I've been working the brokens for about 3 years now and I've learned quite a bit. Since this is a new variety for the NDs, there are still a lot of things to work out. Unlike long established broken breeds, it's something we have to think about more as we try for consistent showable pattern.
The two issues I'm dealing with (aside from type) are getting enough color, and cleaning up the scattered white. I have some lines that do throw excellent pattern but being heavier, it's often messy. By messy I mean indistinct demarcation between white and color, and the small white freckles that look like scattered white when the guard hairs grow out. Especially glaring in black.
I also have two different lines of broken pattern. One is the spots which tend to be cleaner, but often throw mismarks (less that 10%). The other is the blankets which are the messier patterns.
I'm trying to integrate the two in hopes the spots will help clean up the blankets. I do breed broken x broken quite a bit to this end. I might get more mismarked culls this way, but I also get some nice brokens out of it.
I keep very few "8%ers". As a rule, you'll be very lucky to get more color out of them than they have. If the type or color is worthy, I will try them with a heavier pattern mate, but it rarely works out. I've yet to prove a true charlie, but have a very nice little possible charlie now. He's promising in the pattern he came out of. I say possible because until you prove it, you can't really be sure if a mismark is a true charlie. Broken x Broken can also throw mismarks that are of no use to the program.
On the other side of the coin are the solids being used with the brokens. I don't keep many solids out of broken litters, but will if the type is there. These are supposed to carry the potential for the parent's pattern.
What I'm finding in the solids is that some are excellent for pulling pattern from the broken mate. Offspring will have as good, and sometimes better. Other solids just don't have it. Even with a heavy blanket, they pull less than 10%. Oddly, it's the solids that have no broken in their backgrounds that have proving the most successful at pulling pattern. When I find a solid that can pull pattern, I hang onto it for quite a while.
Then there are the solids who can't seem to pull broken at all! I have a buck now who so far has proven disappointing, and it's more so since he comes from my original spot line that was good for it.
I use the term "pull" in regards to solids because they can't "throw" broken. They aren't broken so they don't carry it. What they do is pull the broken gene from the broken mate and add any modifiers they are carrying.
So the object is to get consistent and clean pattern together with type. A newish solid buck in the barn is proving himself in both type upgrade and ability to pull pattern. I plan to breed him back to his broken daughters in hopes of cementing both traits.
And then there is type. While it should be the goal to improve type first, when it comes to brokens, you must work on the pattern at the same time. One is no good without the other.
With all those thoughts in mind, I'm culling much harder. I'm trying to get the head count down to the stock that is working the best towards my goals. If a particular rabbit has not proven itself to serve my broken needs in a reasonable amount of time, it's moved out.
Broken Netherlands are a great challenge, but so rewarding when you get it right. A broken litter is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you'll get. When you find that special chewy center, it makes your day!
tnt
