What colored doe&buck would produce the most colorful kits?

[RabbitCoats]

What rabbit colors for breeding stock are the best choice for producing the most variety of colors for the kits? I understand that a LOT of what you'll get depends solely on the genetic background for the doe and buck, but is there any type of standard of what colors (I'm assuming that white is one of them based on what I've read) produce the most colorful kits?? Would white and another recessive color give the most colorful/variety kits (depending on the breed and what type of genetic makeup it has?)


If I were to get a trio of Rex rabbits, which color combination for the buck and does would give me the most colorful & unique litters?

 

[alforddm]

Breeding a self based lilac tri (good luck finding one) to a castor will give you lots of different colors. First generation, you will probably get all castors (unless the castor carries recessives), but if you breed a castor kit back to the lilac tri you will get tons of color. Amber, opal, lynx, red, fawn, lilac fawn, blue, lilac, chocolate, harlequin, fawn harlequin, lilac harlequin and broken varieties of all of those (broken of harlequin is tri). If you really want to add in more stuff you could try to make sure both of your starter animals carry a recessive on the "C" locus as well.

 

[KimitsuKouseki]

For me, I've had the best color variety from Trésor+BigMama or Edward+BigMama

Trésor is a vienna marked chocolate self
BigMama is a dark shade of broken cream who carries self
Using Edward insted of Trésor also works well, he's a chocolate otter.
These 3 all carry lilac, BigMama and Edward carry albino.

 

[alforddm]

I realized I made a mistake in my color lists. You can't get both harlequin and red in the same litter with the combinations I listed. You would get either red or harlequin but not both.

 

[RabbitCoats]

So since a lilac tri colored would be near impossible to find, would the next best option with a tri colored/broken white with a castor? What would be a really good option in regards to a trio?

How about a castor buck, tri/broken white doe and lilac otter doe?

 

[alforddm]

I started off with a lilac buck that carried non-extension and rew and a silver tipped steel doe that carried harlequin. It was just good luck. I saved back a magpie and chin and have gotten tons of color. I've bred out steel but I get just about everything else that is possible to get with the exception of seal/sable colors and himi.

Since you're probably not going to find a lilac tri, a broken lilac or lynx would be a good substitute. You won't get the harlequin/tri colors but you'll get the others. Then if you want, you can add a harlequin into the mix later.