In an earlier blog I mentioned rabbit Christmas cards. Way back before many of you were into rabbits, before the American Fuzzy Lop was an accepted ARBA breed, the breed COD holder sent out Christmas cards. Her name is Patty Greene-Karl from NY.
A little history on the American Fuzzy Lops. When Hollands first came to the States, some crossbreeding was done to create a larger gene pool or to bring in another trait. Somewhere along the line, a poor misguided soul (I'm being kind here) bred in Angora to "improve" the coat. The first years of Hollands being an accepted breed, it seemed more likely you'd get a fuzzy lop (Angora wooled Holland Lops) when breeding broken to broken. I don't know how sound this "broken to broken fact" is but the first time I did breed broken to broken, I got THREE! As an "added?bonus?" they were mismarked.
Whenever two Hollands that carry the fuzzy gene are bred together, you can get an Angora coated Holland. Overall, there are variations of length of coat on Hollands. Some have the short (and often shiny) fur, some have medium length with a slow rollback, others have longer, thicker and dense fur that will never get slick. It is especially thick around their hindquarters and underside.
I've found that brokens are more likely to have longer, thicker, super dense fur. I don't think this has to do with the fuzzy gene but rather simply a different gene. For lack of a better term, a "real thick dense fur" gene.
Many bloodlines carry the fuzzy gene which isn't visible until two animals with this gene are bred together which makes that wool gene dominant, hence the resulting long fuzzy coat. Some people keep these Fuzzy Holland Lops and show them if they are representative of the AFL Standard. A Maine bred (NOT MINE) Fuzzy Holland Lop even won Best of Breed at the ARBA Convention. Other breeders sell them for pets. Either way, if a pedigree is given out it must state it is a Fuzzy Holland Lop, not AFL.
Anyway, getting back to the Christmas Cards.... Patty used to send me a Christmas card each year of a fuzzy lop or two on a grooming table with a sign beside them. The first year of course said something like, "American Fuzzy Lop 1st Year", then each consecutive year had a sign up until they got accepted and that year's Hooray sign.
Here is a Christmas wish for you all - that the Fuzzy Fairy doesn't gift you in 2015!