True vs False Netherland Dwarf : Breed Discussions

[Mrr]

So my boyfriend and I have decided to move ahead with looking for a breeding pair of Netherland Dwarf rabbits, and while I'm still in the research phase of it all I've started to learn that there is an awful lot going on with their genetics. The part that I'm having some confusion over however, is what exactly a false dwarf is - appearance wise. I know that they are bigger and have slightly different appearances, but how do you tell?

When I look at a ND show breeder's website I see these as the breed examples. Squishy, flat face.. Tiny ears.. Big head. I'm assuming this is what a "true dwarf" looks like, correct?

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Then, I have a breeder that wants to sell me this buck.. He's not very flat faced and his ears look bigger than the one in the last picture.. but he has papers saying that he is a purebred. Would this be an example of a "false dwarf"?

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And furthermore, if he IS a false dwarf, is that necessarily a bad thing to have as my breeding buck? From what I've read, breeding a false to a true will eliminate the odds of any peanuts, is that true? My boyfriend really wants to buy him, but should I be looking for a true dwarf instead?

[Dood]

If he is a purebred and a false dwarf he is not a very good example by show standards and I would pass on him as a herd sire

Also it is much better to have false dwarf females covered by a true dwarf buck as the true dwarf does are MUCH more likely to have difficulty giving birth.

[ladysown]

I've seen false dwarf females and they look like the first picture just bigger and longer in the body.

So I'd look for a true dwarf buck and false dwarf does.

[Mrr]

I found a better picture of him.. he looks much more flat faced than the first picture I saw. Thoughts?

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I may have another breeder lined up to sell me a false doe. She said she normally tries to get rid of them as she doesn't like them in her breeding program, so hopefully I can find something from her

Thanks for the help guys!

[AprilW]

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[akane]

Not all get the same dwarf genes and there is also an issue with both peanuts and max factor. A ND without dwarf genes or enough modifiers will be bigger but should still have good body type. They often do grow a little less evenly compact when they get bigger but a small dwarf buck can fix that so the does are good for producing better litters with some show quality and some good future breeders to continue crossing to smaller dwarf. It does not seem to be anywhere near as simple as some people say with 1 dwarf gene making a dwarf, 2 making a peanut, and none making an oversized ND. I've had lines that small x small ND did not result in any peanuts and rarely produced any too big to show. Other lines were all over the place for size. I inbred a 1lb buck to many of his offspring and some other unrelated small ND with no peanuts. I brought in another line from a local show breeder that had all average size without any really tiny individuals and started seeing peanuts in everything but the largest crosses.

Max factor is similar but an unnecessary gene to include at all. Some claim it helps with a better type but crossing 2 carriers will give you weird kits that develop unevenly with often overdeveloped heads that have eyes open causing blindness from injury before or during birth. The body may be underdeveloped or even have deformed limbs. Again I had a line with no max factor at all and then brought in another line to start having them appear when those rabbits were bred together. It is possible to completely eliminate that possible result from any breeding program but some keep it on purpose in an attempt to get better type despite the deformed kits that are periodically produced.