Wildriver Rabbitry

                         Shaded Mini Rex Color Guide

Welcome to my Shaded Mini Rex Color Guide. This is where you will find pretty much every shaded variety possible. Most of the rabbits on here are Mini Rex but I may have a couple Rex as well. Not all of the pictures are mine but many have been donated by some very helpful breeders. Some of these varieties are very rare so pictures are hard to find. It has been a treat to be able to have pictures of not only those rare ones, but a those more common ones too. However, I still don't have them all. If you have something that you see is missing on here, please contact me. I would be more than happy to add any pictures you may have with you name or rabbitry name and a link if you have one under the picture.

Warning: If you raise other breeds than Rex or Mini Rex and want to use this guide to help you determine the color of these other breeds, be aware that this color guide is specifically made for Rex and Mini Rex only. It is not made for other breeds and may not give the right descriptions for other breeds. Rex fur can cause very different appearances to the color than other types of fur. If you want to know what some of these varieties might look like for other breeds, it may be a good idea to ask other breeders that have experience with your breed or look at your Standard of Perfection book for the ARBA variety standards and descriptions in your particular breed. 

If you see something that does not make sense or if you see something that you do not feel is correct, please let me know. 

E-mail: snobunny22789@yahoo.com

                               Recognized Varieties

Black Tort
Other Possible Names: Tortoise(can be used for Mini Rex). Formally called Madagascar in the Satin breed
-aa-B-C-D-ee(Basic Black Tort)
-Black Tort is a Non Extension(ee) of Black
 
General Description:  A Black Tort should have a clean, rich, deep red/orange body with clean dark smokey gray to black shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The belly is typically a lighter gray in color. The eyes should be brown and the nails dark. Black Tort is currently the only recognized Tort Mini Rex variety in the US. Blue Tort, Chocolate Tort and Lilac Tort are not recognized so Black Tort is the only one that can be shown out of all 4 varieties of Tort Mini Rex.
 
Is Tort really a shaded variety? Appearance wise, yes. It has a definite shaded appearance with the lighter body color and darker shading on the typical points(ears, nose, eyes, feet, tail, flanks and belly). However, genetically, it is not a true shaded variety. In rabbit genetics, a shaded rabbit is technically a rabbit carrying the chd or chl color genes. These are called the light and dark shading color genes and rabbits in these color families are the true shaded colors. However, since Tort appears as a shaded color, it is often grouped with the shaded color groups in breeds like Lops.
 
Breeding Tips: Breeding to Black, Black Tort and Red(very limited breeding) should give you the best results. Keep in mind that Red and Black may not produce Tort in the first generation unless they carry the right recessive genes. Also, the excessive use of Red in your Tort lines, may ruin your Tort's color by making the color to light and washing out the shading so Red should be used on a very limited basis. However, Red can be helpful if the Tort lines are too dark. Tort may not improve your Red's color either. REW is also another good option. However, use REW with cation since REW can carry other genetics that you may not want in your Tort lines. You may also be able to use Caster if you have no access to any of the colors above. However, keep in mind that you will lesson your chances of getting Tort in your litters significantly by using Caster. It may take you several generations to get Tort. Tort may not improve your Caster's color so I do not suggest using Tort if you are breeding for Caster. 
 
It is best to avoid colors like Dilute, Chocolate, Tricolor, Tan Patterned, BEW or any agouti other than Red and sometimes Caster in your lines. Also avoid using Chinchilla colors(Self Chinchilla, Chinchilla, Frosted Pearl, Silver Martin, Sallander...), Sable Colors(Sable, Sable Point, Sable Martin, Smoked Pearl...) and Seal colors. All of these varieties will not improve your Tort lines but may ruin the color, complicate your genetics, or both. Tort and Sable Point can be crossed but this is often only used to help improve the Sable Point lines, not Tort lines. Sable Point will lighten the Tort's color and often washes out the shading on the Tort offspring from a cross like this within the first generation.
 
The Black Tort Rainbow:
 With any variety, you will naturally have a color variations. I am not meaning Blue, Black, Chocolate or Lilac. I am talking about shades of color within one variety. I am Talking about having some Darker and Some lighter. Some having more rufus(Red/Orange pigment found in the coat's color) and some having less. Some with more undercolor and some with less undercolor. All of these can cause one variety of rabbit to come in many different shades. With Black Tort, these variations can easily be seen. There are light Torts, Medium Torts and Dark Torts. I like to call these the 3 color shades of Black Tort even though there are many different variations. The lightest Black Torts tend to have more Tan colored bodies with lighter more pale shading. These are the Black Torts with the lightest levels of rufus. Medium colored black Torts tend to have rich brick red bodies and can either have darker more smokey gray shading or more brown shading depending on how well the shading shows itself. The Darkest Torts are those that have the highest levels of rufus. These Torts tend to have dark more muddy brown bodies with very dark almost black shading. In my opinion, the medium colored Torts are the nicest looking as long as they have good shading.
With Torts, body color and shading call often be two separate factors meaning that you can have Torts with good shading and some with not as desirable shading on any of the 3 shades of Tort. Shading can also be found in different levels of color. Sometimes, I like to to think of shading and body color as separate. The lightness or darkness of shading can depend on how light or dark the general color is. However, sometimes shading can be more intense and less intense.
With breeding it can be hard to predict what shade you will get in your litters which to me, makes it a little less boring. 
 
