For example, if I wanted to get a good grasp of what the E gene does compared to ee, then I looked at these pairs (the first is E-; the second, ee):
- black - tortoiseshell
- Siamese sable - sable point
- smoke pearl - blue point
- blue - blue tort
- chestnut - orange
- chinchilla - ermine
- black otter - fox
Hmmmm. No, not every combination shows the action of the E gene equally well, but by looking at all of the pairs, I can see the restriction of color. A tort just has black around the points while a black has, well, you know, black all over.
Smoke pearl and blue point also show the action pretty well. Again a blue point shows blue on just the points while the smoke pearl has blue over the back as well. Those colors have a combination color restriction from another gene as well, but when you compare the two, the only difference is the e-series gene.
I think that most people have a great grasp of the Dense-Dilute gene (D- or dd). We know that the dd gene combination turns black to blue, tort to blue tort, ermine to blue ermine, and so forth. Let's not ignore the chocolate family. It also turns chocolate to lilac and chocolate sable point to lilac sable point.
Although in Holland lops, the majority of us don't have the opportunity to work with the chocolate gene (bb), it turns black to chocolate and blue to lilac. A black, for example, is aa B- C- D- E. A chocolate is aa bb C- D- E.
The a-series gene is easy to tell, especially the aa. If you see no nose markings, if the back or flank color covers the belly, if there's no ear lacing or triangles, the rabbit is aa. Telling the difference between an A- (agouti gene) rabbit or an at- (tan gene) rabbit is a little harder. So I look at the pairs and see what happens (A- then at- in each pair):
- chestnut - black otter
- orange - fox
- opal - blue otter
- chinchilla - black silver marten
Rings on the agouti is a good thing to look for, though some varieties, such as orange, may have no rings or faint rings.
The c-series has the most options. I think of C as just plain color all over (that may be restricted by other genes). You have the chinchilla gene. Then the sable gene. Then the himalayan gene. Then the ruby-eyed white gene. The last two are pretty easy to spot. Look for pink eyes. That just leaves the chinchilla gene versus the sable gene. Sable genes are responsible for both sable-type colors and seal-type colors (seals have double sable genes - that's the difference).
Since agouti sables and self chins are generally not showable colors, when you are starting to learn the genes, you might use the a-series gene to give you a hint, unless you think the rabbit might be an unshowable color. Try not to breed sables with agouti colors or mix chinchillas with sables or sable points.
So, when someone brings me a rabbit and says, what color is this? I always ask first what the parents are. Unless one is a chestnut, you can often eliminate possibilities without even looking at the rabbit.
Then I look for evidence. Are there rings (A), tan markings (at), or is the rabbit self (belly color, no nose markings, etc. - aa). Then I check to see if the rabbit is in the black or chocolate family. Again, that's usually easy. Check the tips of the ears. Unless we're dealing with a REW, the tips of the ears will generally either be black, blue, chocolate, or lilac. That should actually help you determine both the b-series and the d-series genes. If you are not sure whether you are seeing black or blue, or chocolate or lilac, check the eyes next. Brown eyes belong with dense colors (except fawn). Gray-blue eyes (which can sometimes be dark) pair up with dilutes.
The next thing to check out is the e-series gene. If the color is the same all over, it's an E. If the color is restricted to the points, it's probably ee, especially if the back is covered in pearl.
The last thing to check out is the c-series gene. If the rabbit is REW or himi, we're not even having this discussion (except maybe to determine which color points are on the himi). By the time you've gotten here, you know the a, b, d, and e-series genes. You have the rabbit narrowed down to three possibilities (four, if you count seal).
So let's say that we determined that the rabbit was at- (tan gene, responsible for otters and martens), bb (chocolate family), dd (dilute), and E (full extension of color). We can look on the color chart to see what the three choices are. In this case, they are lilac otter, lilac silver marten, and lilac sable marten.
I'll admit that telling the difference between a lilac silver marten and a lilac sable marten would be difficult. That's where the parents would come in. There might be guidance there about whether it is the sable gene or chin gene. If the rabbit is a lilac otter, the difference would be easier to tell.
What's the difference between otters and martens? Otters have tan markings while martens have silver/whitish markings. Otters have the C-series gene while martens have the chin gene or sable gene.
This article probably got harder for some of us as we went along. It's okay to read it just until you have one "aha" moment and then save the rest for later. With color genetics, you might recall the advice on how to eat an elephant - one bite at a time!
Laurie
¶ 10:50 AM
