the doe or the buck is the false dwarf), you have the following results on the average: two of four (or 1/2) will be true dwarfs and two of four (or 1/2) will be false dwarfs. Notice there are no peanuts in these litters. The only way to produce peanuts is by breeding two true dwarfs.
Let’s see what happens when you breed two false dwarfs. You can easily predict that if both parents have only normal genes to pass to their offspring, all of the offspring will have only normal genes. And that is exactly what we get, a whole litter of normals or false dwarfs.
Now what does all of this mean for your breeding program? First, if you are breeding toward the standards and looking to successfully show your rabbits, at least one parent should be a true dwarf. But it is clearly obvious that you do not need to have both parents to be true dwarfs to produce a true dwarf.
For us the counterbalancing of strengths and weaknesses is the most important factor. Producing or not producing peanuts is secondary. Often, a false dwarf doe has an easier time kindling and caring for her young, especially if the kits are larger or there are many of them. False dwarfs seem to maintain their weight better and are prepared to kindle again sooner.
If you wonder whether your rabbit is a true or false dwarf, breed it to a known true dwarf. If there are peanuts in the resulting litter, your rabbit is definitely a true dwarf. If not, it is probably a false dwarf, though with a small number of offspring, the conclusion is not totally reliable. With repeated breedings to true dwarfs with no peanuts, you can safely conclude that your Holland Lop is a false dwarf. By the way, weight alone cannot determine a false dwarf.
Once your rabbit exceeds four pounds, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to return him or her to four pounds and maintain the rabbit’s health. Even though the false dwarf is unlikely to Grand, you may want the registration to show up on its offsprings’ pedigrees, possibly earning that son, daughter or “grand-bunny” a red, red & white, or red, white & blue seal on its registration.
As you cull your rabbits and decide which to keep, which to sell as show or breeding stock and which to sell as pets, remember that false dwarf bucks can be a valuable part of your own breeding plan. If, except for the extra length and size, a buck has numerous good qualities to pass on to his young, keep him or sell him as a brood buck. There is certainly no reason to automatically pet out a false dwarf buck. Also, buying a false dwarf buck may be a reasonably priced way to get a great set of genes into your breeding program.
A Summary of the Effects of the Dwarfing Gene in Rabbits
To sum up, when you breed two true dwarfs, your litter will contain true dwarfs, false dwarfs, and peanuts. If you breed a true dwarf to a false dwarf, you should expect about half to be true dwarfs and about half to be false dwarfs. If you breed two false dwarfs, you will get only false dwarfs. Peanuts always die and can only result from the breeding of two true dwarfs.
False dwarfs are more likely to be long, have longer ears and back feet, and often exceed four pounds in adulthood. These are tendencies and not absolute proof of being a false dwarf.
The rabbits that most often do well on the show table are true dwarfs. They tend to be truer to type–shorter, with shorter ears and back feet, more balanced, and more likely to fall within the allowable show weight range of two to four pounds.
How do you tell if your newborn rabbits are peanuts?
You will recognize peanuts in your litter by several characteristics. First, at birth peanuts weigh about 3/4 of an ounce, whereas other kits weigh about 1 1/2 ounces or more (the two newborn bunnies to the far left in the picture are peanuts). Peanuts may have bulging skulls with ears that are set further back. Also their hips are often underdeveloped and their back legs may cross. Since the peanuts will die anyway (they lack growth tissue so they never develop), some breeders remove them from the kindling box as birth. Others allow them to remain with the litter until they die a natural death. But either way, peanuts are ultimately a non-issue on your quest for ideal true dwarf Holland lops.
So how do you breed for true dwarfs? You might be tempted to think that breeding a true dwarf to a true dwarf would yield a litter of true dwarfs. But that’s not how it works. First, we need to know that a true dwarf has one true dwarf gene (or just “dwarf gene”) and one false dwarf (or “normal gene”). A false dwarf has two normal genes and a peanut has two dwarf genes.
If you breed two true dwarfs together, on the average, one of four would be peanuts, two of four (or 1/2) would be true dwarfs, and one of four would be false dwarfs. Since the peanuts will certainly die, two out of three of the surviving kits would be true dwarfs and one out of three would be false dwarfs. Remember, these numbers are averages. Your actual results will vary.
If you breed a false dwarf with a true dwarf (and it doesn’t matter whether the doe or the buck is the false dwarf), you have the following results on the average: two of four (or 1/2) will be true dwarfs and two of four (or 1/2) will be false dwarfs. Notice there are no peanuts in these litters. The only way to produce peanuts is by breeding two true dwarfs.
If you breed a false dwarf with a true dwarf (and it doesn’t matter whether the doe or the buck is the false dwarf), you have the following results on the average: two of four (or 1/2) will be true dwarfs and two of four (or 1/2) will be false dwarfs. Notice there are no peanuts in these litters. The only way to produce peanuts is by breeding two true dwarfs.
Let’s see what happens when you breed two false dwarfs. You can easily predict that if both parents have only normal genes to pass to their offspring, all of the offspring will have only normal genes. And that is exactly what we get, a whole litter of normals or false dwarfs.
Now what does all of this mean for your breeding program? First, if you are breeding toward the standards and looking to successfully show your rabbits, at least one parent should be a true dwarf. But it is clearly obvious that you do not need to have both parents to be true dwarfs to produce a true dwarf.
For us the counterbalancing of strengths and weaknesses is the most important factor. Producing or not producing peanuts is secondary. Often, a false dwarf doe has an easier time kindling and caring for her young, especially if the kits are larger or there are many of them. False dwarfs seem to maintain their weight better and are prepared to kindle again sooner.
If you wonder whether your rabbit is a true or false dwarf, breed it to a known true dwarf. If there are peanuts in the resulting litter, your rabbit is definitely a true dwarf. If not, it is probably a false dwarf, though with a small number of offspring, the conclusion is not totally reliable. With repeated breedings to true dwarfs with no peanuts, you can safely conclude that your Holland Lop is a false dwarf. By the way, weight alone cannot determine a false dwarf.
Once your rabbit exceeds four pounds, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to return him or her to four pounds and maintain the rabbit’s health. Even though the false dwarf is unlikely to Grand, you may want the registration to show up on its offsprings’ pedigrees, possibly earning that son, daughter or “grand-bunny” a red, red & white, or red, white & blue seal on its registration.
As you cull your rabbits and decide which to keep, which to sell as show or breeding stock and which to sell as pets, remember that false dwarf bucks can be a valuable part of your own breeding plan. If, except for the extra length and size, a buck has numerous good qualities to pass on to his young, keep him or sell him as a brood buck. There is certainly no reason to automatically pet out a false dwarf buck. Also, buying a false dwarf buck may be a reasonably priced way to get a great set of genes into your breeding program.
A Summary of the Effects of the Dwarfing Gene in Rabbits
To sum up, when you breed two true dwarfs, your litter will contain true dwarfs, false dwarfs, and peanuts. If you breed a true dwarf to a false dwarf, you should expect about half to be true dwarfs and about half to be false dwarfs. If you breed two false dwarfs, you will get only false dwarfs. Peanuts always die and can only result from the breeding of two true dwarfs.