Kits

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

 These two Torts are a good example of the different shades of Tort that can pop out inlitters. These are both black Tort.The kit on the right is a little too light in my opinion. The Tort to the left is a good middle shade. Out of a medium Tort x a light Tort.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a correct Tort belly shading. Tort should have medium to dark gray shading on their bellies at this age. The belly and flanks shading can be lighter than the shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail.

Out of a medium Tort x a light Tort

 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a kit that has overly light color. A correctly colored Tort at this age should have rich deep Red/Orange color with dark well defined shading. Notice that this kit's color is more of a fawn color with very light dusty gray shading. This kit is a little over 2 weeks old. Out of a Medium Tort x a Light Tort. All other siblings were darker.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is the sibling of the light kit to the left. Notice how much darker this kit is. The body is a rich bright red/orange with darker more well defined shading. 

 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Chocolate? Seal? Nope. This is a very Dark Tort kit at 3 days old. This is actually the darkest Tort kit I have ever seen in my litters. It was very confusing at first because it did not look like a Tort. However, genetically, it could not have been anything else except a Tort. This kit is out of a Medium Tort x a Dark Tort. All other siblings are medium Torts.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is the same kit from the left at 3 weeks old. You can see the obvious Tort coloration now. However, this kit is still too dark in my opinion. This kit may look like a nicely colored Tort now but all Torts get darker with age. Once this little guy turns senior, he will show his perminent color which should be darker than he is in this picture. 

 
 
Juniors
 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is an 8 week old Tort. This is actually a nicely colored junior. Once he sheds into his senior coat, he will have very nice color. This buck is out of a Medium Tort x a Light Tort.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is the lighter sibling of the rabbit to the left. Notice the light caramel/orange color and the light dusty gray shading.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a young junior out of a Sable Point x Tort breeding. Notice how the Sable Point affected this Tort's shading. It is very pale and not very well defined compared to the kit in the picture directly above.  This little guy is not light in color just lacks proper shading for a Tort. Would make some great Sable Points though.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a little Broken Tort junior with extremely dark color. In my opinion, this is too dark for a Tort. Notice how the body color is so dark that it does not stand out against the shading well. I like to call these Torts, "muddy" because their body color is more of a dark mud brown than a nice rich red/orange. Has a neat broken pattern though. This junior is out of a Dark Broken Tort x a Dark Tort.

 
Seniors
 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a lighter senior Tort. Notice the more pale body color and the lighter shading on the side.In a senior, the body color should be a little more Red and the shading a little darker. 

 

Ownere of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Tort with good bright red/orange body color. However, notice how her shading fails to stand out well against the body color. When breeding Torts, you want that nice dark well defined intense shading that this doe lacks. 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a very dark Tort. Notice the muddy body color on this doe. However, on this particular dark tort, you can still see the shading. She has some nice dark intense shading on the face. She is shedding in this picture but she should get that same dark shading on her sides too. 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a very nicely colored doe. Notice how her body color is a rich deep mahogany but light enough to create a good contrast against her nice dark well defined shading. In my opinion this is what an ideal Tort Mini Rex should look like.

 
Sable Point
 Names known to other breeds: Siamese Sable Point. 
aa-B-c(chl)D-ee(Basic Sable Point carrying no other genetic possibilities)
-aa-B-c(chl)c-D-ee(Sable Point carrying REW)
-aa-B-c(chl)-c(h)-D-ee(Sable Point carrying Himi)
 
What is a Sable Point? A Sable Point is a non extension version of a Sable(also known as Siamese Sable in other breeds). It is a Self Color, a Black based color and a Dense color. It should have a light cream body that is as smut free as possible with medium to dark sepia brown shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet, tail and flanks. The belly is typically the same cream color as the body but in some cases, may show some sepia shading. The eyes should be brown and can have a Ruby glow. The nails should be pigmented(not white).
 
Breeding tips:
What are the best compatible colors for Sable Point?
REW, Himi, Sable and Seal are some of the best colors to use in a Sable Point program. These can help improve the color.

