What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[SA Farm]

Sooo my Altex doe that I thought was a boy that had the 1 random dead bunny yesterday morning--

She gave birth to 6 healthy kits around dinner time last night.
4 of them are white with black spots and 2 are black or dark gray.
In my male pen she was in I have a New Zealand white and a Gray Lionhead.
I know the Altex is a mix of NZW, California, & Flemish Giant so not sure how I got spotted ones, I don't know much on rabbit genetics.
But all the bunnies seem to be doing well, so is Mama

Sorry, not a great pic, took it on my phone this morning.

That's so great, congratulations!

OK it won't let me upload an image... But my Caramel had 7 healthy babies yesterday

Congrats!

 

[Bunnylady]

Sorry, not a great pic, took it on my phone this morning.

Hooray for warm and wigglies!

When you said that yesterday's single baby was small, I thought it likely that she had more in there. Most does will have all of their babies within a few minutes of each other, but sometimes they spread them out - I hear Angoras are notorious for that. It's not considered desirable in a breeding animal, but as you said, that's not why she's with you.

The gene for the broken pattern (the spots that some of the babies have) is a dominant gene, meaning that if a rabbit has it, it will be expressed. However, there a few exceptions where it might be hard or impossible to see.

Broken puts color on the ears, color on the nose, color around the eyes, and some color on the body. The feet of a broken are usually white. A REW doesn't have any color anywhere, so it is possible for a REW to have the broken gene, and you can't see it. New Zealands do come in broken, so it's possible for a NZW to carry broken.

Rabbits with the Himi pattern can carry broken, but it can be hard to see on them, too. On a Himi, the ears, nose, feet, and tail are colored, but the rest of the rabbit is white. Because the ears and nose of a broken are usually colored, you might not see anything different there. Since the body of a himi is white, you wouldn't see any body spotting. Himis have colored feet, and brokens generally have white feet, so that can be a clue - I had a broken himi Mini Rex once that developed elbow spots during the winter, but had white legs and feet the rest of the time. That was pretty much the only thing that showed something other than the himi pattern.

Your Lionhead doesn't carry broken, but either the Altex or the NZW might be responsible for the spots on those babies.

 

[Angelicisi]

7 NZW kits yesterday morning and another doe building a fur palace of a nest so I assume she's gonna kindle shortly too

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thank you for sharing all the genetic information with me!!!
Great to know!

 

[K Epp]

Hooray for warm and wigglies!

When you said that yesterday's single baby was small, I thought it likely that she had more in there. Most does will have all of their babies within a few minutes of each other, but sometimes they spread them out - I hear Angoras are notorious for that. It's not considered desirable in a breeding animal, but as you said, that's not why she's with you.

The gene for the broken pattern (the spots that some of the babies have) is a dominant gene, meaning that if a rabbit has it, it will be expressed. However, there a few exceptions where it might be hard or impossible to see. 

Broken puts color on the ears, color on the nose, color around the eyes, and some color on the body. The feet of a broken are usually white. A REW doesn't have any color anywhere, so it is possible for a REW to have the broken gene, and you can't see it. New Zealands do come in broken, so it's possible for a NZW to carry broken. 

Rabbits with the Himi pattern can carry broken, but it can be hard to see on them, too. On a Himi, the ears, nose, feet, and tail are colored, but the rest of the rabbit is white. Because the ears and nose of a broken are usually colored, you might not see anything different there. Since the body of a himi is white, you wouldn't see any body spotting. Himis have colored feet, and brokens generally have white feet, so that can be a clue - I had a broken himi Mini Rex once that developed elbow spots during the winter, but had white legs and feet the rest of the time. That was pretty much the only thing that showed something other than the himi pattern.

Your Lionhead doesn't carry broken, but either the Altex or the NZW might be responsible for the spots on those babies.

So could my REW with grey ears be carrying the broken gene? Only color on her is the ears.

 

[SternRose]

So could my REW with grey ears be carrying the broken gene? Only color on her is the ears.

I've seen alot of lionheads like this. I think it's a color or a new one poping up

 

[Bunnylady]

@K Epp Short answer - yes, it could be the broken gene, but there are other possibilities, too.

REW's never have color on any part of the rabbit. The gene that causes REW shuts down the production of all pigment that would go into the hair and eyes. The Himi gene also causes a rabbit that has red (pink) eyes, but it allows some dark pigment to get produced in areas where the skin is a bit cooler (ears, nose, tail, feet, and sometimes places where a doe pulled fur out for a nest). REW and Himi occur in the same gene series, and Himi is dominant to REW. Your rabbit has to have at least one copy of the Himi gene to have those colored ears, so genetically, it's a Himi.

The lack of the nose marking and the white feet seem to indicate the presence of another gene, one that puts white on the feet and face. Broken does that, and while Brokens don't always have nose markings, most of the time they do, even if it's just a small spot.

There are two other genes that I can think of that could account for white on the face and feet - Dutch and Vienna. The classic Dutch pattern has a blaze on the face, a wide white band across the shoulders, and white back feet, though rabbits can show just a little bit of Dutch influence with just a snip of white on the nose or a couple of white toes. The Vienna gene is a real weirdo. Two copies of Vienna results in a completely white rabbit with cornflower blue eyes, but a rabbit with only one copy can have white on it in pretty much the same pattern as the Dutch. The blaze of either of these genes could account for the lack of nose marking, and also the white feet. However, a Himi rabbit with either Dutch marking or Vienna marking would most likely have some color on its tail. If your rabbit has a white tail, then Broken is probably your best bet.

 

[SternRose]

@Bunnylady
I have broken that looks like a black Brocken but he has chocolate on his nose.

Harquian genes do run in my lines.

 

[Bunnylady]

@Bunnylady
I have broken that looks like a black Brocken but he has chocolate on his nose.


Harquian genes do run in my lines.

I'm thinking Broken Black Otter.

 

[SternRose]

I'm thinking Broken Black Otter.

What's the different a in Brocken otter and a Brocken? This part confuses me.