Now THAT was unexpected!

[GBov]

I put our REW NZ doe Meat Brick (dam REW, sire Gold Tipped Steel) to our new REW buck Snow Ball who is out of many generations of REWs.

We lost all but one of her first litter today due to something - most likely my ever present nemesis, raccoons - eating them through the bottom wire but the thing that was really odd was the kits were all BLUE!!!

Some lighter and some darker, but all blue.

Why?

 

[lizardboy101]

Well like in most breeds blue is rececive so it can sit a few generations back and just pop up. On top of that genetically your rabbits are not white. REW is basically a masking color(to make it simpke) so your rabbits genetically could be blue ans the albino genr is covering it up. Take a look at their pedigrees. I would bet both have blue in there somewhere

 

[Nyctra]

Are they blue like the fur color or blue like they've been suffocated/dead awhile? IDK, dunno how dead kits look.
That's weird though. O__o Albino to albino can only produce albino, last I checked, though Lizardboy's right - it only hides other colors.

 

[GBov]

WOW do I feel stupid! She was exposed NOT to a REW (Her mother is with him right now) but to a red.

Still dont know where the blue came from though :lol:

And blue as in blue like the kits born to my NZ blue does.

Never mind, I find it fun to get a surprise as to color. Pitty all the litter died, I would have loved to see what they turned out like.

 

[skysthelimit]

REW always produces REW. Think of long generations of white lab mice. If you have a colored rabbit from two red eyed white rabbits, either you've got a baby- daddy issue or you are in the Guinness book of world records.
Yes REW hides colors, but first one of the parents must not be REW in order for the colors to show.
Both rabbits could carry dilute for many generations and you never know it. I love hidden genes