Himalayan(Himi): Himi can be a very good asset to any Sable Point program. I usually keep a couple around. First of all, Himi can bring good quality into your Sable Point lines. Secondly, the Himi color genes(ch) are recessive to Sable color genes(chl) so you should at least get some Sable out of any Himi you breed to your Sable Point lines in the first generation. Finally, Himi can help clean up the over all color in your Sable Point lines. A few things you should know about Himalayan is that it may not always produce Sable Point in the first generation. Himalayan can be a full extension(E) color, a non extension carrier(Ee) or a non extension(ee). A full extension Himi would carry dominent "E" only. A non extension carrier would show the dominent "E" appearance but would carry a recessive "e" gene. A non extension Himi might show a faded appearance and will carry two copies of the non extension "ee" genes. If you cross a Full extension Himi that does not carry non extension to a Sable Point, you will only get Sable and maybe Himi. If you cross a Himi that carries non extension to a Sable Point, you can get Sable, Sable Point, Full extension Himi and non extension Himi. A non extension Himi crossed to Sable Point should give you Sable Point and maybe non extension Himi.

REW: REW can also be an asset to a Sable Point program. First of all, they can bring some very good quality into your lines. Secondly, they can clean up the over all color of your Sable Point lines. Finally, the REW color genes can be recessive to any other color genes meaning that it is recessive to the Sable and Sable Point. A few things you should know is that while REW may be white, it can still carry a lot of other genes and dominant traits that could affect the outcome of your litters. Avoid using REW that is a genetic Agouti, Chocolate, Dilute, Tan pattern, or Tricolor/Harli.

Sable: Sable is probably the safest color to use in your Sable Point lines. Sable is the closest genetically to Sable Point. Sable already carries the sable(cchl) genes, the self genes, the black genes and the dense genes. However, something you should be aware of is that Sable may or may not carry non extension for getting Sable Point in the first generation.

Seal: Seal is also very similar in genetics to Sable Point. Seal carries chl genes as well but instead of one set of Sable genes, a Seal carries two sets of sable genes giving seal its dark almost black color. Seal is also naturally a full extension color so in order to get Sable Points or Seal Points in the first generation, the Seal will need to carry non extension.

What are the next best colors? 
 Tort and Black are probably the next best colors.
 Tort: Make sure it is Black Tort only. No chocolate, blue or lilac Torts. Black Tort is already a non extension but unlike the varieties above, Tort carries a dominant full color gene(C) which is way it is not quite as convenient for a Sable Point program. In order to get Sable Point out of Tort, the Tort must carry recessive Sable, REW or Himi color genes. Without this, you will only get Tort in the first generation. Crossing Tort to Sable Point, may or may not help improve the Sable Point line's color and will almost always detract from the Tort line's color.
 
Black: Black is even a little less convenient. Unlike Tort, Black is not a non extension color and also carries the dominant full color gene(C). In order to get some Sable Point in the first generation, the black would not only have to carry the recessive Sable, REW or Himi color genes but would also have to carry non extension. If the black does not carry these genes, it may only produce black in the first generation crossed to Sable Point. Some of these black offspring should carry the recessive genes needed to produce Tort, Sable and Sable Point.
 
 Colors that are not good to breed to Sable Point?
Any Agouti(especially Chinchilla because the Chin chl color genes are dominant over Sable chl color genes), Tan pattern, Harlequin, Tricolor or BEW. These colors may have no affect in improving the color, may ruin the color of your Sable Points, ruin the Sable Point lines, or all three. 
 
Kits

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a nice litter with a variety of colors in it. A mixture of colors is typical from breedings out of Sable Point carriers. There are 3 REW(Red Eyed White), 1 Sable and 2 Sable Point in this litter. They are out of a Sable Point x Dark Sable breeding. Both parents carried REW which is why their are 3 REW in the litter. REW and Sable Point can sometimes look very smiler as newborns before they grow their fur in. The lighter Sable Point out of the two was thought to be a REW at first and didn't develop shading right away.

 

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here are two young Sable Point kits. Notice the kit on the bottom is much lighter than the kit on the top. This is the typical rainbow of different shades of Sable Point you can get in litters. These two kits look like they could be around 3 days old. 

 

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here are the same two kits at an older age. Notice how the color has developed. The kit on the bottom is still much lighter than its sibling on the top. Lighter shading is not necessarily bad on a Sable Point. Especially if it has clean body color. The darker the Sable Point, the higher chance it has of developing smut. 

 

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here are the same two kit's bellies. Notice the dark belly shading on the darker kit. Not sure if this will go away or not. Could be permanent on this particular rabbit because of how dark its over all color is.

 

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is a cute little kit. Looks like it could be around 3 or 4 weeks old in this picture. Here is a good look at the belly color of an older kit. 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

This kit is almost 4 weeks old in this picture. He is a light Sable Point. Right now, he looks like he has very pale shading but his shading should get darker as he matures. Also notice the absence of any belly shading. The lack of belly shading is actually more common with Sable Points and is just fine. 

