*New to Genetics? Don’t let this page confuse you till you’ve checked out our Simple Rabbit Genetics Primer and Part 1 of the A-series discussion* Rabbit Breeding Outcomes With Respect To the A Gene Now we get to the fun part: what happens when you breed one rabbit to another, with respect to the “a” … Read more
Holland Lop Genetics And The Agouti Gene * Wait! We have a new, illustrated article to replace this one! Check it out here! * The “a” gene comes in three forms: “A,” which is responsible for agouti rabbits; “at,” which is responsible for otters, tans (rare in Holland lops) and martens; and “a,” which is … Read more
A Simple Tutorial to Understanding Genetics in Rabbits The life of a rabbit breeder — or a breeder of any animal from cattle to hamsters — is a constant struggle with genetics. They control everything about the physical aspects of our bunnies, from fur to color, to body type to health, even sometimes to traits … Read more
Let’s start our study of rabbit coat color genes with the A genes. Genes in the A series don’t change what hue the rabbit is, but they affect the arrangement of the color pigments. There are three possible forms. We often call the A series the “agouti series”, because Agouti is the so-called normal form … Read more
The E/e gene controls whether the basic color on the rabbit (black, blue, chocolate, or lilac) is extended all of the way to the end of the hair shaft or whether the basic color stops and another finishes the hair shaft (such as the orange color on the back of a black tortoiseshell). When a … Read more
“Carries Dilute” is a notation you see on rabbits for sale. Why is that worth mentioning on a “for sale” rabbit? Well, if you are like me, dilute rabbits are among your favorite colors. So what are dilute rabbits? They are just like regular or “dense” rabbit colors except that there is less pigment in … Read more
Wait! This is part 2! if you came directly to this page via an internet search, don’t miss part 1 of this article! What Happens When You Breed C-genes together? Just like with other genes, if you breed two true-breeding color gene domestic rabbits together, you will have offspring of the same. That is, two … Read more
Although there are five main color genes than determine the color of a rabbit’s fur, the c-series of genes is called the “color gene.” The color gene, which controls where and how much color will be expressed rather than which color will be expressed, is definitely one of the most difficult to understand. The first … Read more
If your rabbit is not posed correctly, you cannot accurately evaluate its body type. These are step-by-step instructions for how to pose a rabbit for judging, evaluating, or 4-H showmanship. These instructions apply to most commercial and compact-type breeds such as Mini Rex, Polish, Dutch, Californian, Satin, New Zealand, and other meat pen breeds. These … Read more