Choosing the Buck and the Doe – Parents of your Baby Bunnies

Choosing Complementary Rabbits To Breed Before jumping right into breeding, let’s take a look at which bunnies should be bred together.  Since you are always working to improve the breed, your aim is to produce better and better bunnies over time.  To correct the deficiencies in one bunny, breed him or her to a bunny … Read more

Responsible Rabbit Breeding – Part 1 of a 20-part series

Should You Become a Rabbit Breeder? Breeding bunnies is a great joy in my life.  I invite those who have a great interest in breeding rabbits, the time, and the commitment to follow through with it to join me in this wonderful hobby.  But I would really like to discourage anyone considering breeding non-pedigreed bunnies, … Read more

Rabbit Genetics For Agouti, Tan-Otter-Marten, And Self Colors

Hey! Check out our NEW, more complete article on A-series Genetics Here! Rabbit Genetics Gene Dominance For The A Gene               A Phenotype is what you see expressed (e.g., I see a black rabbit), while a genotype is what the genes are (e.g., a-a) The A gene in its … Read more

Rabbit Color Genotypes Chart

Chart of 144 Rabbit Coat Colors And Their Genotypes Below is the most extensive color family chart on this website. It contains most of the rabbit colors you might think of, though there are some exceptions. For example, there are no “steel” colors listed. You can take any of the “E-” full-extension colors (e.g., black) … Read more

Producing True Dwarf Show Rabbits Using Knowledge of the Dwarf Gene

The breeds that carry the dwarf gene are the Holland Lop,   Netherland Dwarf,   Mini Rex,  Mini Satin, Dwarf Hotot,   Polish,  Britannia Petite,  American Fuzzy Lop,  and Jersey Wooly.  This article is written for Holland Lops, but the principles apply to all dwarf breeds.  Some of the smallest breeds that don’t carry the dwarf … Read more

Rabbit Genetics For The Dwarf Gene

True Dwarfs, False Dwarfs, Peanuts, and the Challenges of the Dw Gene in Rabbits There is no doubt that Holland Lops are challenging to breed.  Among the challenges–slow maturation, wide variety of quality in resulting kits, multiple characteristics to manipulate–is the dwarf gene.  The following information on the dwarf gene applies to other types of … Read more

Rabbit Genetics: Answer your bunny gene questions!

Rabbit Fur Colors Genetics And Other Rabbit Genetics Information *NOTICE!*  We are planning a new article on the Blue-eyed White or Vienna gene in rabbits!  If you have any photos of VM, VC, or BEW rabbits that you would be willing to share, or any experiences with this gene that you find remarkable, please e-mail … Read more

A-Gene Color Families Chart

 Rabbit colors can be grouped many ways.  Although “color families” is not an official term that I know of, on this page I’d like to use it to group together rabbit colors that vary only in the A/at/a gene.  By way of example, let’s look at the most prevalent Holland Lop color, the black tortoiseshell.  … Read more

Rabbit Genetics: Oranges, Otters and More…

Using Your Knowledge of the A Gene In Rabbit Breeding Many phenotypes — that is, the color of the rabbit’s appearance– are easy to detect just by looking at the rabbit.  Some are a bit more tricky.  Knowing what the choices are from the parents’ phenotypes (or better yet, genotypes, if you know them), can … Read more