Juniors
 

 

Ownere of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is a cute little junior. I would say this little guy has medium color. It isn't too dark but not as light as some Sable Points can be.  Also notice the belly shading on this guy. Again, this is fairly uncommon but not necessarily bad.

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is a really dark Sable Point. This gal actually looks very similar to a Sallander's coloration because of her very gray Tort like shading. However, I have heard that some Sable Points have this tort like extreme shading thought to be caused by a modifier.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a really light Sable Point. Notice how he also does not have belly shading. Again, this is just fine as well. As you can see, this junior is starting to get some darker shading coming in on the ears and nose. His body color should stay very light. Again, the lack of belly shading could be due to a modifier.

 
 
 Seniors

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a really light buck. Almost too light in the shading. In fact, this buck has had comments about his shading being too light. However, notice how the body color is smut free. 

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a buck with nicely balanced color. He has fairly clean light body color and nice dark shading.

 

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Sable Point with smutty body color. Notice the grayish shaded areas on the back and rump. That is smut. Not dark smut but any level of smut is generally discouraged. However, to give this doe some credit, she has really good shading.

Owner of picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is an interestingly colored Sable Point. Notice how this doe has very Tort like shading. Not sure how this kind of color does on the show tables but interesting non the less. Also notice that this doe has obvious shading on the belly, side, and flanks. The other animals in the other 3 pictures do not have this shading.

 
Seal
 True Seal-aa-B-c(chl)c(chl)D-E-
There are actually 2 other genetic colors showing a resemblance similar to a True Seal. 
These are known as Dark Sable and Self Chinchilla. 
Dark Sable- aa-B-c(chl)D-E- with modifiers causing a dark Seal like appearance.
Self Chinchilla- aa-B-c(chd)D-E- appears as a deep sepia brown much like a Seal. 
 
True Seal description: A True Seal should have a dark Sepia brown body which shades to a slightly lighter sepia on the belly and flanks. A true Seal should have brown eyes lacking a Ruby Glow. 
 The three Seal like colors
If these three colors seem a little confusing, they can be. All three colors can have the same basic shade of brown with only subtle differences. However, all 3 are genetically different and can make a big difference in your breeding programs. Especially if they are being used for Sable Point, Chinchilla or Seal programs. Being able to tell the difference is key to getting the right genetics. 
 
True Seal: True Seal has a dark sepia body that shades to a lighter sepia around the belly and flanks. True Seal has brown eyes with no ruby glow as I have already covered above. A true seal is said to have a lighter sepia undercolor near the skin. Genetically, true Seals are a self(aa), black based(B), carry two sets of the sable shading color genes(cchlcchl), are a dense(D) color and a full extension(E) color. Seals can come in other varieties such as Chocolate and Dilute. It can also come in non extension and Agouti. However, the only showable variety of Seal is black. 
 
Dark Sable: With Dark Sable there are two rivaling theories. The first theory which I think is less complicated to deal with is this. Dark Sable is a genetic regular Sable(aaB-c(chl)D-E-) with an unknown modifier causing its color to be dark much like a True Seal coloration. The other theory is that Dark Sables are actually a part of a totally different shading color family known as cchm. cchm is thought to be the very rarely seen 3rd shading color gene family to the already clearly obvious dark shaded/chinchilla color gene family(cchd) and light shaded/chinchilla color gene family(cchl). cchm is thought to be a middle or medium shaded/chinchilla color gene family. Normally, cchd is dominant over cchl but now, you would have dominance in this order. cchd, cchm, cchl. cchm being dominant over cchl and cchd being dominant over both cchl and cchm. However, this theory is very new and not well supported at this point. There is a higher chance that the cause of Dark Sable is a modifier than having the presence of a whole new color family in rabbit genetics. Since it is not obvious, dark sables can be very frustrating to deal with in your programs. Appearance wise, Dark Sables have an appearance much like a true sable. Dark Sables will have a dark sepia body and can have a slight lighter shade of sepia on the belly and flanks. Depending on how light or dark the particular rabbit is, this can be harder to see. However, I've noticed that when I take a picture of these Dark Sable rabbits with camera set of flash, the resulting picture often shows a slightly lighter belly and flanks. The undercolor should also be a lighter sepia color since the surface is also a dark sepia. Dark Sables also tend to show no ruby glow to their eyes. So, you might ask, how do you know they are a Dark Sable and not True Seal. The key is REW. True Seals cannot carry REW while Dark Sables can and often do. This is often the only way to really tell if you have a Dark Sable or Self Chin vs. a True Seal. Since true Seal already carries two sets of color genes, it cannot carry REW nore produce REW even bred strait to a REW. Rabbits cannot carry more than 2 possible sets of color genes thus ensuring that true Seal cannot carry REW. However, since Dark Sable carries 1 set of color genes, there is always a posibility for that rabbit to carry more recessive color genes like REW. A good clue tell you if you have a Dark Sable is if that rabbit is out of a REW. If it is, it cannot be a true Seal. If this rabbit produces REW in its litters bred to REW or another rabbit that carries REW, then it cannot be a true seal. Dark Sable can also show itself as a non extension color much like a Sable Point or in Chocolate or Dilute. There is also always a possiblity to show itself as an Agouti or Tan pattern just like any other color.
 
