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The Myth .....The Mystery.....The Mismarks

BEWS to me are a very easy , beautiful color to breed. I think that BEWs are a challenging color to work with in regards to type. As long as you have two BEWs or a nice colored rabbit to make sports with you can breed them. You need to concentrate on bone, substance,  ears, & body in order to do really well showing them. I have not seen many people showing BEWs. I some times think people are intimidated by the color or their reputation. They are not as popular as Siamese sables, REWs, & Otters. These colors are known for placing well at shows. But one can use these typey colored rabbits to improve your line of BEWs. A bit of knowledge in genetics is helpful when breeding BEWs. Luckily my mom is a genetics nut so she taught me a lot about genetics. Please do not let intimidation stop you . There are several good mentors out there that just love to help folks get started in the right direction.  -  Katherine Moore-Treasure Trove Rabbitry.

( Web Masters Note : Katherine has won several BOB & BOS with her BEWS and has even received RIS & BIS.)

The Blue Eye was popular with the early importers of our breed back in the early seventies. Among those early breeder / importers were: Herb Dyke, Art Ammon, Betty and Collier Landress, Herman Hack, Ralph DeVito, and Doris Lebel to name just a few. Herman Hack was able to pick up a BOB at the 1971 Convention in New Mexico with his Sr. BEW Buck.

The Blue Eye began to lose favor when word got around that they were biters, poor producers and were not able to consistently produce the right type of fur. Today's Blue Eye is far removed from those early imports, and rarely suffers from any of the above mentioned problems.

If you are interested in this beautiful color but are afraid to buy because of the rumors you have heard, I say go for it. As with any color, try to purchase the best quality you can find. Blue Eyed Whites can be bred with almost any other color. I would use Red Eyed White for type improvements as they are the biggest competitors in the self-group. - Rude Browne

The BEW genes differ from the other genes and I still have a lot to learn about how this gene works.  In my opinion the gene is neither dominant nor recessive, because sometimes it lies hidden but sometimes not.  I'll try to explain this further.

When you breed a BEW to a BEW statistically you'll get 100% chance of BEW.  But, there are some exceptions:  For instance when Himmie or RE lies hidden you could get phenotype RE. If sable lies behind the BEW you can get BEW's with a ruby cast pupil, and these offspring are not showable.

So be aware of what color you breed in to a BEW.  Chocolate or sable will give a ruby cast pupil, so my advice is to avoid these genes.  Otherwise you can breed what color you like to enhance the type and fur.  Be aware that a broken rabbit can be hard to tell if it's a Vienna marked VCR or simply a broken.  When you breed a colored rabbit VT to a BEW vt, you'll get all Vt.  Most of these offspring will have white markings and /or brindle or blue eyes because of v.  I call them Vienna marked rabbits (VRM).  But in some cases the v can be totally hidden, and the rabbit is showable.  I call them Vienna carriers(VCR).  If you breed a VRM or a VCR back to BEW you will stat. get 50% BEW and 50% VCR/VRM.  So it takes just two generation before you have bred a pure BEW again.  If you breed a VRM/VCR to a VRM/VCR  you'll get stat. 25% BEW, 25% colored VT without BEW gene, and 50% VRM/VCR.  If you breed a VRM/VCR to a colored VT without BEW gene you'll get 50% VRM/VCR and 50% colored without the BEW gene.  

Because the BEW gene will "destroy" colored rabbits with white markings it's best to breed BEW to BEW.  If you outcrops to other colors, always breed the VRM/VCR back to BEW.  Never use a VRM/VCR to other colors than BEW.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEW AND RE

The cells that produce pigment in the fur are called Melanocyte in normal rabbits there are Melanocyte all over the body giving the fur the coloring.  A marked rabbit(Dutch, English, Dalmatian) have some spots with color producing Melanocyte, whereas other areas of the skin have no Melanocyte producing white fur.  But in a BEW the Melanocyte are totally missing-the fur becomes white all over the body.  In a BEW the "white spot" covers the whole rabbit.  The V-gene does not take any part in the melanin-synthesis like the ABCDG genes does, it is a gene that is needed for the correct development of Melanocyte from stem cells.

