Rabbit Genetics Primer: part 1
This is a very basic color Primer for rabbits
I started breeding colors just for fun with my meat mutts about two years ago the following pages are a very basic Primer on rabbit colors and an exploration of the colors I have gotten from my various breeding's. My color stock is mostly New Zealand and Harlequin Crosses. The Harlequin brought lots on interesting genes into the mix. Just to explain a little about the stock breeds and their standards . New Zealand's Officially come in Seven showable colors.| Red Eyed White | Red | Black | Blue |
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| ----cc------- ---cc--ES-- | A- B- C- D -ee enen A- bb C- D- ee enen |
aa B- C- D- E- enen | aa B-C dd E enen |
| Broken Red | Broken Black | Broken Blue | |
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| A- B- C- D -ee Enen A- bb C- D- ee Enen | aa B- C- D- E- Enen | aa B-C dd E Enen |
But New Zealand's do carry other possible color combinations thru these established colors as well as ones who carry genes from out crossings to improve the colors or body type . One example of out crossing non-standard colors is when Chocolate: the brown colored rabbits, have at times been introduced into the Red lines to remove or mask " smut". Smut is black hairs that sometimes muddy the pure red color on the ears or coat tips of the red. This happens becuse Red, is actually an Argouti based color which means it a banded coat type. Although Red looks like a solid color it is actually the prevention of any color but the red band to show up in a normally triple banded hair with the color showing up on individual hairs from base to tip. hair colors varry by type of Argouti coat and that could be, black, blue, brown ,lilac, red, gold , grey or white.
Chinchilla can also be carried, hidden in Black and Blue lines becuse black and Blue New Zealand's are Self colored rabbits and Chinchilla will only show on an Agouti coat. This will make more sense as we dive in the color genes and how they work. Many New Zealand Whites are also Steel Carriers, I have Steel in all my New Zealand White lines. Becuse Whites are created by the double recessive masking gene you do not now what c
Here is a basic list of other possible colors a New Zealand could produce that are out side of the standard.
| A | B | C | D | E |
| Chestnut Agouti | Chocolate | Chinchilla | Lilac - dilute chocolate | Gold Tipped Steels |
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| A-B-C-D-E-enen | aa– bb C– D- E enen | A-B-cchd-D-E-enen | aa – bb C- dd –E enen | A-B-C-D-Es-enen |
| Broken Chestnut Agouti | Broken Chocolate | Broken Chinchilla | Broken Lilac | Broken Gold Tipped Steel |
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| A-B-C-D-E-Enen | aa – bb C– D- E Enen | A-B-cchd-D-E-Enen | aa– bb C– dd –E Enen | A-B-C-D-Es-Enen |
| Lynx or Lilac agouti | Silver Tipped Steel | |||
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| A– bb C- dd E enen | A-B-cchd-D-Es-enen | |||
| Broken Lynx | Broken Silver Tipped Steel | |||
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| A– bb C-dd E Enen | A-B-cchd-D-Es-Enen | |||
| Opal- Blue Agouti | ||||
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| A– B- – dd –E- enen | ||||
| Broken Opal | ||||
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| A– B- – dd –E Enen | ||||
| Amber Chocolate Agouti | ||||
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| A– bb – D- –E enen | ||||
| Broken Amber | ||||
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| A– bb – D- –E Enen |
I started my Rabbity with New Zealand White Rabbits, and I maintain a Pure White line, now a Pure Black Line, a Broken Black line, and I'm working on breeeing up my reds, about 2 years ago I started experimenting with Color Cross outs . Since we mainly breed for meat types, color isn't as important as body type, but just for fun, I ended up with a Japanese harlequin colored Doe, and bought a show quality Red New Zealand Buck. Currently I have in my barn, White, Red, Broken Black, Chinchilla, Gold and Silver Tipped Steels, Chestnuts, and a few harlequins. These are all New Zealand and harlequin based rabbits and have been doing a fun side project to learn more about color and body type genetics. The next few pages are reference materials and observations on what we have bred .Ongoing color tracking of the rabbits in my barn through test breeding's.
| Lily (New Zealand) retired | Tiabeanie (New Zealand) | Daffodil (75% New Zealand) | Kylie Joe ( New Zealand) | |
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| -- -- cc -- EsE enen | a- -- cc -- EsEs enen | - -- cc -- Es- -- | -- -- cc -- -- -- | |
| Fred (New Zealand) | Nouget Choclate Magpie | Tiger Lily (50% New Zealand) | Indy (Harlequin Mutt) | |
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| Aa B- Cc D- Ee enen | A- bb cchd- D- ej- enen | Aa Bb Cchd D- eje enen +++ | Aa Bb Cchd Dd eje enen ++ | |
| Marion (50% New Zealand) | Merigold (75% New Zealand) | Ritz (50% Harliquen) | Black Strap Molasses (75% New Zealand) | |
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| Aa B- C- D- ej- enen | A- B- C- D- ee enen | A- B- C- D- eje enen | A- B- chdc D- Ese enen +++ |
| Bishop's Eyeore (Pure New Zealand) | Oreo (Pure New Zealand) | Waldorf (Pure New Zealand) | Nutmeg (50% Harliquen) |
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| a- -- cc -- Es- -- | aa B- Ccchd D- EE Enen | A- Bb Cc D- Ee enen | A- B- Ccchd D- eje enen +++ |
| T-Payne New Zealand | Hyatt (Pure New Zealand) | Axel (50% Harliquen) | |
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| aa B-C-D-E | A- B- C- D- ee enen | A- B- C- D- ej- ++ |