An event that really spurred me onto finally creating a web page is that after approximately 8 years of working with chocolate dwarf lops, Cadbury is the first chocolate otter dwarf lop to be a BRC Champion. His Silver Star Diploma came through in early December 2004. Due to his unusual colour Cadbury certainly created comment on the show circuit.

 I was lucky enough to find and buy 2 proven chocolate does. Exact backgrounds unknown, but one is a chocolate butterfly and the other a chocolate otter butterfly. The fact they were proven chocolate dwarf lop does was good enough for me as I already had the bucks, ie Cadbury and his son Tallow, a black  carrying chocolate.

Young chocolate doe, Tulsa from Cadbury and my chocolate otter butterfly doe.  In order to improve the head, make it broader, she will probably be mated to Tallow as he has a broader head than Cadbury. As Tallow also carries the chocolate gene, I should have some chocolates in that litter.

Working with Chocolates

Whilst many colours are compatible with others for breeding, I have found that the chocolate gene is compatible with very little else to achieve the intensity and depth of colour I prefer. At first due to lack of chocolates I mated chocolate to blue, but ended up with almost a purple sheen on the coat. Mating chocolate to self black and black otters has given a deeper colour and the undercoat, the fur near the skin, tends to be darker, a good trait.

Chocolates when mated to another rabbit can only pass on their chocolate gene, hence knowing that if something is bred by a chocolate at least some of their colour genes will be chocolate. Very handy when you're trying to concentrate on breeding a specific colour. This is why I know that Tallow, the handsome buck below, although black in colour, is also carrying the chocolate gene, as his mother was a chocolate doe, bred to a stunning black buck bred by Grahame Coote. (For more information on genetics I recommend miniaturelops.com, with a very informative, and easy to understand genetics section)

Unfortunately Tallow would not do very well on the show table as there are white hairs in his black coat  and this is a serious fault for a 'show' rabbit. However as a breeding buck he was very useful, and again a real gentleman, loving cuddles and being very docile to handle.

The Next Generation

The quest for a bold headed, good typed chocolate continues. To help with this I am grateful to Sue Dickenson and her lovely buck Alfie. (Sue's rabbit's can seen at www.mapledurhamrabbits.co.uk).  Alfie was mated to a chocolate butterfly and from this I kept an agouti buck.

His grand-children are now being used in the 2007/8 breeding programme.

Stepping out. Tulsa, now with her own litter. The self doe will be useful for both otter breeding, put to the agouti butterfly above, or for chin breeding, when put to the chin buck below. 

From Georgie I kept the chin and agouti does below.