New Zealand Rabbit Genetics Question

[febane]

If I understand what this poster is trying to say, they got some of what they said right, but a lot of it is not; at least, they aren't looking at things the right way . . . especially the part in bold print above.

There are a bunch of different genes involved in rabbit coat color, which are found in entirely different parts of the rabbit's genetic code, and it is the combined effect of all of them that results in the final color of the rabbit's coat. A rabbit has the ability to make two different pigments, a yellow/red pigment and a black/brown pigment, and each of those genes has something to say about how much of each pigment is produced, or where it appears in the rabbit's coat. The only gene that could be said to be able to make a color all on its own might be the gene for Ruby-eyed White (REW). The gene for REW shuts down pigment production completely, so you can't tell what the other genes the rabbit is carrying might code for.

The gene that codes for the broken pattern comes in two forms, broken or non-broken. As you know, broken is a pattern of white overlaid on some base color. Broken is a dominant gene, meaning that if a rabbit has that gene, you will see the results - it doesn't hide. A colored rabbit can't hide a broken gene - if it has a broken gene, it will have some white on it, even if it's just a little bit of white mostly on the face and feet.

The one exception to what I said about the broken gene not hiding has to do with the REW gene. Because REW shuts down all pigment produced in all parts of the coat, it is possible for a REW to be carrying a broken gene business bay metro station, and it not be visible - a pattern of white on a white coat would just be white. So if you breed a solid colored rabbit to a REW and get broken babies, it's because the REW was carrying broken, not the solid. But if you breed a REW to a solid and get a bunch of babies and none are broken, you can be pretty sure the REW doesn't carry broken (I once had a REW Holland Lop doe that I bred to a Smoke Pearl buck several times. She had about 5 or 6 babies each time, and in the first two litters, all of the babies were either REW or solid Smoke Pearls. It wasn't until the 3rd litter that I started seeing Broken Smoke Pearls, and figured out that the doe carried a broken gene).

As to the colors you saw in your current litter, this is a blue:



This is a steel:



And just to make it interesting, this is a blue steel:



Steel looks a lot like a Chestnut, though the normal banding of the agouti pattern often gets reduced to light ticking, and the belly is usually dark, not pale. The gene for steel happens in the same place as the main gene for red. Steel is a weird gene; it acts differently depending on what it is paired up with; a lot of combinations can be solid black, just like a black self, even if the rabbit has agouti genes.

As to whether you could get reds from your assorted blacks and whites - it's possible, but not terribly likely. Good reds don't only need the right combination of the major genes, they also need a bunch of little "helpers" that really crank up the red pigment, and those tend to get lost when breeding with other colors. If some of your rabbits had good, red parents, it would make it more likely.

To get a New Zealand Red, you would need a rabbit that carries the "e" gene for the red color, which New Zealand Whites and Blacks don't typically have. The Agouti rabbit could potentially have genes that influence color, but it won't directly help in producing a red rabbit. For a New Zealand Broken, you'd need a rabbit that carries the "En" (broken) gene. If any of your rabbits carry this gene, breeding them could result in a Broken, but it's not guaranteed unless the gene is present.

 

[Coinini Ceatharlach]

Thank you very much for this insightful information. I do have a solid pair of New Zealand Reds, which produce beautiful reds.

I do have a New Zealand broken does with En gene. I was told to always breed her to very dark buck. I have phenotype black buck , after mating him with the broken doe, I now know that his genotype carries blue, red, steal and black as this mating gave me some interesting broken colours. I mated him to the black NZ doe and I got a mixed litter of predominantly solid black, solid white and one I call steal.

I have been trying to learn from resources on genetics by Dr. Stephan Roush he did wonderful rabbit basic genetics and advanced genetics tutorials, but nothing beats feedback information from you experienced breeders. I also purchased numerous books on rabbits genetics.

I am a newbie enthusiast , small scale breeder but what I have learnt on the farms is that ounce of breeding is ton of feeding and for a 'kick' working on colour genetics is of interest to me. Many many thanks for taking the time sharing your knowledge with me