I Need Suggestions For HARLEQUIN COLORS!

[StevenJBordelon]

Okay, I'm just getting into Harlequins, and NO ONE in my area has Chocolate Magpies or Black Magpies. I was wondering what two colors could I breed together to get these colors? I have two bucks, and 5 does. Both bucks are Blue Magpie, the does are 2 Blue magpie, 1 Lilac Japanese, 1 Blue Japanese, and 1 Black Japanese. Any help whatsoever will be very much appreciated :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: !

 

[Fireclaws bunnbutts]

Well, I do know that Lilac is recessive to chocolate, at least I'm pretty sure. So maybe if you bred the lilac to the black, you might get some chocolates? Though I'm not entirely sure so don't quote me on that. Someone with more smarticles will probably come along and correct me :lol:

 

[Zass]

Chocolate is a simple recessive, so to get it on a rabbit you need two copies of the gene, one from each parent.
Since there are several recessive genes in play here, it would probably be best to learn the genotypes.
This is a chocolate magpie genotype:
(A_ bb cchd_ D_ ej_)

Lilac is dilute and chocolate
A lilac magpie genotype:
(A_ bb cchd dd ej_)

A is agouti,
b is chocolate,
cchd is chinchilla, another recessive gene necessary for magpie.
d is for dilute
D is for, not dilute
ej is extension japanese
the gene responsible for the harlequin pattern.



In order to get chocolate magpie kits, you will need to have at least one non-dilute rabbit in the pairing, because dilutes have only d to give, so pairing two dilutes together will always produce dd.


Anything OUT of the lilac will carry at least one copy of the chocolate gene (and one copy of dilute.)

Unfortunately, breeding her to either of your blue bucks will only produce blues and maybe lilacs if they happen to carry the gene for chocolate(b). Any rabbit with a lilac or chocolate parent will be carrying the gene.
If you breed one of your blue bucks to your black jap there is a chance both could have one recessive copy of the chocolate gene. If they both had it, it would be able to express as chocolate and not lilac because a black has the D gene necessary for any non-dilute color.

But, does your black jap carry the chinchilla gene necessary to produce magpie kits?
A magpie parent on pedigree would guarantee it, an ancestor further back would increase the odds...
It's also possible she doesn't have either of the recessive required. :shrug:

Most breeders I know strongly recommend against crossing jap and mag because magpies can really harm the color of jap kits.
I started my line that way, but I was able to eat up all the washed out, white marked japs I produced while working towards a line of only magpies.

If they were mine, I would start by test breeding each buck to the lilac doe. If one of them throws any lilac kits, he could also throw chocolates to the right doe.