Sunday, June 11, 2006
Netherland Dwarf Rendezvous
No, I'm not getting into Netherland Dwarfs. They are cute, I suppose, but no rabbit stirs my heart like a Holland Lop does! But, I do want to learn about them. So, I headed up to Cullowhee, NC, yesterday to spend the day with some Netherland friends.
First of all, we, (Anna and I) delivered one of our puppies to his new family. They had to meet us at 6:30 a.m. in Statesville, but it did save them about 3 1/2 hours of driving. It was so sad to see him go.
It was fun to make the trip which was once so familiar to me. You see, I went to college in Cullowhee, North Carolina, home of Western Carolina University. It's also where I met my husband. I reminisced about the time Andrew got pulled over on a particular stretch of highway - for going 59 in a 55 mph zone. I swear he used to wear a sign that said, "Pull me over. I'm easy to ticket." I remembered taking months to pay for Andrew's simple wedding band. Cafeteria food. The coldest winter of my life. Favorite professors. Old friends. It was definitely a trip down memory lane for me.
The first part of the rendezvous was a genetics lesson presented by Gary Smith. He did a good job of going over the five basic color genes and talking about adding the pattern gene to the Netherland Dwarf gene pool. I got the answer to a question I've had. I've never dealt with a BEWs and I wondered what happens when you breed REWs to BEWs. Lavender eyes, perhaps? Just kidding. No, the answer surprised me at first. You get Dutch marked rabbits. Blue eyed whites rely on the Vienna gene as do the Dutch.
After that, there was a single specialty show. Ray Brewer judged and was kind enough to let me work with him. I hope I didn't get in his way too much. I did learn a great deal about the Netherlands. That, of course, was the main purpose of the trip and it was definitely worth it.
Once Ray had chosen the five BOGs, then he stepped away and each person was allowed to judge them for him- or herself. I got distracted by the black senior buck (who turned out to be the BOSG and was not really supposed to be on the table), but placed the other four in the same order that Ray did. If you know me, you know I have a weakness for black rabbits. It was a good thing to learn about myself - I can't have a preference that is not in the Standard of Perfection. I also learned that my Holland bias is to ignore color and condition for the most part (having so few points in our breed), but I will have to make the mental adjustment for other breeds where color and fur are much more important.
We had a delicious pot luck lunch with Susan's baked spaghetti at the center. Then we watched a documentary video by Bruce Ford of the Netherland Dwarf Nationals. It was delightful to watch one of the judges who has such a beautiful, light touch with the Netherlands. It was almost as if she didn't touch them at all, just hovered around them.
There was a business meeting next. The most exciting part was the planning of the Triple Crown in Spartanburg, SC. It will be a joint project between the South Eastern Netherland Dwarf Club and Classy Country Hollanders. There will be some stellar judges there this year AND a double youth show is in the works. It will be January 27, so mark your calendars now to join us in Spartanburg, SC.
The meeting was immediately followed by some wheeling and dealing by those who did not have to leave. I stuck around to go over Hollands with Gary. He has a very young chin that is absolutely the most gorgeous rabbit I've ever seen. I told Gary I had some bad news. "This rabbit will either be the ugliest adult - or it will die!" It was just too good to believe. He laughed and said that it would probably die. That's the way it always seems to go. The one you have the most hopes and dreams for is the one that doesn't make it. I hope that one proves us wrong. He was something else.
Anna and I hit the road around 4:30 p.m. Anna had had a great time playing in the creek and running around Gary & Susan's gorgeous grounds (I can't say "yard," it was much more than that). She put a stuffed animal in her lap, slumped over it, and fell promptly asleep.
We stopped in Hickory, NC, to grab a "quick" bite with our dear friends Lisa & Fayth Young. A mere two hours later, we were on the road again. We had left home at 5:00 a.m. and pulled in the drive at 11:00 p.m. That's a pretty full day. But it was worth it.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 11:04 AM
First of all, we, (Anna and I) delivered one of our puppies to his new family. They had to meet us at 6:30 a.m. in Statesville, but it did save them about 3 1/2 hours of driving. It was so sad to see him go.
