| The Dutch Rabbit "Cleaning the Tuxedo" By Meg Kuczynski, Sociable Rabbitry As one of the top dutch breeders on the East Coast, I am often asked how I get such steady markings on my rabbits. I quote a judge, BA, who says "All these blacks look like clones!" Took that judge twenty minutes to pick the places out of 5 junior bucks. Have I found some secret to consistent markings? I don't think so, because I still get some of those pet-quality dutch. But I have found a certain pattern in markings, and how to fix them. They may be unorthodox, but it doesn't hurt to try. I generally breed blacks, steels and grays, but I have bred all varieties of dutch, including 5 unrecognized ones. Therefore, I will try and focus just on markings, and not on color, as that could be an entire essay in and of upon itself. I have dealt with import lines (which have markings completely unique to US's ones) and mix breeds that are falsely called purebred. I've dealt with the Grand Champion who throws me nothing but pet qualities, and the almost solid black dutch who THREW the grand champion. All in all, this advice is a decade's worth of dutch breeding encompassed into an essay less than 3000 words. Let's get cracking. THE PERFECT MARKING We need to know what we are aiming to attain. I'm sure you've seen the standard by now. The blaze should be an isosceles triangle, around the cheeks and then up the nose to the ears. A hairline may (or may not) connect that blaze to the neck, which is a equilateral triangle behind the ears. The saddle should be an ellipse shape, starting behind the shoulders in the loin, connecting to a similarly shaped undercut which runs on the belly across, making the saddle/undercut one whole marking. The stops should end right before the toes of the rabbit's feet, and be even. EVEN is key. Not ragged, but straight. Smooth markings, clearly defined. It's better to have one serious fault and everything else good, then everything mediocre lol. Now that we know what we want, let's set about getting it. I will try and cover the 'typical' Dutch markings. THE ALMOST-FULLY COLORED ANIMAL This animal has what look likes sleeves, and their blaze consists of a white snip on their nose. Often, if you breed BEW in a nother breed, you can mistaken these for sports. However, paired with a good buck (preferably Mr. HIGH CHEEKS or a Senor RAGGED SADDLE) these animals can bring some of the best marked animals. Watch that they aren't Dudu - or half breeds. If you breed a dutch to ANYTHING else , you get these kind of marked animals. If they are throwing a lot of bad marked ones (and I don't mean faulted, but DQed at every marking) they are probably half breeds, and to the cull pen they should go. HIGH CHEEKS The animal's good all around, but his cheek markings start a centimeter below his eyes, and he looks like someone took his markings by the ears and started yankin' them off his head!! These animals are usually faulted with uneven stops as well, but decent saddles and undercuts. These are the bucks (or does) to breed to an opposite sex animal with LOW cheeks that are runnin' into the whisker bed. These animals usually have nice wide blazes, so remember that. LOW CHEEKS These animals have cheeks that are angular, and don't round off and instead run straight through from the ears to the nose in a straight line, making their blaze downright pencil thin. however, if you've got a high cheeker, then use it with this animal. They are often plagued with ragged saddles and color under the armpit. Be careful! RAGGED SADDLE I generally don't use raggies for anything. I think the saddle is the most hereditery part of the Dutch - I have one doe that has a slightly off center saddle and EVERY one of her babies carries that saddle marking, no matter the buck. I would steer clear of them, unless they have ideal type, which if you're missing, won't get you anywhere anyway. SPLIT STOPS I admit, I use these animals with split stops. I find a perfect saddle and blaze might carry that split stop. But the truth is : a split stop bred to an even good stop, will carry mostly good stopped animals. Least hereditery, at least in my line. GENERALLY, I don't use them if more then 2 toenails are seperated with color on each foot. That's usually a little too much to worry about. BTW - if the animal is ALMOST connected, but there's a hairline between the 2 sets of color, I would much rather use the obviously connected one. You don't want a rabbit born that MIGHT be DQed depending how you blow into the fur. COLOR UNDER THE ARMPIT It happens to the best of us. Generally, these animals have saddles too close to the head, undercuts that are waaay off center. I try not to use them, unless I have an animal whose saddle starts around their hips. They usually balance out then. But this 'sleeved' animal to a good saddled animal will ruin all chance of animals marked like the better saddled parent. TOO MUCH WHITE If the markings are too few - if the saddle starts near the hips, if the stops look more like torn socks, if the cheeks are so high they look like hotots... keep them!! These animals although won't place great on the table , but Dutch makings BALANCE. An animal with low cheeks will need to be bred to an animal with high cheeks... a rabbit who's undercut runs to the armpit needs an animal who's saddle looks like hiphugger jeans. Of course, use animals that have even markings. Too much white and even markings are better then the vice versa. HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT RULES TO FOLLOW IN BREEDING DUTCH: -- IN terms of markings, if a buck and doe pairing doesn't produce, don't cull both of them. Try them at least another 2 times with different mates. The same way that 2 beautiful people can have ugly children (I mean, all children are beautiful ... but some are prettier than others!) , 2 grand champions might not pass that certificate on to their kids. Once you find that magical pairing (and we all have that one pair that never fails to produce a shower!) keep them together. Keep offspring of them as well, in case the brood buck or doe passes on. When it comes to Dutch, it's trial and error, but once you find the GOOD one, then you know it and can revel in the glory. -- We are all dutch breeders. For pete's sake, please don't sell your mismarks at shows as culls. THe pet marked ones deserve their spot as a house pet or in the pet store, or to the reptile man (if you can stomach that). If I go to a show, I don't expect anyone to sell me their best dutch. We KEEP the best marked ones!! I sure do. But maybe you got a whole litter of nice saddled ones, and you can only keep the doe, and the 4 bucks have to go. SELL THOSE, and give that one little doe with the split stop and the ragged saddle to the pet store. -- The general rule - one major fault with rest ok, or 2 minor faults that are VERY minor are the max. If the animal has a ragged this and a slanted that and a high this , the animal will appear not 'great' in anything. You want every animal to compliment another, and if you have so many faults to compliment, a pairing with that will never work! -- PLEASE do not cross out to other breeds. Once ina while you'll get a lucky dutch marked one, but boy do I hate it when I buy a buck for $40 and his offspring are solid black with blue eyes. Oh boy, do I hate it. -- REGISTER the stock. In my area, most dutch breeders don't register your stock. I breed mini rex, and I rarely find a rabbit without 80% of the pedigree covered in registration numbers, but the percentage on dutch pedigrees is dwindling. Since most breeders only register the best they have , for the pride, for the upcoming legs, whatever, it informs us that you're not using DQed animals all the time. -- CONSISTENCY!! I like looking at entire dutch litters. If I see this one pairing always throws a certain fault, I learn to work with it, and when is ell a baby, I point out the fault. Often, it's the dutch doe and litters at fairs who win, because its all based on consistency, and dutch can often clone themselves almost, or be so different it looks like a kindergartener got India-ink happy. Hope you have fun at that table, and making the perfect dutch of your very own! -------------------------------------------- (c) 2001 by Sociable Rabbitry Inc. Permission to distribute by maintaining this information, and/or a link on the connecting site to www.sociablerabbitry.com . Bunnies are a girl's best friend... -------------------------------------------- |
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