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HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN POLISH RABBIT AND THE EFFECT OF THE DWARF
GENE IN POLISH:
by Ellyn Eddy
bumperbunny@juno.com
The Polish rabbit did not originate in Poland, but in
England. It has been said that they were Ruby Eyed White (REW)
"Sports" from Dutch rabbits, which were one of the more
common breeds at the time. While this may be true, other
sources state that the original Polish were just the common REW
"hutch rabbit". This version of the story is likely,
and those original "common hutch rabbits" could have had
Dutch as their ancestors, along with other breeds.
By all accounts, the original Polish in 1860 were a very pure white
color, with ruby-red eyes and silky fur. they ranged anywhere
from 3 to 10 pounds, with 4 being about average. The difference
in weights leads us to believe that they were originally your basic,
mutt white rabbit. They did not carry the dwarf gene.
In the early 1880's in England, a Mr. H. E. Gilbert complied the
first Polish standard, with the bold Polish eye being an important
feature, as it still is. In 1884 17 polish were shown in Hull,
and that same year the Polish were exported to Germany where they
were called Hermelin, meaning Ermine. Any American Polish
breeder could look at the present-day German Hermelin and recognize
it as a Polish.
In 1912 the Polish were exported from England to the United States,
and, in 1907, the English Polish and German Hermelin were brought to Holland.
The Dutch Polish fanciers began breeding down for size, and with the
introduction of a few wild rabbits, the Netherland Dwarf was born in
many colors. These Dwarfs carried the Dwarf gene, which
produces "peanuts".
Meanwhile, in the USA Polish were recognized by the National Pet
Stock Association, the forerunner of the ARBA, and by 1930 they had
become rather popular, being the smallest breed at the time.
The standard weight was set at 3 pounds. The early American
Polish were small, but not dwarfs. Their heads, ears, and limbs
were longer than the Polish of today; their coats were better
flybacks. In 1938 the BEW (Blue-eyed-white) Polish were
recognized, followed by the blacks and chocolates. Back in the
UK the Polish evolved into the British Polish, named Britannia Petite
in America. The early American Polish were small, but did not
throw peanuts--they were a "breeder selected" small rabbit.
Then came the dwarf.
In 1965 came the first importation, from England, followed by many,
many more. Everyone loved the tiny, two-pound dwarf. Pet
owners, fanciers, judges. Many polish breeders switched
loyalties and began breeding netherland Dwarfs instead.
Inveitibly, the two breeds were crossed. NDwarf does, because
of the dwarf gene, usually produced only 1 to 2 live kits per litter:
not nearly enough to meet the great demand for them. As Polish
does had larger litters, breeders crossed Polish does to ND
bucks. The breed that the Polish had shaped began to shape the
Polish. By the 1970's the two breeds were
indistinguishable. For years, ARBA held classes on "How to
tell a Polish from a Netherland Dwarf" !!! Dwarfs were
entered as polish, both on purpose and by accident, and they won,
even at ARBA conventions! But who was to say that is WAS a
Dwarf rather than a Polish??
Today the two breeds are more distinguishable, more like two seperate
breeds, but the dwarf had left its mark on the Polish. Polish today
have much shorter ears and flatter faces than the Polish of
yesteryear. They have softer, rollback-like coats and are
plagued with unrecognized colors cropping up and, of course, the
lethal Dwarf gene.
Let me diverge into a little genetics: The average Netherland
Dwarf, and nowadays, Polish, is a "dwarf", Meaning it
carries the peanut/dwarf gene and is affected by it in the sense that
it has the flat face and short ears of a Netherland Dwarf. The
gene symbol for the dwarf gene is "Dw" and a
"dwarf" is Dwdw. When breeding two Dwdw, the
offspring will be (approx) 50% DWdw dwarfs, 25%DwDw, and 25% dwdw.
The DwDw is a non-affected rabbit, the same as say a
Californian, that could never throw a peanut. The 25% that is
dwdw are the "peanuts". They are thus named for their
enlarged heads, giving them the look of a peanut shell. These
"lethal mutants" die usually within 3 days of birth.
When breeding a non-dwarf (DwDw) to a Dwarf (Dwdw), approx. 50% of
the offspring will be Dwdw, and 50% DwDw. The odds on how many
peanuts a rabbit throws all depends on its genotype and the rabbit it
is bred to.
Many Polish breeders will tell you that their best does are the ones
that throw peanuts. The reason for this is simple: Judges
are attracted to the Dwarf-like characteristics. Often a Polish
with dwarf-like type and a rollback coat will beat a polish with
longer features and a better coat, even if the second one better
complies with the original intention of the standard. WHY??
