# Vienna Marked?



## morganforte

I'm looking into breeding some vienna marked rabbits. I found a female holland lop that is an adorable black and white vienna marked bunny with blue eyes. Could I breed her to a "normal" male holland lop and get a mixture of vienna marked and "normal" lops, or would they all be "normal"? Or vice versa? Thanks!


----------



## OakRidgeRabbits

Vienna marked rabbits are not an accepted color in any breed recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association.

The vienna gene is what creates blue-eyed-white (BEW) rabbits. When you breed a BEW to any other color, the cross creates what we call "vienna marked (VM)." These offspring typically have one or two blue eyes, or marbled eyes, as well as white spots or splashes in their coat.

These crosses are necessary in BEW programs because the BEW color is fairly uncommon and very underdeveloped. Crossing it with more developed colors helps improve the overall quality of the rabbits produced. VMs can then be bred back to BEW to help strengthen the line.

So, my point is that working within the BEW color family is very difficult and requires quite a bit of experience and knowledge to ensure that each generation of rabbits is an improvement upon the last. If you are new to raising rabbits, I do not recommend working with BEW or VM rabbits.

Aside from that, VMs are a side product, not the goal of a breeding program itself. Breeding FOR VMs simply creates more pet rabbits. And to be honest, there are enough pet rabbits out there.

To answer your question directly, breeding a VM to a "normal" male will create a mixture of offspring. Some may have mismarkings - blue or marbled eyes or white spots. Some may appear normal. But many would carry the vienna gene and could not be used in another breeding program.


----------

