BDial said:
ChickenPotPie said:
Forget that ES are not that common and Hotot are the
rarest rabbit in America at this time with the Dwarf version in the same waters if not in the same boat.
Yeah, it's a pet peeve of mine. :/
Wait a min Dwarf Hotot's are rare? I didn't know that. I have a decent buck that I saved from being bashed with a shovel because he has 6 black hairs at the base of an ear. Other than that his confo is nice and his temperment is great.
(wow I am a total dunce today)
Well, alright, according to the list Franco Rios shared, Hotots are the rarest rabbit is this time. Dwarf Hotots don't make the list and neither do English Spot, however, they are
not a common rabbit.
Look at the breed numbers shown at the ARBA Conventions. That will tell you how common certain rabbit breeds are. Dutch will have 500 shown in Youth and 600 shown in Open. Mini Rex and Holland numbers would be up there, too. Jersey Woolies will have anywhere from 300- 600 shown in Youth and Open combined.
Take a Satin Angora, however, and....well, there was 1 Satin Angora shown in Youth at the 2008 ARBA Convention. Dwarf Hotot numbers, I'd bet, would hit 100 in Youth and Open combined, at best. Not very common.
@ Bunnylady, that is an interesting observation about the lightly marked brokens coming from solid parents. I'm no genetics guru but I am working on a pattern project with a fellow exhibitor. Pattern is all genetics. Broken to broken breedings tend to give you lighter marked offspring and sometimes, Charlies. A solid rabbit (say a black) can hide a broken pattern. You can look at its broken ancestors to get an idea of what kind of pattern it will pass on to it's broken pattern kits. That pattern can be heavy, light, ES pattern, blanket, etc.
For my breed, we currently have light pattern on the West Coast (as well as in the Southern states, I hear). Because my stock is lightly marked, I often get unshowables or lightly marked showable rabbits no matter what I do because the pattern is there. It is set. But, I bring in a heavier pattern and I can improve my stock and pass the pattern around this coast and the country thus improving the breed pattern. I am using a cross of another breed to bring in the pattern. Intersting stuff. It's working out well so far.
But, my point is, pattern is genetic. If light pattern is there in a line, it's not going to get heavier without some outside help. It will likely get lighter.