What about a RE?  A normal RE has Melanocyte just like a normal colored rabbit, but the RE has a mutant version of the C-gene.  The REWs are genetically cc.  The C gene codes for and enzyme called Tyrosinase. Active Tyrosinase must be present in the Melanocyte in order to produce pigment.  If there is no Tyrosinase, there will be no color production.

So to summarize the difference between a BEW and a RE is that a BEW cannot produce pigments because it lacks pigment-producing cells (Melanocyte).  A RE is a rabbit that cannot produce pigments because it lacks the enzyme Tyrosinase.

What about the blue eyes of the BEW?  The backside (inside) of  the iris is called the Iris Pigment Epithelium  or just IPE for short.  The IPE is a very thin layer made up by two layers of cubes shaped IPE-cells these cells produce pigment in very much the same way as normal Melanocyte.  In fact they produce enough pigment to make the IPE completely  black and light tight.  The outside of the iris is called Stroma and has different types of cell including Melanocyte that produce brown pigment.  In a BEW the Melanocyte in the Stroma are absent, but the pigment in IPE is produced as in a normal rabbit.  The result is a bleu eye.  There are no blue pigments in the eye of BEW; the color is an optical effect ( comparable to the blue sky - the sky has no blue pigments either).

In a RE there is no color production ( due to the complete lack of active Tyrosinase) and neither the Melanocyte in the Stroma nor the IPE cells produce any pigments.  The iris becomes transparent and the eyeball is flooded with light.  The red color that we see is caused by the red pigment Hemoglobin in the blood vessels in the retina of the eye. - Solvi Lysfjord & Geir Nordvik

 Breeding for BEWs is really a simple matter of understanding the Vienna gene. I've had the gene here for about a year and a half. I started with two Vienna marked does and a BEW buck from Jim Schroeder. I like to refer to them as "Vienna marked" instead  of mismarks or sports. This says more accurately what they are. I did not keep any of the Vienna marked kits from these breeding as I always want to move forward at each breeding. I already had two Vienna marked and the next step is the correct BEW. Though this one and only BEW produced from this trio was the 2nd place Jr. BEW doe at ARBA Convention 2005.

I also do not like to keep any REWs from this type of breeding. You don't know if you have a Vienna marked or a REW. I don't really want to find out three generations later so I just eliminate any REW's. Again each breeding should be a step forward. I want to know what I have. Keeping REWs from this breeding doesn't allow me that information. Again, my goal here is BEW's. - Terri Gegenfutner

I got my first BEW doe 3 years ago we call her Blue. We Then purchased a BEW buck but he died a week after we brought him home. Well then I had a BEW doe and no buck. After a long wait we decided to breed Blue to a Blue Otter buck just to get something! So after one year from getting a BEW doe, Blue gave use one Sport buck. We named him Squeak!

We then purchased a few BEW does from Chuck Pelham, and received a great buck from Allie Dean we called Dean's Casper. Now were off!

Casper did very well on the show table even winning one Best of Breed! My only BOB I have won! That's what happens when you choose a hard color. We now have about 15 brood does and 5 BEW bucks and 2 sports. Yes one of them is Squeak!

I won BOV BEW and BOSG at the Montpelier, Ohio ANDRC Nationals. The doe's name is Rose she is Squeaks' daughter. I was very excited since this was my 1st national show.

BEWs are a hard color to breed and to win with. I am working very hard to have one of my BEWs win a BOB again. I hope to see more people breeding and showing BEWs. I love them. - Summer Zimmerman - A-Ranch's Bunnies

In Dwarfs, there are two distinct and separate types of albinism. The first is the Ruby-Eyed White gene, found on the c series, which causes complete melanin restriction in fur, eyes, nails, and every other part of the body. This form of albinism can also restrict color to a greater or lesser extent across the body when it is found in a single allele on the c series. Blue-Eyed White is a form of incomplete albinism caused by the restriction of melanin across the majority of the body.

Melanin is formed in the melanosome organelle of the melanocte. Melanoctes are found in the skin, hair follicles, and pigmented tissues of the eye. The melanin pathway consists of a series of reactions that converts tyrosine in to 2 types of melanin, black-brown eumelanin and red-blond pheomelanin. Genetic mutations affecting proteins / enzymes along this pathway inevitably result in reduced melanin production.

