Steel Gene

[ilovehome]

I am buying a Gold Tipped Steel. His pedigree lists his sire as blue and his dam as broken orange. If I am understanding steel correctly, the dam could not be responsible for the steel as she is "ee" and steel requires one Es. So, I am thinking the blue is possible EsEs, producing a super steel that looks like a self. But if the blue produces other colors than steel, then he could not be a super steel, right?

Is there some other explanation this pair producing the black GTS I am buying?

 

[Dood]

Steel hides in self rabbits so the blue father could be "aa EsE" or "aa EsEs" (super steel AND self) and not "A_ EsEs" (super steel agouti that looks self but isn't)

 

[ilovehome]

Since the buck I'm buying is a correctly colored black GTS, I am hoping he got the agouti from his mother, and he is essentially a chestnut with Es. I want to use him in agouti program. If the steel is to work in this, I always need to breed a GTS to an agouti and never to another steel, right?

 

[Dood]

Two steel genes do not always create false self blacks so as long as you only keep agouti/chestnut or GTS and cull any self looking kits you should be OK

 

[JessiL]

It seems like many blues in American rabbits are aa Es_, it lurks around until crossing with whites - who are often chestnut rabbits in disguise. I suspect that the situation is similar in many other breeds. Dood is right about how best to use the steel rabbit in your breeding program. It also helps that the steels are so handsome/pretty!