Self Chinchilla: Self Chinchilla belongs in the chinchilla or also known as the dark shaded/chinchilla color family(cchd). This color is the most different from the other two because it is not only not carrying cchl like the other two but it also is dominent over the other two color families. While Self Chin is very very similar to the other two, it also has its tiny differences in appearance other than its large differance in genetics. While True Seal and Dark Sable often have a slight shaded appearance of lighter sepia around their belly and flanks, Self Chin does not. Self Chin often has a solid self appearance rather than a shaded appearance. Self Chin should have a very dark almost black appearance over its entire body. Like True Seal and Dark Sable, Self Chin does not show a Ruby glow to its eyes. Another key to identifying that this is not a True Seal is if this rabbit carries REW or is out of REW. If this is true, this cannot be a true Seal(I have already explained why this cannot be a true seal above). Whenever, you are in question about whether this is a True Seal or Self Chin, it is best to test bred to a REW. Now, just because Dark Sable and Self Chin can carry REW, doesn't mean they will. If you never get REW out of these rabbits, that doesn't always mean that they are True Seals, it can just mean they they don't carry REW. However, there is another way. If you do test breed them to REW, the colors that they produce can give you clues to what they actually are. In this case, the best option for test breeding is to use a REW that is a Self(aa) and a full extension(E). Theoredically, if your rabbit produces more Self Chin/Dark Sable/Seal looking babies, it is most likely a Self Chin. If the rabbit produces Sable babies, it is most likely a True Seal. If it produces some Seal colored babies and some sable colored babies it could be a Dark Sable.
 
Whatever, the color, it is important to find out and to know the difference because these 3 could very well ruin a good breeding program. For instance, if you mistakenly breed a Self Chin into your Sable Point lines thinking it is a Seal, this could be a huge problem because you could end up getting lots of Self Chin and Sallander babies because Chinchilla is dominent over Sable. If you breed Seal or Dark Sable in to your Chinchilla(Agouti) lines, you could end up getting lots of Sable and Seal agouti rabbits popping up down the line since Chinchilla can carry Sable genes recessively. Finally, you could think you are breeding Seals and actually end up finding out way down the road that you are breeding Self Chins or Dark Sables and were never actually breeding true Seals. 
 
 What is the difference between Black and Seal or Chocolate and Seal?
 Since Seal can be so dark or so light, sometimes it can be mistaken as Black or Chocolate. I like to describe a Seal's color in general as a having color in between that of a Chocolate and a Black. It is not usually as light as a Chocolate and is not usually quite as dark as a black. However, sometimes there are light Seals and sometimes there are dark Seals. Here are some pointers on how to tell the difference. It is actually pretty easy to tell the difference between a light black and a dark Seal. The number one way is to look at the undercolor(the color near the skin when parting the fur). A true Seal will have a lighter Sepia(brown gray) undercolor while a Black will have an obvious Slate Blue undercolor. Genetically, a black is a Self full color variety. This means that instead of carrying any recessive shading genes like Chinchilla(cchd), Sable(cchl), or Seal(cchlcchl), it carries the dominant full color gene(C). A good black will show no undercolor on the surface of its body but some lighter blacks may have a slate blue undercolor showing through in certain areas like around the belly and flanks. This can be confusing if you are not sure how to tell the difference between a Black and a Seal. The undercolor trick should work every time though and judges often catch catch this if someone is showing a black in a seal's class or a seal in a black's class.
 
When looking at a Chocolate compared to a Seal, you may think "now wait a minute, if you can get Seal and Black mixed up, wouldn't Seal be too dark to get mixed up with a Chocolate?" The answer is not always. Again, some seals can actually be pretty light in color and some Chocolates, can be very dark in color. However, this is also pretty easy to identify. Some Chocolates will have a Ruby Glow to the eyes while a True Seal should not. A Chocolate Seal might but a black based true Seal and Self Chin will never. Another way to tell is by looking at the undercolor on the rabbit. Again, if you see a lighter Sepia grayish color, it is a Seal. However, if you see a dove gray undercolor, this is probably a Chocolate. Genetically, a Chocolate is a Self full color just like a black. The only difference between a black and a Chocolate is that a Chocolate shows the recessive chocolate/brown genes(bb) instead of the dominant black gene(B). Again, True Seal, Dark Sable and Self Chinchilla are all recessive shaded colors not full colors(C). 
 
