| What is a "peanut" you may ask? A peanut is a kit that has inherited a double dwarfing gene, or one dwarfing gene from each of it's parents. Genes occur in pairs, and each gene or allele is either dominate or recessive. To represent these genes the letters "Dw" and "dw" are used: "Dw" stands for dominate, and "dw" stands for recesive. The gene that causes dwarfing in the Fuzzy lop is DW. This gene causes a normal sized rabbit to be dwarfed in body size, widens the skull and makes it round, and shortens the ear length, which is what we want in the Fuzzy Lop. The ideal size Fuzzy will have the gene combination "Dwdw" (one dwarfing gene). A Fuzzy Lop that goes over 4lbs will have the gene combination "dwdw" (no dwarfing gene) and the peanut will have the gene combination "DwDw" or,a double dose of the dwarfing gene. A peanut is about half the size of a normal newborn kit. Notice in picture #1 the exaggerated underdeveloped hind quarters, the bulging eyes, and the domed shape head and the short little "pig" ears compared to the noraml size kit? These kits are usually either born dead or die within a few days. When I first started with Fuzzies I was told that a peanut was just a deformed kit. When I got my first litter, half the kits were extremely tiny, but didn't look deformed so I wasn't sure if they were "peanuts" or not. Then a breeder friend pointed out the shape of the head, ears and eyes to me. It's not real noticable at first, but is definately noticable after the first few days. If you have kits in your litter that are about half the size of the others, you can be pretty sure they are peanuts. Some breeders feel the most humane thing to do is to put these kits down. I personally don't have the heart to this, and choose to let nature run it's course. They usually only live a couple days. |
| Fuzzy Lop "Peanuts" |
| These are hours old kits. A normal sized in the back with a "peanut" in the front. |
| The kits here are now 2 days old. The size difference, and bulging eyes are now very noticable. This little kit sadly died the following day. :*( |
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| THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT PEANUTS!! There is a bright side to getting peanuts in your litters, so don't be too discouraged! If you get peanuts in your litters this tells you that both parents carry the dwarfing gene...a good thing for fuzzy lops. Sometimes you can have an animal that either weighs close to 4lbs or is over in the cases of some does, but they still produce peanuts. I had a doe who was 4.08 lbs but gave me peanuts in just about every litter. Since she gave me peanuts, I knew she was still a dwarfed doe but just had a little more "junk in the trunk" than most. These make the BEST does!!! They are bigger so therefore give you bigger litters, AND they pass on the dwarfing gene so your chances of getting Dwdw's is much better. No one likes to get peanuts in their litters, but it's part of raising a dwarf breed. New breeders have a problem with this and hate to see kits die, but like I said...it's part of raising this breed and the sooner one can accept it the better off you are. Before you know it, it'll be no big deal. Unless of course, like me, you get an ENTIRE litter of peanuts!! That's only happened to me once, but I still remember it. That litter was compliments of the 4.08 doe mentioned above. :) |
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