How.... why...color... genetics... oh yes!

[fuzzy9]

These are the broken kits that I am keeping, and will be the next step in my broken meat rabbit project. I have some questions though.....just something I'm curious about.

What's funny is the brokens from Stache's first litter, the sable was a doe, and the black/white a buck. In her second litter, the sable is the buck, and the black/white is a doe. :lol:

Both black/white brokens from both litters seem to be built more like the mixed mutt doe (she's the doe in my avatar), a bit smaller, and less muscled along the top. I'm curious, since I know nothing about genetics, why would both black/white brokens resemble the doe body and shape wise? Both of the sables resemble the build of their Cal buck, they are very solid all along the topline, and are much more built like a meat breed. It just seems weird to me, and I know it can't be as simple as them being the same black/white color as the doe.

6 week old buck

6 week old doe

13 week old buck - I have a very nice, broad, big NZ black doe I will breed this guy to, and hope she will improve on his weaknesses.

13 week old doe - excited to see this doe mature.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Wow! Nice looking bunnies!

 

[Dood]

Genetics is not an even 50-50 mix of mother and father. There is genetic cross over during meiosis - here is a link http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiosis

This is easiest to see in mutt dogs - when you breed a lab to a poodle you get all kinds of body shapes and coat textures and rarely do two pups look exactly alike. In rabbits it is more subtle but some of my kits look more Flemish and some more AmChin and some more NZ

In your case I would theorize that the coat colour genes are linked / associated / corellated to the body type of the dam and sire

 

[fuzzy9]

Thank you Amy and Dood!