The neuroectoderm of the primitive forebrain is the origin of Melanocytes in the retinal pigment epithelium, iris epithelium (anterior and posterior), and ciliary epithelium (outer pigmented and inner nonpigmented). The neural crest is the origin of Melanocytes in the iris stroma, cilliary stroma, and choroid. Melanoblasts from the neural crest migrate to the skin, inner ear, and uveal tract.

The epithelium does have Melanocytes present. The origin of these Melanocytes is different from the origin of the Melanocytes of the stroma in the case of the BEW, the blue pigment is derived  from the melanin formed by the Melanocytes in the epithelium. The REW eye contains no pigment at all, which is the cause of the ruby eye.

The blue of the BEWs eyes is caused by the pigment being restricted in the stoma, with only the pigment in the epithelium remaining. In the case of the Vienna marked rabbits (those carrying only one v gene), the pigment across the entire body is not restricted, but only in certain portions. It's likely the melanin in the eyes is less likely to be restricted in the partial marked rabbits, so you typically only get the marbling or blue eyes when sufficient restriction across the rest of the rabbit occurs. deafness is a common side affect in blue-eyed albinos across all mammalian species. The genes that restrict the melanin production seem to be closely linked to the genes that affect hearing.

The Vienna gene, when single, restricts a certain amount of melanin production in the rabbit's body and (in some cases) the eyes. It does not restrict all melanin production, and the melanin factors. Doubled, the Vienna gene restricts all melanin production from Melanocytes that originate in the neural crest. Melanin production from Melanocytes that originate other than in the neural crest are not restricted, which allows the blue eyes.

The REW gene, when doubled, restricts melanin production when coupled with most of the genes on the C series. Unlike the Vienna gene, it does not restrict melanin production totally in certain areas of the body, but acts as a sort of blanket that leaches a certain amount of the melanin across the entire body in general. This is how we get correctly colored Siamese Sables, for instance, and why Himilayans and chinchilla rabbits who carry REW tend to be washed out.

There is a misconception that BEW rabbits are "whiter" than REW rabbits. This is a false myth. The melanin restriction is more complete in the REW rabbit, as every source of melanin is  restricted. The REW rabbit, however, is also not "whiter" than the BEW rabbit as the only source of melanin production in the BEW rabbit is in the neuroectoderm of the primitive forebrain, which affects ONLY the epithelium layer of the eye. Proof of this can be found in a REW rabbit which carries one Vienna gene. This rabbit does not present a "marbled" affect of white on white, despite the fact that the Vienna gene would create white patches on the rabbit if it had been colored.

Melanin restriction occurs with conception. At no time does an albino rabbit carry any form of color, and therefore it can not be said that a REW which carries BEW is a "BEW" rabbit, any more than it can be said a REW rabbit who carries AA-BB-cc-DD-VV is a "chestnut" rabbit. As with all of our varieties, the rabbit is classified by its phenotype, rather than by genotype, so a REW is a REW, despite what other genes it might carry. Record-keeping is, however, important, as it can be detrimental to many programs to insert REWs carrying the Vienna gene (single or double).                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Jennifer Poeschl

In my "Eye's" there is no Dwarf variety, more beautiful than a BEW!!! I had to laugh when Sandra asked me to write an article for the Winter Digest on the BEW's I don't do anything special, I don't have any special secret's other than patience, keeping clean cages so my animals are clean, and I work with them to pose on their own.

I have been raising and showing BEW for the last 16 of the 22 years I have been in this wonderful hobby. I had to share a 10' X 10' shed which housed about 35 holes with my mom. My mom was very helpful in my breeding by giving up a lot of her cages so I could keep some of the younger stock. Not that she really wanted to, but she did... I didn't have room to keep Sports or the bigger brood type animals, all rabbits had to be showable and also had to be able to reproduce or they would  have to removed from the herd, I very rarely use a Sport unless it is an exceptional animal, and never any Sport that was or carried the Chocolate or Shaded gene, as that can cause a ruby cast in the eye.