Kits
 

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a kit at about 6 days old. The lighting isn't the best but you should still be able to see the color. This kit is most likely a genetic Dark Sable since this kit had a white sibling and carries REW(Has grown up since this picture and produces REW). However, this should still give you a good idea of what a Seal should look like at a young age. As you can see most Seals are going to be very dark with a slight gold or coppery tint to the fur much like a dark chocolate bar.

 

Owner of Picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here are two kits for a comparison of color. The one of the left is a Seal and the one on the right is a Black. It is kind of hard to see in this picture but notice how the kit on the right is more of a jet black than the kit on the left. Don't be fooled, some bad quality blacks or slightly stained blacks can look a lot like the the Seal kit on the left. However, I have found it easier to determine the difference when they are young like the two kits in this picture.

 

 

Owner of Picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is another look at the two kits from above. Several other tricks to determining the difference between Black vs. Seal is to look at the belly, feet and undercolor of the fur. The Seal kit on the left definitely has a different color to its feet and belly. You should be able to see the lighter grayish brown that the black kit on the right lacks. If you part the fur, the undercolor on the Seal kit should be more of a Sepia brown in color while the black kit's undercolor should be a slate blue(light cool gray). 

Juniors

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Dark Sable junior doe at about 10 weeks old. Looking at the color, this doe shows an obvious Seal like coloration. Interestingly enough, even though this doe must be a genetic Dark Sable because she carries REW(Ruby Eyed White), she still shows the typical lighter Seal like coloration on the belly and flanks at this age. This is because both True Seal and usually Sable colored rabbits have the lighter belly and flanks so a Dark Sable should also show this coloration. The over all color on this doe is actually very light for a Seal colored rabbit. Many Seal colored rabbits have an even deeper color than this doe. This doe actually looks a lot like a mix between a Chocolate and a Black but don't be fooled. This doe is still too gray/sepia to match a Chocolate's rich hershey brown color. If I were to have a Chocolate and this doe side by side for comparison, you would be able to see an obvious difference.

 

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is an older picture of the same doe from directly above. This doe should be around 4 months old. Here you can see that her color has deepened even a little from the last picture. I can still see the lighter color around her belly, flanks and a stripe running just over the hips. This doe is definitely not a Self Chin as you can clearly see the typical Sable/Seal belly and flank shading. Still very light in color compared to my senior doe.

 Seniors

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a good look at a senior doe. This doe is also a Dark Sable or possible Self Chin because she is out of a white parent. This picture was also taken with a flash to help show this doe's color a little better since she is normally so dark.  If you look really closely, you can see that the feet have a slightly darker shade to them than the belly and flanks. This is partly due to a contrast with the slightly lighter belly and flanks but I also like to think that the feet are actually a little darker than the rest of the body due to the Sable Shading slightly showing itself. This doe's picture was taken when she was just turning senior.

 
 
 

                                 Unrecognized Colors

Blue Tort

Other possible names: Isabella(Old name for Blue Tort), Blue Tortoise, Blue Madagascar(Old name for Tort Satins).            .                                                                aaB-C-ddee

General Description: A blue Tort should have a light Caramel Fawn body with Blue Gray shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The belly, flanks and sides of the belly should have a lighter blue fawn to dusty gray color. The eyes should be Blue Gray with no ruby glow. The nails should not be white.

 Kits

 Pictures still needed.

 Juniors

 

Owner of picture: Hoppy Enough Farms

Not sure how old this junior is. Here you can see the rich caramel fawn body color with the slight blue gray on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and flanks. You cannot see the eye color very well in this picture but the eye color should be Blue Gray with no ruby glow.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is another Blue Tort junior. The shading has not had a chance to develop yet but as soon as this little guy sheds into his senior coat, he should have very nice shading.

 Seniors

 Pictures still Needed

 

 Chocolate Tort

Other possible names: Chocolate Tortoise, Chocolate Madagascar(Old name for Tort Satins)                                                                                                                                     aabbC-D-ee

General Description: A Chocolate Tort should have a bright rusty Red/Orange body with Hershey chocolate brown shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The belly, flanks, and sides of the belly. The belly and sides can be a lighter dusty tanish gray in color. The eyes should be brown and can have a Ruby glow. The nails should have pigment (not white). 

What is the difference between Red and Chocolate Tort?

