Two recessive fuzzy genes will produce a DQ Holland - a Holland with wool. You can sell the fuzzy Holland quite easily as a pet or sell it to an American Fuzzy Lop breeder who doesn't mind working with fuzzy Hollands. Be sure to be clear that it is a Holland, though, and not an American Fuzzy Lop.
A Holland with one fuzzy gene will often, but not always, have longish fur. I have been, on occasion, shocked to find out that a particular rabbit is a fuzzy gene carrier. They may also have denser fur. So it's not a one-two punch. Instead, it gives a little and takes a little.
I do believe in full disclosure when you know that a rabbit is a fuzzy carrier. Because it is such a non-issue for me, I sometimes forget about it. So, if you are buying a rabbit, it's good to ask whether the rabbit has ever produced a fuzzy. If you are one of the wool-gene-haters, then you should also ask whether either parent is a known fuzzy carriers.
So, why don't I hate the gene? First of all, some of my best rabbits are fuzzy gene carriers: Rio, Merlin, May, and a few others. There was a district 9 Holland with over 40 legs who was a fuzzy carrier. I suspect that some top lops are also fuzzy carriers. If it were truly a horrible, terrible gene, then rabbits could not be successful on the table - repeatedly - with the gene.
Look at our points structure. Fur is 7 points. And those 7 points have to cover "glossy, dense, fine in texture, and even in length." Our Holland fur is supposed to be approximately 1" long. So, if you have a wool gene carrier and got the longish fur, then you lose just a fraction of 7 points. Ooooh, I'm shaking in my boots from fear!
I also looked to see what an impact the fuzzy gene has made on my herd. So far, out of the first 555 kits, I produced 9 fuzzies. Believe me, I've produced far more than 9 butt ugly rabbits. And I'm more worried about reducing the number butt ugly rabbits than the fuzzy ones.
If I pet out or sell all of my fuzzies and only keep fuzzy carriers and non-fuzzy carriers, then the actually percentage of fuzzy production will stay small. Even if I gravitated to fuzzy carriers and every rabbit in my barn was a fuzzy carrier, the percentage (on the average) would never rise above 25%. As it is, I also have quite a few non-fuzzy gene carriers. So my actual percentage is lower.
I do take the fuzzy gene into consideration when breeding. Non-fuzzy gene carriers are a delight because I don't have to worry about who to breed them to. But as you may know, I don't let the fact that two rabbits are fuzzy carriers stop me from breeding them together if it's a great match any more than I would let the fact that two rabbits are brokens stop me from breeding if it's a great match otherwise. Most, if not all Charlies are DQ rabbits, too. It's the same risk.
Of course, with me, I'll end up with three fuzzy Charlies in a litter. Speaking of which, Rio and May's last litter is three brokens - no Charlies. One hurdle down. Now I have to see whether any are fuzzy carriers. I also have two dilutes. So I'll have to see whether either of the dilutes is a broken blue point - another DQ. Why am I willing to risk all of these possible DQ's? Because Padme (Rio x May) is such a fabulous doe. Who wouldn't want another one like her!
Okay, back to wool. Think for a moment of all of the things that Hollands need to improve on: genetic consistency, slipped crowns, narrow shoulders, pinbones, eye spots, split penis, long bodies, long bone, weight, and probably more. These are the things, in my opinion, that we should be aggressively culling (split penis, I believe, comes in both the genetic and non-genetic forms - if it runs in a line, cull).
Wool is probably in the bottom third of things that I care about. Yes, I hope one day to be fine tuning my herd so that the wool gene matters. Once I have conquered crowns, bone, length, etc., then I'll be worrying about such things as whether my herd carries the wool gene. If I ever have two lines of equal quality, one with the wool gene and one without - and I only have time and space to work with one line - then I'll choose the one without the wool gene. But until that happens, I've got other things to work on.
Laurie Stroupe
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