gentics plese read

Question
Hi I was wondering if you kenew of a website where I could find info on rabbit gentics? I am wondering what the outcome of cross breeding a holland lop to a dutch would be, if the markings of the dutch or coloration of the dutch would carry over and if the lop ears would carry over as well.

Answer
Dear Tara,

Both of the traits you describe--fur coloration and ear position--are controlled by more than one gene, and so it will be difficult to predict what the offspring of a Dutch/Holland Lop cross would look like.  The babies would all probably look quite different from each other.

The white markings on a Dutch rabbit are a highly selected pattern of white patches known as "piebalding".  Piebalding is recessive to solid color fur (a recessive form of a gene is masked by a dominant one), so if the Holland Lop parent had solid color fur and *no history of piebalding in his heritage* then the babies would likely have solid-color fur.  They are certainly not likely to inherit the Dutch pattern, which is often "imperfect" even in crosses of purebred Dutch parents.

Ear position is more tricky.  The babies of a lop and an up-eared rabbit can have one ear up and one ear down (a "unicorn" bunny), both ears at "half mast" (the "helicopter" bunny), both ears up, or both ears down (the latter less common).  This is because more than one gene is involved, and different combinations can produce different ear positions.

You can find an overview of coat color genetics here:

http://www.thenaturetrail.com/Rabbit-Coat-Color-Chart.htm

though it's not complete.  It's pretty good for the space on a web site, though!  :)

MOST IMPORTANTLY, though, before you consider breeding these rabbits, please read this:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

Hope this helps.

Dana