I started with a pair, Heather's Echo and Bonsai Blu I's. These two animal's help me to achieve a few of my goals in Breeding BEW's. One of which was having my rabbits compete at the national level and "hold their own".

It was an honor to have a rabbit I bred, chosen as BOSG at the 1998 ANDRC National in Osage Beach, Missouri. Heather's Shez Perfected, is the grandmother of my latest pride and joy: Heather's Heir to Perfection. "TP" as his friends call him, was chosen Best Jr. BEW and BOSV at the 2004 ARBA National in Providence, Rhode Island, and then this year in Indy was chosen BOV! What a thrill! To have a line that can continue its quality.

Most BEW breeders I know don't like to contuniely breed BEW to BEW as sometimes the Vienna gene can cause seizure. I have been very lucky to have only had one animal have seizures. I am now adding some Sports into my herd, as I have moved recently, and  few more cages to work with and I have some very nice Sports.

I need to say a few HUGE Thank You to my mom Shannon Dixon for everything - too much to list. Without her I would most certainly not be where I am today in my breeding. Congratulations mom on your wins at convention this year!!! You never know how much I appreciate it!                                                                                                                                                                                - Heather Dixon - Dixon's Fancy Gems

My son and I were attending a county fair and happened upon a BEW Netherland Dwarf. Happily that wonderful owner was not immune to the begging that insued, and we came home with our very first BEW Dwarf and a whole lot to learn.

I'll leave the details of that rabbit and that line to my son Brandon, since it is his story to tell and go on to the responsible mommy stuff. How to get an established BEW line of our own. There were virtually no BEWs in our area, and the information out there was even harder to find. We had lots of very kind folks give us well-meaning advice. For example when breeding a REW to a BEW we were told the babies would have one of each color eye! In their defense, no one in our area really worked BEWs seriously so how would any of us know? There just wasn't enough BEWs or info. around.

Many phone calls and much begging later ( because old habits die hard ), Brandon and I each have our own Working line of BEWs. Brandon's what I call a purist, he breeds mostly BEW to BEW. ME, I go for the Sports. Heck, I'll even breed Sport to Sport. If it's typey, I'd be a fool not to keep it over the ugly (albeit BEW littermates. My BEW ratio is lower, but my type is so locked in that we call it the cookie cutter line, so when I do get a BEW she's really hot!

If it sound like I'm bragging, I'm not. I have been lucky enough to stand on the shoulders of giants who had solid and established lines. They helped me tremendously. Any successes I have are the result of closing my mouth, opening my ears, listening to what they had to say then doing it.

Back to the BEWs. If you're starting out and only have one BEW, no biggie, find the typiest Dwarf you can get and use it. ( Those Otters are looking really good these days.) Avoid Shaded or chocolate since it tends to give a violet cast to the eye. Take those mismark babies back to the BEW parent and voila. Probability dictates that you will have some BEW in your nest boxes. As your line grows, get picky. Keep only the best type and move the rest out of the barn. Whether they're BEW, VM or VC, if it has type keep it and use it. You've already got the BEW / Vienna gene in your heard so it's not going anywhere and it's a lot harder to lock in good type when you might be moving the best bunnies out of your barn solely on the basis of color.

Look at your BEW line as a one way street.  You can introduce almost any variety in to your line but BEW or Sport can NEVER go back in to another variety. Even if that rabbit is a showable color and lacks that telltale blaze, you have to assume that it's carrying that Vienna gene. Nothing makes enemies quicker than selling a rabbit who is hiding Vienna gene to a person who intends to breed it to their solid colored rabbits.

Make sure the person buying those Vienna Marks or Vienna Carriers understands completely what will happen if they take that rabbit into a solid breeding program. Despite your best intentions, it will happen so you need to be as clear as possible before the transaction happens. some folks will even stamp in large letters on a pedigree "BEW carrier- do not breed to colored rabbits".