I have seen Chocolate Torts being mistaken for Red before. It is actually not uncommon because Chocolate Tort and Red share close to the same body color and Chocolate Tort can often go through stages where its shading will be very pale and hard to see. In fact, some Chocolate Torts will have such light shading that they can look like a smutty Red until you look closer at the color. Sometimes they may even look like a clean red if the shading is pale enough or if they are going threw a strange stage in color development. Don't be fooled. Chocolate Tort and Red are very different genetically. While both Red and Chocolate Tort are non extension colors, Red is an Agouti color and Tort is a Self Color. Red is often a Black based color while Chocolate Tort is a Chocolate based color. A black based Red carrying no other color possibilities: A-B-C-D-ee. A Chocolate Tort carrying no other color possibilities: aabbC-D-ee

Appearance wise, once you know how a proper Red should look and a proper chocolate Tort should look, you should be able to spot the difference pretty easily at a very early age. Even as a kit. A Red should have what is called Agouti markings. On a Red, these markings should be deep cream to light cream(sometimes almost white) in color. The belly, underside of tail, insides of feet, chin, nostrils, eye circles, insides of ears and back of neck should have this cream color. A black based Red will not have a ruby glow to the eyes. A Chocolate Tort, will lack these Agouti markings on the belly, insides of feet, underside of tail, chin, nostrils, eye circles, insides of ears and back of neck. Since it is a Self Color rather than an Agouti color, it naturally doesn't have the agouti pattern. A Chocolate Tort may have a Ruby Glow it its eyes. Genetically, one parent has to be an Agouti to produce Agouti offspring like Red. If there are no Agouti parents, you cannot have Agouti offspring like Red. Pretty simple. If you have a Red looking rabbit out of two selfs, it is not a Red. It could be a Chocolate Tort, a black Tort with light shading or a Tort Otter.

Kits

 

Owner of Picture: Crimson Rabbitry

Here is a litter of Red, Chocolate Tort and Black Tort. The kit on the outside left is a Chocolate Tort and the kit on the outside right is a Red. These two kits may look the same from first glance but if you look closely, you should be able to see a slight difference. If you look at the ears on the Red kit and then the ears on the Chocolate Tort kit, you should be able to notice the Chocolate Tort kit is missing cream on the insides of the ears that you can clearly see on the red kit. On Reds, you should be able to see those creamy agouti markings on the insides of the ears, around the eyes, on the nostrils, on the jowls and chin, on insides of the legs and feet, on the belly and underside of tail. A Chocolate Tort should not have these cream agouti Markings since it is a self color. The rest of the kits are Black Torts. 

 

 

Owner of Picture: Crimson Rabbitry

Here is a look at the belly color comparison of a Black Tort and a Chocolate Tort. The Chocolate Tort is on the left and the black tort is on the right. As you can see the belly color on a chocolate Tort is much lighter and much more cream in color. However, unlike a Red, a Chocolate Tort's belly color will not be the same as a Red's belly color. It should have a dusty creamy grayish color not a creamy white belly color. As you can see, a Black Tort's belly should have smokey gray belly.

 

Owner of picture: Crimson Rabbitry

Here comparison of two older Torts at an older age. The Chocolate Tort is in the front and the black tort is the kit at the right of the Chocolate Tort. With chocolate Torts, it can be kind of difficult to see the chocolate shading at a young age like this kit but remember, a Chocolate Tort will not have the cream Agouti markings on the insides of the ears, no cream around the eyes, no cream on the nostrils, jowls or chin. This kit clearly does not. Plus, if you look closely, you should be able to see a slight chocolate shading on the nose, ears and feet.

 

Juniors

 

Owner of Picture: Crimson Rabbitry

Here is an interesting Junior. This junior has a high level of rufus making its color slightly more confusing because its body color is closer to a young red's body color. This junior is a booted broken making the shading on its feet and possibly the belly impossible to see because they are White. However, if you look closely at the face and ears, you should notice two things. The absence of cream agouti markings as well as a slight darker chocolate color on the nose and base of the ears. This junior will most likely shed into that shading even more.

 

Owner of Picture: Crimson Rabbitry

Here is a Solid Junior Chocolate Tort. This particular Chocolate Tort junior is showing off its shading very well. Here you can see the obvious chocolate shading on the ears, around the eyes, on the nose and feet. This is actually a very pretty Chocolate Tort with really well developed shading.

 

 Owner of Picture: Crimson Rabbitry

 Here are two broken kits as a comparison of two older juniors. The Broken Chocolate Tort is on the left while the Broken Red is on the right.  As you can see, it is a little more difficult to determine the difference between the two with brokens but if you look closely, you should be able to see the creamy white on the insides of the ears, around the eyes and sometimes on the nostrils if you have a broken Red. Again, a Chocolate Tort will not have these Agouti Markings.

 
 
Seniors
 Still needed
 
Lilac Tort

Other Possible Names: Lilac Tortoise, Lilac Madagascar(Old name for Tort Satins)             aabbC-ddee

General Description: A Lilac Tort should have a Fawn Body with Dove Gray shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The belly, flanks and sides of belly should be a lighter dove gray color. The eyes should be blue gray and can have a ruby glow. The nails should not be white.

