Genetics 101- Mini Rex are the breed of discussion, but this applies to ALL BREEDS!!! Just remember to change some of the names to suit your breed, such as changing the color name Castor to Chestnut (all breeds), Sandy (Flemish) or Copper(Satin coated animals).


The A Series

The D Series covers the aspect of DILUTION. When a color ahs the DILUTION effect, it remains the same base color (Black or Chocolate), but the recessive comniation of gene changes it from Black to Blue, or from Chocolate to Lilac.

In order of Dominance, the D Series genes are :

A- Dense Colored (Black or Chocolate)

d - Diluted (Blue or Lilac)

A rabbit has 2 genes on each series, and one is given from each parent. For a said color to be shown on a kit, one of its parents must have given it to the offspring. *The Dominant gene is the one that you "SEE"*, also know as the rabbits Phenotype. When both genes are known, that is call the Genotype. A rabbit with 2 identical genes is called Homozygous, and one with 2 different genes is call Heterozygous.

A rabbit will have its "Visual" gene and then can carry another identical one(Homozygous), or any one BELOW it on the series, but NEVER ONE ABOVE IT...that would mean that the rabbit is NOT the color you said it was in the first place (i.e.: A Lilac carrying Black. The Black is DOMINANT, so the rabbit would be Black).
Hence, a Rabbit that is Dense colored can carry another Dense gene, or a Dilution gene.

A Dilute Rabbit can *ONLY* be Homozygous for another Dilute gene as there is not one "Below it" to carry.

Some Examples of this in "color talk": 2 Blacks bred together can potentially produce Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. 2 Chocolates can prosuce Chocolate and Lilac. 2 Lilacs and/or Blues can ONLY produce Lilacs and/or Blues.

An example of a genetically impossible breeding in the D Series:

Dilute X Dilute - Dense(Neither Dilute has a Dense gene to give).

I am making a notation of this genetic impossibility because many people who are just starting in rabbits are purchasing more stock than breeding them. Each and every person CAN BECOME familiar with their genetics enough that they can eventually call the shots, and make their selection of replacement breeding stock a little more effectively....ON THEIR OWN!!!

The percentages of a given color that are shown on many websites and genetics books are not a percent per litter, it is the chances that EACH KIT has of being a certain color or pattern. Such as, a Black to Black cross and they both have a Blue parent, each KIT has a 50% chance of being a Blue, not 50% of the litter. With that genetic average, the same cross could potentially produce 100% Blues. Murphy's Law tends to prevail, and if you are trying to produce that particular color, it will stay recessive almost indefinitely...LOL!

By looking at the pedigree, you may be able to Genotype your animals.
If an Chocolate rabbit has one parent being an Dense, and one parent being a Dilute on the pedigree, this becomes easier.
*We know from reading above that the Dilute can only ever carry itself, so the self parent is "dd".
* We know that the Dense parent is dominant for "D".
Just by that basic information, we know that the Chocolate rabbit in question is "Bb", one gene from each parent.

A punnet square below illustrates this cross, and you can substitute other crosses accordingly.

In percentages, each kit has a 50% chance of being an Dense animal that is recessive for Dilute and 50% of being an Dilute animal.