It was fun to make the trip which was once so familiar to me. You see, I went to college in Cullowhee, North Carolina, home of Western Carolina University. It's also where I met my husband. I reminisced about the time Andrew got pulled over on a particular stretch of highway - for going 59 in a 55 mph zone. I swear he used to wear a sign that said, "Pull me over. I'm easy to ticket." I remembered taking months to pay for Andrew's simple wedding band. Cafeteria food. The coldest winter of my life. Favorite professors. Old friends. It was definitely a trip down memory lane for me.
The first part of the rendezvous was a genetics lesson presented by Gary Smith. He did a good job of going over the five basic color genes and talking about adding the pattern gene to the Netherland Dwarf gene pool. I got the answer to a question I've had. I've never dealt with a BEWs and I wondered what happens when you breed REWs to BEWs. Lavender eyes, perhaps? Just kidding. No, the answer surprised me at first. You get Dutch marked rabbits. Blue eyed whites rely on the Vienna gene as do the Dutch.
After that, there was a single specialty show. Ray Brewer judged and was kind enough to let me work with him. I hope I didn't get in his way too much. I did learn a great deal about the Netherlands. That, of course, was the main purpose of the trip and it was definitely worth it.
Once Ray had chosen the five BOGs, then he stepped away and each person was allowed to judge them for him- or herself. I got distracted by the black senior buck (who turned out to be the BOSG and was not really supposed to be on the table), but placed the other four in the same order that Ray did. If you know me, you know I have a weakness for black rabbits. It was a good thing to learn about myself - I can't have a preference that is not in the Standard of Perfection. I also learned that my Holland bias is to ignore color and condition for the most part (having so few points in our breed), but I will have to make the mental adjustment for other breeds where color and fur are much more important.
We had a delicious pot luck lunch with Susan's baked spaghetti at the center. Then we watched a documentary video by Bruce Ford of the Netherland Dwarf Nationals. It was delightful to watch one of the judges who has such a beautiful, light touch with the Netherlands. It was almost as if she didn't touch them at all, just hovered around them.
There was a business meeting next. The most exciting part was the planning of the Triple Crown in Spartanburg, SC. It will be a joint project between the South Eastern Netherland Dwarf Club and Classy Country Hollanders. There will be some stellar judges there this year AND a double youth show is in the works. It will be January 27, so mark your calendars now to join us in Spartanburg, SC.
The meeting was immediately followed by some wheeling and dealing by those who did not have to leave. I stuck around to go over Hollands with Gary. He has a very young chin that is absolutely the most gorgeous rabbit I've ever seen. I told Gary I had some bad news. "This rabbit will either be the ugliest adult - or it will die!" It was just too good to believe. He laughed and said that it would probably die. That's the way it always seems to go. The one you have the most hopes and dreams for is the one that doesn't make it. I hope that one proves us wrong. He was something else.
Anna and I hit the road around 4:30 p.m. Anna had had a great time playing in the creek and running around Gary & Susan's gorgeous grounds (I can't say "yard," it was much more than that). She put a stuffed animal in her lap, slumped over it, and fell promptly asleep.
We stopped in Hickory, NC, to grab a "quick" bite with our dear friends Lisa & Fayth Young. A mere two hours later, we were on the road again. We had left home at 5:00 a.m. and pulled in the drive at 11:00 p.m. That's a pretty full day. But it was worth it.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 11:04 AM
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Hey now! I am jealous! You were that close to me and you didn't stop and say "hey"! LOL I forgive you this time, but next time you better call me and let me know you will be in Hickory. :P
Alison
Alison
I think the Dutch rabbits don't rely on the vienna gene to become a Dutch, they got Dudu genes for their own kind. :)
# posted by 
: 9:17 PM
: 9:17 PM
Apparently the Vv combination can cause "Dutch type markings," and the vienna gene can work with the dutch pattern gene to modify it. Check out the chart at http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/genetics.htm for more information. The Dutch breed has recessive du genes, but virtually all other rabbits have the normal or dominant Du Du genes. It's almost interesting enough to make me want to get a BEW to try it!
Vv causes dutch type markings on a rabbit but a Dutch still has dutch marking without the vienna gene because it has the dutch genes. That's what I mean by saying Dutch rabbits don't rely on the vienna gene. Dutch gene, vienna gene and broken gene can be present in the same rabbit and so they can work with one another.
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# posted by : 7:30 PM
: 7:30 PMLinks to this post:
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