More Total Newbie questions

[user4482]

1.In an earlier post I was told my does was gold tipped steel am I right to think that its agouti/ black/with extension of dark colour giving it the black colour but retaining the gold agouti tips over the body?
2. In the earlier post one baby was a chinchilla am I right to think its also agouti/black stripped of yellow colouring leaving only the black tips giving the grey appearance?

3. Two more kits Ive being trying to suss out from the black steel doe x opal buck.
a) I assume that the weird blue grey is also agouti black steel like its mother but its looks grey not black so I haven't got my head around this one yet.
b) this really light one I cant work out at all. I haven't got a grip on things like Cchl or the various modifiers to have the faintest idea of whats going on with this one

Help please and if anyone can give some guidance on the potential genetic sequences, many thanks

 

[Zass]

Steel can be either agouti based (gold tipped) or chinchilla based (silver tipped)

As far as it looking not-quite-black....that might just be a "kit phase" that it will out grow.
I've had some pretty weird looking steel kits.

__________ Fri May 01, 2015 3:34 am __________

This gold tipped steel almost looked purplish for a while...

 

[user4482]

Wow I would almost of thought that your bunny was under a purple light to make it that colour, really interesting optical effect wonder if there is some underlying factor that causes the effect, would be nice to be able to reproduce it in adult form.

 

[Zass]

The lighting and poor quality camera were surely contributing to the effect, but the green couch and orange kit behind it are normal colored without purple shadows or highlights. :?

It had something to do with the way the fur was reflecting.
It wasn't really purplish...it just just reflected kinda purplish in certain light.

What I was more trying to show was that it's black color looked "off" for a while.

A little older, and under direct sunlight, the same kit (on the left) looks more like a normal steel.

__________ Fri May 01, 2015 4:45 am __________

Here's another neat one I don't think I've ever posted on RT. These two are both genetically black (pedigreed) silver fox kits.

The one on the left had been PEED ON by his mother. Repeatedly.
That was way back before I knew I could just take the nestbox out and return it for feedings.

It's fur DID grow in black. Eventually.

 

[Dood]

The light kits are probably just very light chinchilla (as seen in Flemish)

There are other modifiers called "umbrous" that control black tones in fur and rabbits that are agouti based can come in a WIDE range of tones, in Chins they can go from the light almost frosty looking to dark almost steel looking

Pic 1 - steel chin on far left the rest are regular chin of different shades due to modifiers

Pic 2 - purebred AmChin with show quality colour and pattern in her coat and a chin coloured rabbit from an AmChin x Mini Lop

 

[user4482]

Thanks for the pics,
It looks like a particular colour varieties are themselves quite variable so if I kept the light coloured kit and perhaps bred it back to the father if a doe or perhaps a sibling or half sibling should I eventually get another light one, would there be a much better chance of light kits or just the usual range with perhaps only a slightly better chance of light kits? Also the factor that influences the visual intensity or lack thereof does it apple to all colours for example making leading to some self blacks being a strong jet black and some being kind of slightly faded black?

Sorry for all the silly questions, I'm just trying to get a grip on it all and the interactions as quickly as I can.

PS I hope down the track I'll have as nice a tray of bunnies as yours, what age do you recommend for "processing" them?

 

[Dood]

These modifiers are inherited so if you breed the lightest togeather most of the kits should be the soft grey - since I am trying to breed towards the American Chinchilla standard of perfection I try and avoid these light ones for breeding stock, unless of course if they have really good production traits :mrgreen:

These darkening modifiers are in all colours of rabbit but difficult to see in some of them, they are particularly noticeable in agouti and non extension colours ie tort or sable point - some can be very light almost orange looking torts or white looking sable points while others can be VERY dark

I process males before 12 weeks regardless of weight and females before 16 weeks

The ones on the tray are for a taxidermy order and 1.5 to 2 pounds and 3 to 4 weeks old

 

[Susie570]

I was admiring how well trained Dood's rabbits are!! I would never be able to get mine to lay quietly in a tray like that!! :roll: :lol:

 

[user4482]

:clap2: :lol: :lol: