Everyone loves a chocolate rabbit around Easter, right?!?
I was fortunate to pick up a chocolate Silver Fox rabbit earlier this month. Most Silver Fox rabbits are black with the white hairs mixed in that are called silvering. Currently, only the black color is officially recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association but the National Silver Fox Rabbit Club recognizes that five can occur- black, blue, chocolate, lilac and white. White Silver Fox rabbits are considered undesirable, but the other recessive colors are sought after by some breeders. The blue was even recognized by ARBA years ago, but was dropped as there were too few blue Silver Fox rabbits showing at events. Currently, some Silver Fox breeders are working to restore the blue to recognized status and add chocolate as well.
It's really interesting to me to understand the genetics of how this works. A rabbit will be black if it has one copy of the black gene no matter what the other gene calls for. A rabbit needs two chocolate genes to appear chocolate brown rather than black, although a black rabbit can produce a chocolate if the gene for chocolate is present but hidden. Blue is a dilute for black. A rabbit needs two copies of the recessive dilute gene for it it show. Blue is the dilute of black, and lilac is the dilute of chocolate. A black rabbit who also has one chocolate and one dilute gene will be black in color but able to produce any of the four desirable colors. A black rabbit with no genes for chocolate or dilute will never produce anything but black offspring, no matter what color the other parent is.
I was fortunate to pick up a chocolate Silver Fox rabbit earlier this month. Most Silver Fox rabbits are black with the white hairs mixed in that are called silvering. Currently, only the black color is officially recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association but the National Silver Fox Rabbit Club recognizes that five can occur- black, blue, chocolate, lilac and white. White Silver Fox rabbits are considered undesirable, but the other recessive colors are sought after by some breeders. The blue was even recognized by ARBA years ago, but was dropped as there were too few blue Silver Fox rabbits showing at events. Currently, some Silver Fox breeders are working to restore the blue to recognized status and add chocolate as well.
It's really interesting to me to understand the genetics of how this works. A rabbit will be black if it has one copy of the black gene no matter what the other gene calls for. A rabbit needs two chocolate genes to appear chocolate brown rather than black, although a black rabbit can produce a chocolate if the gene for chocolate is present but hidden. Blue is a dilute for black. A rabbit needs two copies of the recessive dilute gene for it it show. Blue is the dilute of black, and lilac is the dilute of chocolate. A black rabbit who also has one chocolate and one dilute gene will be black in color but able to produce any of the four desirable colors. A black rabbit with no genes for chocolate or dilute will never produce anything but black offspring, no matter what color the other parent is.
When I started with Silver Fox rabbits, I wasn't able to be picky about color as they were so very hard to find to begin with. As I've grown my rabbitry, I've been able to track which rabbits carry which color genetics by keeping track of what color offspring occur. As I'm able to find stock with papers or build records through keeping offspring of my own stock it ads to the ability to know what colors may be produced by a mating. Pedigreed rabbits have paperwork that includes the names, weights, colors and other information on the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. A black rabbit with a blue, lilac or chocolate parent is guaranteed to have recessive genetics. Even a rabbit with a couple generations of black my still carry recessive colors though, so the better your records, the more confident you can be about what is possible.
It's a lot of fun for me to be able to breed to have a couple colors in a litter rather than all black every time. At the same time, it's important to make sure color isn't the only thing that determines which animals become breeding stock. I keep the guidelines set in the ARBA Standard of Perfection in mind. This covers things like size, body shape, coat and proper silvering. I also select for rabbits that are naturally healthy, and that handle our climate and way of raising them well. While I don't handle my rabbits much, I do need them to be calm and friendly. Overly fearful or aggressive behavior is not something to pass on. The qualities in your breeding stock will be magnified over time, so it's essential to pick the animals that work for you and are also good examples of what established criteria for the breed calls for.
Helping conserve a heritage breed is a tricky thing. There are more giant pandas estimated to be alive today than Silver Fox Rabbits. Genetic diversity is a really important thing, and the larger the gene pool, the better chance you have that the breed will survive new diseases, parasites or effects of climate change. However, the way to make a breed more popular is to ensure you're breeding healthy animals that will be good fits for other farms or breeders. Animals that don't have the qualities the breed is supposed to have don't deserve to pass on those sub par traits, no matter how pretty their color.
My new chocolate rabbit is names Schoko, which is German for chocolate, appropriately. She's very young but I've done business with this breeder for a few years now and respect her stock. We've purchased rabbits from each other and have both been pleased. Unfortunately, she's moving out of the country and cannot take her rabbits with her. This was her first litter with chocolate kits, and she gave me first option on the chocolate doe. I felt very proud of this because she has seen my operation and respected me enough to want me to be someone to help her lines continue on without her.
Seeing the history of heritage breeds made me fall in love with the idea of picking up the reins where someone else left off and helping these beautiful creatures to continue to grace small farms for my lifetime and hopefully far beyond. I'm excited to expand the genetics in my little breeding program and to help someone else's hard work live on.
It's a lot of fun for me to be able to breed to have a couple colors in a litter rather than all black every time. At the same time, it's important to make sure color isn't the only thing that determines which animals become breeding stock. I keep the guidelines set in the ARBA Standard of Perfection in mind. This covers things like size, body shape, coat and proper silvering. I also select for rabbits that are naturally healthy, and that handle our climate and way of raising them well. While I don't handle my rabbits much, I do need them to be calm and friendly. Overly fearful or aggressive behavior is not something to pass on. The qualities in your breeding stock will be magnified over time, so it's essential to pick the animals that work for you and are also good examples of what established criteria for the breed calls for.
Helping conserve a heritage breed is a tricky thing. There are more giant pandas estimated to be alive today than Silver Fox Rabbits. Genetic diversity is a really important thing, and the larger the gene pool, the better chance you have that the breed will survive new diseases, parasites or effects of climate change. However, the way to make a breed more popular is to ensure you're breeding healthy animals that will be good fits for other farms or breeders. Animals that don't have the qualities the breed is supposed to have don't deserve to pass on those sub par traits, no matter how pretty their color.
My new chocolate rabbit is names Schoko, which is German for chocolate, appropriately. She's very young but I've done business with this breeder for a few years now and respect her stock. We've purchased rabbits from each other and have both been pleased. Unfortunately, she's moving out of the country and cannot take her rabbits with her. This was her first litter with chocolate kits, and she gave me first option on the chocolate doe. I felt very proud of this because she has seen my operation and respected me enough to want me to be someone to help her lines continue on without her.
Seeing the history of heritage breeds made me fall in love with the idea of picking up the reins where someone else left off and helping these beautiful creatures to continue to grace small farms for my lifetime and hopefully far beyond. I'm excited to expand the genetics in my little breeding program and to help someone else's hard work live on.