Hotot from 2 Netherlands?!

[MamaMandy]

Hi! I'm new here. I've been raising Netherland Dwarfs off and on for over 15 years, but I have a kit in a litter that was born yesterday that is baffling me! It looks like a Hotot! There is no color anywhere on him except for black around his eyes. The dam is a Himilayan, and the sire is a broken. He was sold to me as a broken blue, but the more I looked at him I thought he was a broken blue tort. Now I'm wondering if he's possibly a broken opal? I'm wondering that because another kit in the litter looks to be blue with a pink belly which from what I've found would possibly be opal? I'm having trouble finding out what the difference between a blue tort and an opal. Would one of them have hairs that are banded? Thanks in advance for any help with this!

~Mandy

 

[skysthelimit]

Pink belly and blue coloring would be an opal, if the ears are pink. If the kit a broken? Of course with the brokens the belly is pink, but the ears always tell. Sometimes agouti bands don't appear for some time.

 

[MamaMandy]

Okay thanks! So you're saying if the kit is a broken it's ears would be dark, but if it's an opal the ears would be pink like the belly? The sire definitely has banded hairs...I'm guessing he's not a blue tort? He also has fawn coloring at his nape. Any thoughts on the hotot marked kit?

 

[skysthelimit]

Okay thanks! So you're saying if the kit is a broken it's ears would be dark, but if it's an opal the ears would be pink like the belly? The sire definitely has banded hairs...I'm guessing he's not a blue tort? He also has fawn coloring at his nape. Any thoughts on the hotot marked kit?

Yes. I had broken blues and broken opals in the same litter. The opals had pink inside ears and the blues had blue inside. If you blow into his coat, and there are rings http://www.nockrabbits.com/opal.html. The hotot marked is a mystery to me, don't know much about that gene. Perhaps it's just a false charlie?

 

[MamaMandy]

His ears look pretty dark to me, but there is no white color anywhere but his underside. Could he be a blue? Would a blue have a pink belly? The pics were helpful. Thanks! I think though that my buck does have the white color at the base. Is that a no no even for brokens? Do torts not have banded hairs? I'm going to look into the false charlie idea. Thanks!<br /><br />__________ Sat May 26, 2012 2:01 pm __________<br /><br />Oh, and my broken buck has some white ticking throughout his colored areas? Any idea what that means as far as his color?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh, and my broken buck has some white ticking throughout his colored areas? Any idea what that means as far as his color?

Hi MamaMandy! Nice to have another "Mama" on the forum!

I have Rex (standard size) and that would be considered "scattered white hairs" and is a fault in my breed. I have noticed that when brokens are born with closely spaced spots, as they grow up they all condense into a big patch of color, and they appear to have SWH's. I have not shown enough (only twice) to know if there is a higher tolerance for that in brokens versus solids. But SWH in a solid is frowned upon.

 

[skysthelimit]

Scattered white hairs can mean lower placing, depending on the the judge.

Solid colors like blue, black should not have any ticking or banding in their fur.
here's a really nice site for hollands, might be helpful.
http://www.gbfarm.org/rabbit/holland-colors.shtml

 

[MamaMandy]

Okay thanks! It probably isn't a good thing, but he has excellent type so hopefully the kits all take his good qualities. That makes sense about the closely spaced spots. I haven't personally shown him but the guy I bought him from said he had a couple legs. Thank you both for your input! <br /><br />__________ Sat May 26, 2012 2:23 pm __________<br /><br />That is a very helpful holland color site. Thanks! Now, I'm wondering if it's considered a good idea to breed a broken opal to a himi? And I was told that my himi is a black himi but her points sure look brown to me. How do you tell the difference?

 

[skysthelimit]

try here, there's a pdf called what color to breed to. I find it so helpful, especially for the hollands I am starting out with.
http://www.amysrabbitranch.com/Info-Genetics.html

 

[MamaMandy]

Awesome info! Thanks! That'll keep me reading for awhile.