Potential show bunny?

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sumashollands

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I have a 4 week old Holland lop buck out of a show quality buck and a not so show quality VM doe. He is a tort, and has a really nice head and crown so far, ( I know it’s a bit early to be looking for show standards but it’s kind of fun) he is so far following his fathers qualities. That’s when I noticed the blue/gray eyes. 🤪 so I know VM can’t be shown, but VC can, so maybe he’s a VC? No white markings.
 

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That's not a show quality rabbit. The color is harlequin, not tort, which is not a showable color. That spot behind his eye is not a natural spot for tort shading to show up, so it makes him just a very light harlequin.
I don't see any vienna marks on him; I would still mark it down on his pedigree that he is a potentially vienna carrier, and warn any future buyers (of him or any rabbits from that line) of the fact.
 
but that doesn’t make sense? Father was a black tort, and mother was blue???
 

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I was just curious and looked up Holland Lop colors. He seems like a tort to me. This site even shows that you can sometimes see the darker blue or black undercoat where the hair is shorter, like the sides of the face, which is what the darker markings around the eye could be from. Harlequin, on the other hand, has distinct black stripes/markings throughout, which this bunny does not have.

https://hickoryridgehollands.com/holland-lop-color-guide
 
Blues can carry harlequin, so it would have come from the mother. Harlequin is on the same locus as tort, so both parents don't need to carry harlequin if one carries harlequin and one has tort.
This rabbit is definitely a harlequin. The range of markings in a harlequin can vary drastically. With harlequins, the 'orange' is more clear than it is with a tort, and it lacks the tort shading (they usually just have the minimal shading/smut that you would see on an orange). The markings aren't in the normal place for a tort (especially given that the rabbit has no other tort shading) and on harlequins the colors are more clearly black vs orange. With torts the shading gives a sort of dark brown color as a smooth transition to black, here there are just black hairs mixed in with the orange.
I've produced a harlequin with similar markings, quite a few years ago.
 

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Interesting - pretty fun to learn about! Looking closer at the pics in the link, I now see what you mean about the orange shade. We pulled up pics of our old Holland Lop and discovered she was chestnut - which is kind of funny because she was best friends with our dog, who's name is Chestnut. We used to make up stories about The Adventures of Holly and Chestnut. :)
 
Same bunny at 8 weeks.
 

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Cute! Very interesting comparison, it shows how fast baby bunnies grow up. I can confirm that your Holland Lop is a (possible VC) lightly marked Japanese (orange/black) Harlequin.

Harlequin is not a color that can be shown, but I'm sure you are still interested in quality. I do not show bunnies myself, and I am learning more everyday! But from what I can tell, he has a nice round top line, with good slope. His ears are nice and open, but they are on the longer side (it is possible he could grow into them, though). He does have longer bone, too, which is seen via the length of his front paws. Ideally he should have short, straight, and heavy bone. He lacks proper crown definition, and his forehead is narrow - a good Holland Lop should have a "massive" head! He does have striking bold round eyes, and thick ears that hang close to his head. I could go on and on, but hopefully this gets the main idea across! Although he does not have perfect type, he is beautiful nonetheless and will most likely grow up to be a nice looking Holland (to be used in a breeding program, or as a pet). Hope this helps!!
 
Yup, dam had a longer body, although the father i got from a good breeder, and has good body type, other than his back feet being slightly too close too his front.
 

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