Understanding what your rabbit carries — explained simply and honestly
We believe every buyer deserves to understand what their rabbit carries. Not because it changes how lovable they are as a pet — but because informed owners make better decisions about care, future breeding and realistic expectations. Our herd carries some fascinating genetics and we want you to understand them.
The gene responsible for blue eyes and white markings in Holland Lops and Mini Lops
Two copies of the Vienna gene. Pure white body with striking blue eyes. Can have eye development concerns in some lines.
One copy of the gene. Shows white eye rings, white chin, white feet on an otherwise colored rabbit. All four of our breeding animals carry this.
No Vienna gene. Fully colored rabbit with dark eyes. Our Nutella is vv — the cleanest and safest Vienna pairing partner.
| Rabbit | Status | How We Know | Breeding Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon | Vv Vienna Marked | White eye circles, white chin, white feet — actual white not cream | Passes Vienna gene to ~50% of offspring |
| Clover | Vv Vienna Marked | High white body with blue gray patches and blue eyes | Vv × Vv pairing — monitor litter for VV expression at eye opening |
| Nutella | vv Clean | No white markings anywhere on chocolate body | Safest pairing — zero VV risk with Cinnamon |
| Blueberry Tart | Vv Vienna Marked | Confirmed in pedigree — both dam and sire are Vienna marked | Passes Vienna gene to offspring — monitor litter |
When two Vienna marked parents (Vv × Vv) are bred together, 25% of kits may be double factor VV. At around day 10 when eyes open, check each kit carefully for eyes that are small, sunken, or do not open on schedule. Affected kits can still be wonderful pets with the right informed owner. We disclose this on all kits from Vienna pairings.
The gene that creates white patches on an otherwise colored rabbit
The broken gene (En) adds white patches to a colored rabbit's coat. A single copy (En n) creates a broken pattern rabbit with roughly 50% white and 50% color. Two copies (En En) creates a "charlie" — mostly white with minimal color patches. No copies (n n) is a solid colored rabbit.
Broken pattern is separate from Vienna — a rabbit can carry both, which is exactly what we see in our herd. When broken and Vienna stack together, the white areas increase dramatically, creating the high white appearance you see in Clover.
Cinnamon appeared to be a solid smutty orange Vienna marked rabbit — no obvious broken pattern on his body. But his first litter with Clover produced 7 out of 9 broken kits. That 78% broken rate confirmed that Cinnamon is carrying the broken gene hidden — inherited from his tricolor dam.
This is a perfect example of why genetics testing through litter data matters more than visual assessment alone.
Clover's high white appearance comes from carrying both the broken gene (En n) AND the Vienna gene (Vv). The broken gene creates white patches and the Vienna gene expands those white areas further — resulting in a rabbit that is mostly white with only small areas of her underlying blue base color showing through on her head, back and hindquarters.
The rare alternating color pattern — and why it showed up in Clover's very first litter
Harlequin is an alternating color pattern — one side of the head is dark, the other is warm orange or fawn, and the body shows alternating bands of the two colors. It looks like a court jester costume, which is how it got the name.
Japanese harlequin alternates black and orange. Blue harlequin — rarer and more subtle — alternates blue gray and warm cream fawn. A broken harlequin adds white areas from the broken gene on top of the alternating pattern.
One of Clover's kits showed a clean split down the middle of the head and organized bands on the body rather than random broken patches. This is the hallmark harlequin marking — organized and alternating, not random.
This traces back to Cinnamon's tricolor dam. Tricolor and harlequin are genetically related — both involve the same gene family expressing differently. His mom passed him something invisible that only became visible in his first litter.
Blueberry Tart's dam is a confirmed harlequin Vienna marked doe. This means harlequin genetics are directly present in her pedigree. When bred to Cinnamon with his own harlequin heritage, their litters have real potential to produce blue harlequin and broken harlequin kits — some of the rarest Holland Lop color combinations available anywhere.
What creates blue, chocolate and lilac colors from black base genetics
The dilute gene (d) lightens pigment. Two copies (dd) produces the dilute version of whatever base color the rabbit carries. Black becomes blue (blue gray). Chocolate becomes lilac. Orange becomes cream or fawn.
You need two copies of dilute to see the effect — a single copy (Dd) is a carrier that looks non-dilute but can pass dilute to offspring.
Clover is confirmed blue based — her patches are blue gray, not black — which means she carries dd (two copies of dilute). This means all her kits receive at least one d from her, making all of them dilute carriers at minimum.
If Cinnamon also carries dilute hidden — which his first litter results may suggest through the warm fawn tones appearing in some kits — then blue and fawn kits are a real possibility in future litters.
