After breeding a sooty male last year who was split for white, I decided that it was about time I took up my second most favourite colour once again.  Back in the mid 1980's  I had Iron Grey (sallander) coloured Dwarf Lops.  This colour almost died out altogether due to the fact the southern exhibitors and judges THOUGHT they were poor coloured sealpoints and basically outcast them from the lop world.  Since the introduction of the Sallander rabbit to the UK and the Cashmere club accepting the Iron Grey colour, we can now freely show this colour in any breed of Lop.

After working out what i would need to create this colour with the animals I had here at Ruskin I decided to abandon the idea of trying to create the colour as I needed too many rabbits, so a trip to Holland was in order for me to try and acquire a sallander female, who, when mated to my own sooty would produce in theory, Sallanders first time round.  All the sallanders will carry REW and all the Sooties produced in any future litters from this paring will carry Chin. So lets introduce you to the rabbit brought back from Holland to help in the creation of the Ruskin Sallander Mini Lop.

This is Rocky - a lovely sooty import buck from my good friend Andries

(above) and here is a sooty daughter of Rocky

This young doe of fantastic colour is also another animal from Andries stable and will fit in well here with the sooty pedigrees

and the two pictures above are of a Ruskin's Middleton daughter

Also on my trip to Holland last month I was very fortunate to be able to obtain another Sallander (iron grey) doe from my friend Edwin Langejans and she is a half sister to the doe I had off him back in May - Edwina.  Here she is above, and her daughter (and her) by Middleton - below

	Sadly we just lost Edwina, giving birth to her litter by GCH. Ricardo.  She las left behind though two lovely little DOES...lol.  One Iron Grey and the other and Sooty - see below

	here he is pictured at 5 weeks old.  Already showing lost of scope

At almost 4 months old I took him to the Nationals held at the Lincolnshire Champ Show where he won the CC and was 3rd BiS on the day behind his stablemate Nikki who took BiS

	Here he is pictured the day of the nationals

	Ruskin's Ricardo
	B.I.S NMLRC ASSS Walsall 2007