What is a color project? Well, the first thing you need to know is that the black tortoise (aka tort) variety is by far the most common color in the Holland Lop. I'd estimate 95% of Hollands on the show tables are black torts. As such, more breeders are working on torts than any other color. That means that there are more good torts than there are other colors, simply because more people are working on them. The remaining 5% or so are all the other forty-something recognized colors in the Holland Lop breed. These are called project colors or 'colored Hollands'. Because there are less people working on them, there are less quality colored Hollands than there are quality torts.
However, there are a few dedicated breeders who work tirelessly to improve the quality of these colored Hollands to the point where they are equally competitive to torts. Some breeders have become very successful with their project colors, and have won BOB and even BIS with colored Hollands.
Colors that rely on multiple rare genes to create the color are more rare and often harder to work with. For example, black is a pretty easy color project because it only differs from tort on 1 gene locus (the E locus). However, if you are working with Lilac Silver-Tipped Steels, you're looking at differences on pretty much every locus. That means they are far harder to get good type in than say, blacks.
From what I've seen, there are two different ways you could go about having a successful color program. You could heavily breed colors to your torts to improve type, or you could keep a separate breeding program of only that specific color project with no other colors being added to the mix. The latter method will likely result in slower progress than the former, depending the quality of your foundation rabbits. That said, there are breeders out there who have had success with this method.
Arguably the quickest and most effective way of producing competitive colored Hollands is by breeding to quality, complementary torts. Many breeders are concerned about creating unrecognized colors by introducing the tort gene, so will avoid this method. Personally, I constantly breed my otters to torts. I do get the occasional fox, which are unrecognized, but I have no issue with using them in my program.
Color projects can also be quite expensive, as colored Hollands typically sell for more than a tort of comparable quality. If you decide to invest in really nice rabbits, be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. Otherwise, you might have to settle for inferior quality animals and breed wisely from there. It’s not that it’s impossible to produce good rabbits if you start out with poor ones, but it might take you an extra generation or two. Contrary to popular belief, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not being prepared to make a large financial investment in expensive colored rabbits. It’s up to you to do what’s best for your financial situation and your herd as a whole.
Some color projects are further along than others. Black, blue, and sable point are the furthest along in developing consistent type that can hold their own against torts. However, red, pointed white, BEW, and smoke pearl are a few of the colors that are in their beginning stages of improvement. For some of these colors, there is simply a lack of interest and consequently a lack of quality animals being produced. Other colors, such as chocolates and BEWs, have the misfortune of being 'trendy' colors with poor quality ones being mass produced by backyard pet breeders and by those who don’t necessarily care much about type. It is very possible to produce rabbits in any color that are equally competitive with torts, but it does take a skilled breeder with a good eye for type in order to produce such animals.
Many breeders have one or even two color projects alongside their tort program. Some don't have color projects at all. In general, most successful breeders don't have more than a couple of color projects, because each project takes a certain amount of cages in addition to very tricky, selective breeding in order to achieve the end result of high quality colored rabbits. For the most part, breeders who deal with a lot of color projects at once or change color projects constantly are not producing good quality animals. It’s really up to the breeder to decide whether they want to dabble in color for fun or whether they are seriously looking to produce competitive quality animals.
Color projects are also frustrating. Sometimes I take an otter to a show only to have it first off the table simply because a judge didn't like that it was a colored Holland. Color bias is real, especially in new judges!! It can be frustrating, and is definitely something to keep in mind if you are considering breeding colored Hollands.
However, color projects can be delightfully rewarding. It's wonderful waking up to feed the rabbits and seeing a rainbow of colorful newborn kits snuggling in the nestbox. It's amazing to pose a grow-out and feel a sense of overwhelming pride when you realize it could be a competitive show rabbit against the torts. It's so exciting seeing your homegrown colored Holland winning on the show tables. Although I like my torts well enough, otters are the color closest to my heart and are my biggest passion in rabbits. It's so rewarding and so much fun to raise quality colored Hollands, so I suggest that if you have the time, energy, cages, and funds to raise colors, you should totally go for it!
However, there are a few dedicated breeders who work tirelessly to improve the quality of these colored Hollands to the point where they are equally competitive to torts. Some breeders have become very successful with their project colors, and have won BOB and even BIS with colored Hollands.
Colors that rely on multiple rare genes to create the color are more rare and often harder to work with. For example, black is a pretty easy color project because it only differs from tort on 1 gene locus (the E locus). However, if you are working with Lilac Silver-Tipped Steels, you're looking at differences on pretty much every locus. That means they are far harder to get good type in than say, blacks.
From what I've seen, there are two different ways you could go about having a successful color program. You could heavily breed colors to your torts to improve type, or you could keep a separate breeding program of only that specific color project with no other colors being added to the mix. The latter method will likely result in slower progress than the former, depending the quality of your foundation rabbits. That said, there are breeders out there who have had success with this method.
Arguably the quickest and most effective way of producing competitive colored Hollands is by breeding to quality, complementary torts. Many breeders are concerned about creating unrecognized colors by introducing the tort gene, so will avoid this method. Personally, I constantly breed my otters to torts. I do get the occasional fox, which are unrecognized, but I have no issue with using them in my program.
Color projects can also be quite expensive, as colored Hollands typically sell for more than a tort of comparable quality. If you decide to invest in really nice rabbits, be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. Otherwise, you might have to settle for inferior quality animals and breed wisely from there. It’s not that it’s impossible to produce good rabbits if you start out with poor ones, but it might take you an extra generation or two. Contrary to popular belief, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not being prepared to make a large financial investment in expensive colored rabbits. It’s up to you to do what’s best for your financial situation and your herd as a whole.
Some color projects are further along than others. Black, blue, and sable point are the furthest along in developing consistent type that can hold their own against torts. However, red, pointed white, BEW, and smoke pearl are a few of the colors that are in their beginning stages of improvement. For some of these colors, there is simply a lack of interest and consequently a lack of quality animals being produced. Other colors, such as chocolates and BEWs, have the misfortune of being 'trendy' colors with poor quality ones being mass produced by backyard pet breeders and by those who don’t necessarily care much about type. It is very possible to produce rabbits in any color that are equally competitive with torts, but it does take a skilled breeder with a good eye for type in order to produce such animals.
Many breeders have one or even two color projects alongside their tort program. Some don't have color projects at all. In general, most successful breeders don't have more than a couple of color projects, because each project takes a certain amount of cages in addition to very tricky, selective breeding in order to achieve the end result of high quality colored rabbits. For the most part, breeders who deal with a lot of color projects at once or change color projects constantly are not producing good quality animals. It’s really up to the breeder to decide whether they want to dabble in color for fun or whether they are seriously looking to produce competitive quality animals.
Color projects are also frustrating. Sometimes I take an otter to a show only to have it first off the table simply because a judge didn't like that it was a colored Holland. Color bias is real, especially in new judges!! It can be frustrating, and is definitely something to keep in mind if you are considering breeding colored Hollands.
However, color projects can be delightfully rewarding. It's wonderful waking up to feed the rabbits and seeing a rainbow of colorful newborn kits snuggling in the nestbox. It's amazing to pose a grow-out and feel a sense of overwhelming pride when you realize it could be a competitive show rabbit against the torts. It's so exciting seeing your homegrown colored Holland winning on the show tables. Although I like my torts well enough, otters are the color closest to my heart and are my biggest passion in rabbits. It's so rewarding and so much fun to raise quality colored Hollands, so I suggest that if you have the time, energy, cages, and funds to raise colors, you should totally go for it!