Black self Chin or something else??

[Ehdeedee]

I have a litter of Rex and the sire is Chin and the Dam is REW. Most of the litter are Chin, squirrel, or blue. However I have one that I think is a black self chin. But he is actually a dark smoky grey and his ears and feet are black. Is he something else or is this a phase black self babies go through? They are 7 weeks old today.





Thank you for the help. Obviously I’m new to this. This is my first litter. I’m learning so much and appreciate all of your help!

 

[Alaska Satin]

I have a litter of Rex and the sire is Chin and the Dam is REW. Most of the litter are Chin, squirrel, or blue. However I have one that I think is a black self chin. But he is actually a dark smoky grey and his ears and feet are black. Is he something else or is this a phase black self babies go through? They are 7 weeks old today.

Thank you for the help. Obviously I’m new to this. This is my first litter. I’m learning so much and appreciate all of your help!

That looks like a dark sable to me. Honestly, it is actually so dark that it looks like a seal, which is a double sable <c(chl)c(chl)>. However, it cannot be seal if the dam is REW <cc>, since the bunny must have one copy of <c>.

Sable is also called the shaded gene, and you've noticed the darker shaded points on your bunny, which is the tip-off. It could just be shadows, but the bunny to the left in the first photo looks like it might possibly be shaded as well, maybe a blue sable aka smoke pearl.


Selfs are just plain solid, no shading; although you can see temporary rusty colors from sunburn or molt, those variations do not show up in a shaded pattern. Sables, however, go through several pretty striking color phases in their development. Here's a thread with pictures: https://rabbittalk.com/threads/chinchilla-rex-at-last.36724/#post-355913

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Looks like a Siamese sable to me

 

[Ehdeedee]

That looks like a dark sable to me. Honestly, it is actually so dark that it looks like a seal, which is a double sable <c(chl)c(chl)>. However, it cannot be seal if the dam is REW <cc>, since the bunny must have one copy of <c>.

Sable is also called the shaded gene, and you've noticed the darker shaded points on your bunny, which is the tip-off. It could just be shadows, but the bunny to the left in the first photo looks like it might possibly be shaded as well, maybe a blue sable aka smoke pearl.
View attachment 42467

Selfs are just plain solid, no shading; although you can see temporary rusty colors from sunburn or molt, those variations do not show up in a shaded pattern. Sables, however, go through several pretty striking color phases in their development. Here's a thread with pictures: https://rabbittalk.com/threads/chinchilla-rex-at-last.36724/#post-355913

Thank you for the help. I’ll have to check my blues again when I go out next. So this shaded gene c(chl) must be carried by the sire then. Hmmm. He has two litters right now. Agh! Now I’m going to have to go look through them all again. I never thought genetics would be so interesting but I’m totally hooked. Thank you

 

[Alaska Satin]

Thank you for the help. I’ll have to check my blues again when I go out next. So this shaded gene c(chl) must be carried by the sire then. Hmmm. He has two litters right now. Agh! Now I’m going to have to go look through them all again. I never thought genetics would be so interesting but I’m totally hooked. Thank you

So it may actually not be sable... @Julie Stade reminded me that in rex coats, specifically, a self chin can look like a seal. I posted as much in your other thread https://rabbittalk.com/threads/chinchilla-rex-at-last.36724/#post-363979

However... I'd still keep an open mind regarding sable since your bunny looks so clearly shaded, whereas the few self chin Rex I've seen look right color-wise but don't seem to have the distinct points.

If you look through his other litters, it would be great to see photos. Until you know what you're looking for, that shaded allele can play tricks on you. Mostly the key is seeing those wild color changes in the kits between newborn - a few months of age.

 

[Ehdeedee]

If you look through his other litters, it would be great to see photos. Until you know what you're looking for, that shaded allele can play tricks on you. Mostly the key is seeing those wild color changes in the kits between newborn - a few months of age.

I went out and looked at his litters. I have attached photos of two blues that are in the same litter as the black. I also attached photos from when the blue and the black were 4 weeks. They aren’t the best, but I wasn’t looking for shading at the time, lol. At 4 weeks there was no hint of the shading. They are 8 weeks now.