Color genetics

Does anyone know anything about color genetics in rabbits? While I'm raising primarily for meat, I'd like to experiment with some color, just for fun. I have 4 NZWs and one broken agouti doe. I assumed she was a NZ/lop cross without the lop ears. She's the size of a NZ. Don't know anything about her past.

I'd like to produce some broken bunnies. I did a little bit of reading online about color genetics this morning. Although its something that I will have to spend some time studying, from what I gathered to produce the broken pattern, you should breed a broken to a solid and babies would have 50% chance of being broken and 50% chance of being solid. However, because my bucks are REW NZ, I've read that those genes usually trump everything else unless they are carrying "hidden" genes. So if I breed this broken doe to one of my NZW bucks, I'm going to get all white bunnies, right? But what if I bred one of these "white" bunnies back to the mom...then would I get brokens?

Also, I had assumed this doe was a NZ/lop cross. Since these are the two most common types of rabbits around here people have. But if that is so, how'd she end up broken given the info above?

[SFM in KY]

I'm trying to work on colors but it is a slow learning curve for me at this point, so may not be much help. I'm also not at all familiar with NZ colors ... I know they come in white, of course, and there are blacks and reds as well ... but as far as I'm aware, no other colors and no brokens. I'm more familiar with Rex, which is what I raise, lots of different colors there, plus brokens.

Brokens are fairly simple. One single gene will cause the "spotting" although the pattern can vary a great deal. To get spots, one parent must have spots, you cannot get brokens from two solid parents. Statistically, breeding a broken to a solid, you should get about 50% broken and 50% solid in a litter as each kit has a 50-50 chance of getting the broken gene from one or the solid gene from the other. In "real life" you can see varying results. Just this summer, I have one broken/solid litter with 5 solid black kits and one broken black and another broken/solid litter with 8 brokens and two solids.

I'm not familiar with the color genetics REW myself as I've never had an REW Rex and only one litter with REW kits. I did get two in one of my litters, from a buck and doe that are both apparantly carrying REW in their backgrounds, but are not REW themselves. Looking back on their pedigrees, there is REW in the backgrounds of both, although one is a solid black and the other broken sable point.

[o&itw]

I am unsure of the meaning of "REW". I will say that after years of raising different kinds of Lops, that I have never seen a lop cross that didn't have some droop to at least one of the ears. Of course it could have been generations back, I guess. My point is that in genetics it is dangerous to make assumtions. I am not very familiar with the genetics of rabbits, but I am very familiar with the genetics of a few other animals.

In the animals I used to breed, there were at least 5 different ways an animal could be "white". I think that in rabbits it is a basic, non-sex-linked gene pair.
If it is a recessive gene, the offspring of a white rabbit would never be all white unless its mate carried one of the genes also... then they should average 50% all white. If it is a dominant gene, 50% of the offspring would still be white(when mated to a colored animal), unless the rabbit carried both genes for white, in which case 100% of the offspring would be white.

I wish I could answer your question better, but their are some on here who have a good understaning of rabbit genetics, and hopefully they will read your post.

I do wish to comment on the "percentage expected" Think of it as a coin toss. if you toss it a bunch of times, it should average 50% heads... but that doesn't mean one can't have 9 or 10 tosses in row when it will end up heads. It may take a few litters to be certain of a certain gene or genes in the parent. It helps a lot if you know the exact genetic makeup of the animal one is breeding it to. "Albino" white tends to cover up almost all other (color)genes....so one has no idea what colors and modifiers might be underneath

[brody]

REW - short speak for red eyed white bunnies

I know nothing of colour genetics in bunnies ...

[Honorine]

Okay first what you have to realize is that the REW is a color masking gene, meaning that under it the rabbits actually colored, and so has a 'genetic' color. For instance my Florida Whites appear to be black genetically, I know because of out crosses I have done. Also REW is recessive, both parents must carry it to produce a REW kit. Safest bet is that you will get REW, agouti's and broken agoutis.

Thanks for some responses. I did some research and confirmed what you've all said about the REW masking other colors (my NZWs may actually be black or red or purple under there!). I found that this albino gene is referred to as cc. A non-albino is CC or Cc.

My doe is C-. If she is CC, then all bunnies would be Cc and I would have no REW. And who knows what actual colors b/c I don't know her background or what's "underneath" my REWs. If she is Cc then I'd have 50% chance of REW (cc) and 50% chance of non-REW (Cc).

Unless my buck's albino gene (cc) is masking a broken gene, I should get 50% solids and 50% brokens.

Yes, it's confusing, but I love this stuff!

[o&itw]

Originally Posted by Lyndseyrk

Thanks for some responses. I did some research and confirmed what you've all said about the REW masking other colors (my NZWs may actually be black or red or purple under there!).

If you get a purple one please let me know, I want to buy it.

[BlsdMama]

Originally Posted by o&itw

If you get a purple one please let me know, I want to buy it.

Settle for lilac?

I'll let you know, LOL!