Because JUDGES LIKE DWARFS. It is my opinion that if the polish
breeders want to rid their litters of peanuts they need to add a
fault, maybe even a DQ to the polish standard, faulting rabbits with
dwarf-like characteristics. In fact, there IS a fault in the
standard faulting dwarf-like heads! I have heard polish
breeders say of a rabbit that won BOB: "I could have sworn
it was a Dwarf." Today breeders are torn between winning
on the showtable and making the American Polish Rabbit what it once
was: A Breeder-selected small rabbit"
by Ellyn Eddy |
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"THE GRANDSIRES OF THEM ALL"
by Ellyn Eddy
I have counted over 25 breeds from around the world that have without
a doubt had Polish as one of their original ancestors used to create
the breed. And there are many, many more that may be decended
from our Polish. Some of those breeds include the Netherland
Dwarf, Britannia Petite, Mini Lop, Mini Satin, Mini Rex, Holland Lop,
Dwarf Angora, and more.
A quick history of the Polish: I once was told by a breeder
with some of the best Polish in the nation that the Polish was a
cross between the Havana and the ND, therefore should be a mini-havana.
Of course, i can see how crossing those two breeds would give you
something like what could be called a Polish, but the idea that they
began that way is WRONG!! in fact, the Netherland Dwarf is
basically just a Polish bred to the different type, and it is
possible that the Havana is also decended from the early
Polish!! THe only role the Havana has played in the development
of the Polish is the introduction of the black and chocolate
varieties, and this was over 100 years after the Polish had been
established as a breed.
Bob Whitman's account of the history of the Polish in his Domestic
Rabbits and Thier Histories is a very interesting read. It was
previously said that Polish were albino sports from Dutch, but
Whitman makes no mention of Dutch. Instead he quotes two old
books on rabbits, both of which state that the Polish of
England in the 1850's was simply the common white hutch rabbit, with
weights ranging from 3-10 pounds! It is my own personal
assumption that some of these "common hutch rabbits" could
have been albino dutch sports.
Whitman states that some breeds came from, in part, the "common
hutch rabbits" of England about the right time for them to have
possibly been our early Polish. I am not saying for sure that
these rabbits were what could be called Polish, but i am suggesting
that it is possible. If that is the case, then it is possible that
the Havana and/or the Black and Tan were decended from the
Polish. The Satins came from Havanas, and Chinchillas from the
Tans. At LEAST 1/2 of the breeds in the world decended from the
ND, Chinchilla, Tan, Havana, or Satin, and therefore...our
Polish? Not to mention all the many many breeds with the color
chocolate or lilac (came from Havanas) or Chinchilla/squirrel!!
In fact, PROVIDED that the Havana and Chin ARE decended from Polish,
i would venture to say that MOST iof the breeds of the US and UK have
early Polish blood in their veins...cool, huh?
Taking a look at some of those breeds...
There are three breeds besides our American Polish that are
historically the same breed: the Netherland Dwarf, Britannia
Petite, and the German breed Hermelin. The Polish in the US,
from 1912 to 1970 when the dwarf hit the scene, was the closest to
the original Polish. Sadly our Polish have been crossed with
the Netherland Dwarf, and they are now more dwarfy, resembling
remarkably the German Hermelin. Originally called Poles,
Hermelins are just Polish imported into Germany from England in
1884. Having been bred to have
"mock ermine" fur and a somewhat "dwarfy" type,
they were renamed Hermelin. The story of the Britannia Petite is the
same, except they remained in England and the type evolved in the
opposite direction. Still called Polish in the UK, Brit Petites
were imported into the US in 1973, as a new breed and given the name
Britannia Petitie. The Netherland Dwarf is simply, again,
Polish and Hermelins bred to a different type, then introduced to the
rest of the world as a new breed.
Other breeds that decended directly from Polish include the Florida
White, Mini Lop, Mini Satin, Dwarf Angora of Belgium, Dwarf Swiss Fox
(UK), and a British breed called the squirrel. The Florida
White was developed in Florida in the 1960's from crosses of Dutch,
New Zealand Whites and REW Polish. Mini Lops appeared in
Germany from English Lops, New Zealands, Chinchillas, Holland Lops,
and Polish and Hermelins. The first Mini Satins were crosses of
Polish X Satins, but it is not known if any of the original Mini
Satins were saved from the crock pot and are ancestors of the mini
satins of today, or if today's mini satins are strictly crosses of
the Satin and European Satin Dwarf. Either way, the Polish did
play a part in the development of the Mini Satin. The foreign
breeds of the Dwarf Angora and Dwarf Swiss Fox are both mini versions
of the standard sized breed, created by crossing the breed with
Polish and ND's.
There are many breeds world wide decended from the Netherland Dwarf,
including the Jersey Wooly, Holland Lop, American Fuzzy lop, Dwarf
Rex Lop, Lionhead and Lionhead Lop, cashmere lop, mini satin rex,
jamora, lutterbach ermine, mini plush lop, hulstlander, dwarf
papillion, Lutino, and Lutterbach Ermine. Even America's
beloved Mini Rex has Polish roots, as the mini rex was bred from the
dwarf rex which came from the Nethie which came from Polish.
If the Havana and Chinchilla did come from the Polish, then that
would be an added at least 40 more breeds decended from the
Polish! Some of those would be the lilac, the californian, the
cinnamon, and the silver marten, just for examples.
Our little Polish--Polish are known for being "easy
breeders" aren't they???
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