What happens to Dutch, Harlequin, tan when crossed

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ckcs

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With rabbit breeds that have distinct patterns such as Dutch, Harlequin and Tan what happens to the pattern if they are breed to another breed? For instance if you wanted to try to make a Rex or Angora furred Dutch, Harlequin or tan. Could something like that even be done?
 
with harlequin the patterning stays true.
With dutch, you'll get some with the dutch patterning, and some with just a snip.
with tan... haven't a clue...those tan crosses I've seen are very striking tan build
 
I have seem photos of Harlequin Dutch. Absolutely Stunning rabbits !!!!! ( not ARBA recognised. In Europe they are iirc) Would luv to try them... but i have enough to work on at the moment.
Not certain what the Tan would do with Dutch... interesting.
 
There are already Rex and Angora furred Harlies and Tans. The tan pattern is Otter. You can get Rex Otters with rufus as bright as the Tan breed. I actually know someone who is trying to tone down the Otter rufus.
 
Harlequin exists in other breeds. If bred to another carrier you could get more harlequin or you'll just get whatever the dominant color of the rabbits is. Much the same for the others. Dutch to another rabbit carrying the pattern gives you dutch pattern (for the most part) and to any breed/rabbit not carrying it gets you whatever the dominant colors are. So a black dutch to a black not carrying dutch will mostly if not completely get you blacks. There is a loss of pattern quality for both colors though. Your harlequin markings are less likely to match up and your dutch markings might have weird narrowed, widened, or completely missing sections. Those colors tend to be isolated and have become their own breeds because of the detail required to get the pattern.

Tan is a different matter. It is just an otter/marten but modified much like rex have modified chestnut to castor. You'd have to breed the same modifiers in to get the color but part of what makes tans so striking is also their type. They are a running breed instead of the usually more common commercial and compact breeds. You may get some very oddly shaped rabbits and the pattern does not look the same on a low sitting commercial rabbit as it does on a running breed even if you manage to salvage the right modifiers.
 
akane":12roorwu said:
You may get some very oddly shaped rabbits and the pattern does not look the same on a low sitting commercial rabbit as it does on a running breed even if you manage to salvage the right modifiers.


So true. It's interesting how color is modified by the body and fur type of the rabbit. I love my black JW, Angoras and SF, but I don't care for black Rex. I don't like the way the short fur reflects the light. I really like Harlie Rex, but didn't care for the Harlie Angoras I saw the other day. The wool completely changes the way the color looks.
 
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