Most importantly, enjoy your BEWs. They are virtually brimming with personality and can be quite clownish in their character. As far as the "vicious" myth. Nonsense. Probably started by someone who was "green eyed" of the blue eyes. Come to think of it, some folks say the same thing about Netherland Dwarfs...... Be your own judge and try this gorgeous variety for your self. Like the  rest of us you'll be hooked! Happy Breeding.                                                                                                                                                                                        - Sandra Wight - Beach Bunnies

 I got my first BEW from Julie Booth. The name on the pedigree said Eskimo, but we called him Mo for short. I refer to all of my Dwarfs that come out of this line as "the Mo line".  It is  very special to me because Mo was our first and best rabbit we've ever had . His personality was the best  too. I would set up jumps three feet high and he would sail over them. He would jump anything.

I wanted to get more of the Mo line so I contacted the person who bred him and she had both parents for sale which I got. I also contacted Kelly and Mary McGillicuddy who are responsible for the line's origination and they were kind enough to let us have several of the rabbits that has made my line what it is today. I added Tim Reese's Austin Powers and the combination was fantastic. They sparked a whole generation of really nice bunnies. We got Einstein from this cross. He's the rabbit we use in our ads. He's on the beach and drinking the slushie. Einie gave us Ihop who was my first Best in Show winner. She also won Best in Group at the Rhode Island ARBA Convention. That was very exciting. I bred Ihop back to Einie and got Heartbreaker, who is a clone of Einie. He won Best Jr. of Variety at the Indianapolis Convention. He's also won two BOB. So far I'm still building on my program and loving the results. I'm hoping for many more years of enjoyable BEW breeding. I want to thank Kelly and Mary Mc Gillicuddy and Tim Reese for helping me get such a great start. -  Brandon Wight - Beach Bunnies

The Blue-Eyed white is quite a beautiful Dwarf with its intense eye color. Building a vigorous heard can be a challenge, even to an experienced breeder, however. BEWs are not available in large numbers and many have poor headset and low shoulders, long and thin ear quality, and fine bone, even though they may be large in size.

To get good type in a heard there are numerous varieties that can be used to improve type. Use the best typed animals that are available, no matter what their color is. When crossing BEWs to colored rabbits many variations in color and random Dutch pattern will occur. Some will have brown or gray eyes and some will have blue and brow / gray mixed color or all blue eyes. I would suggest that you don't use dilute (gray) eye colored animals so as to keep the best eye color in the BEWs. When you are working with later generations of BEWs and Dutch-marks to improve type, the Dutch marks with blue eyes will throw a larger percentage of BEW when bred to a BEW. When breeding for type improvement in BEWs and you only have a buck to start with, try breeding him to a number of does of any variety. Take the offspring to each other rather than back to the BEW buck. If the offspring have blue eyes, there is a good chance of getting BEW in this 2nd generation cross. Continuing to breed a BEW out to a non-BEW and bringing the resulting offspring into the BEW program ever 4-5 generations is a way of adding vigor to the BEW program and improving the type. Good luck in your breeding program. - Tim Reese

Over the past 7 years I have bred, raised , and shown BEWs. Some times more aggressively than others. As of  late I have really not done a whole lot with the BEW's. I currently have 3 BEW's and two mismarks and am just keeping the line in tact for now.

t experience in breeding the BEW is that it is truly a two step process to get a really good BEW Dwarf to show. What I mean is that I always preferred to breed my best non BEWs to my best BEWs and make mismarks. Then take the mismarks back to the BEW's That's where the best BEWs come from.

What I am doing when I breed the other colored Dwarfs in to the BEW is trying to steal the type form the good typed other colored Dwarf and put it on the BEW. The biggest problem with breeding BEW to BEW generation after generation is that they appear to start losing the depth of chest and high head mounts and also continue to get longer and longer in body type. This why I like to continually breed other colored Dwarfs into the BEW's

Over the years I have been fairly lucky in getting good BEW's. Some of the good ones were Court Clown, who was Best Jr. BEW buck at the 1999 ANDRC Nationals and also had 3 Best In Shows. Utopia was Best BEW at the 1998 ARBA Convention and Cupid was Best BEW and Best Jr. of Breed at the 2001 Convention. Thanks for letting my write a few words about the BEW Netherland Dwarf. When you get a good one the work is worth it.  -  Everett Hopper - Pond Acers Rabbitry

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