Kits

 Still needed 

Juniors

 Still needed

 Seniors

Owner of picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Senior buck who is a suspected Lilac Tort. Notice how the ears and feet on this buck are more of a dove gray than a blue gray. In fact, because of the shaded areas being so light, it is hard to even see the shading against the body color. However, it is there. You can also see some shading on the face. This buck is not a fawn because of one missing feature that a fawn would always have. Agouti markings. Fawn is a dilute of Red which makes it an agouti. If there are no creamy agouti markings on the belly, insides of feet, underside of tail. insides of ears, eye circles, nostril, jowls and chin, it is not a fawn.  Like Chocolate Tort shading, Lilac Tort shading tend to be less noticeable against the body color than a Black Tort or even a Blue Tort.

 Tort Otter

Other possible names: Fox, Blue Fox, Chocolate Fox, Lilac Fox, Isabella Otter?(Blue Tort Otter), Blue Cream(Blue Tort Otter), Lilac Cream(Lilac Tort Otter).

atB-C-D-ee

General Description: The surface color of the head, outside of the ears, front of forefeet, outside of the hind feet, and sides of the body should have Tort coloration in Black Tort, Blue Tort, Chocolate Tort or Lilac Tort. The belly, nostrils, eye circles, jowls, underside of the tail, inside of the ears, back of the forefeet, and the inside of the hind feet and legs are to be creamy white highlighted by an Orange or Fawn marking as it meets the Tort body color. The undercolor of the belly should be gray. The triangle and the collar are to be Orange or Fawn. Prominent Orange or Fawn ticking is to be evenly distributed around the Chest, sides, and lower hindquarters. The eyes should match its Tort variety. Example: Black Tort Otter should have Brown Eyes. Blue Tort Otter will have Blue Gray eyes, etc... 

 Pictures needed in all ages for all varieties for Tort Otter.

 "Torted" Japanese Tricolor

aaB-C-D-ejej Enen(Black/Orange)                                                                                             aaB-C-ddejej Enen(Blue/Fawn)                                                                                                 aabbC-D-ejej Enen(Chocolate/Orange)                                                                              aabbC-ddejej Enen(Lilac/Fawn)

General Description: A Torted Japanese Tricolor is a lot like a regular Tricolor with Tort shading. A Torted Tricolor is suspected to be a self instead of an agouti baised tricolor. This color is also suspected to have two coppies of the ej genes making in show that non extention Tort like coloration with the tricolor brindling from the j ellele.This gives the rabbit both the Tricolor pattern as well as Tort shading. Torted Tricolor can come in all 4 varieties. Black/Orange with black Tort shading, Blue Fawn with blue Tort shading, Chocolate Orange with Chocolate Tort shading and Lilac Fawn with Lilac Tort shading. Other than the Tort shading, each of these 4 varieties should meat the standards for Tricolor. For instance, Black/Orange Torted Tricolor should have brown eyes with a correct broken pattern.

Kits

 Still Needed

Juniors 

 Still Needed

 Seniors

 

Ok, so this is not a Mini Rex, this is a regular standard sized Rex but this rabbit still shows the Tricolor mixed with the Tort coloration really well. This rabbit is a Black/Orange Torted tricolor. If you look at the ears, around the eyes, on the nose, sides and rump, you should be able to see the darker Smokey gray shading. If you look at the back, you should see the tricolor brindling(black spots). If you also look directly above the hips, you should see the lighter line or color found on shaded colors like Sable and Tort.

 "Torted" Japanese Harlequin

aaB-C-D-ejej enen(Black/Orange)                                                                                            aaB-C-ddejej enen(Blue/Fawn)                                                                                                 aabbC-D-ejej enen(Chocolate/Orange)                                                                                     aabbC-ddejej enen(Lilac/Fawn)

General Description: A Torted Japanese Harlequin is just a solid version of a Tricolor with Tort shading. A Torted Harlequin should have Black brindling on an Orange body with black Tort shading and brown eyes, Blue brindling on a fawn body with Blue Tort shading and blue/gray eyes, Chocolate brindling on an Orange body and Chocolate Tort shading with brown eyes(may show a Ruby glow), or Lilac brindling on a Fawn body with Lilac Tort shading and Blue Gray eyes(may show a ruby glow). Non of the following should have white nails. 

Kits

 Still Needed

 Juniors

 

Here is a Black/Orange Torted Harli junior with clear black brindling on the body. However, if you look closely at the feet, nose and ears, you should also be able to see some Tort shading. 

 Seniors

 Still Needed

 

"Torted" Magpie Tricolor and Harlequin

Other possible names: Sallander Magpie Harli, Sallander Magpie Tricolor.

aaB-c(chd)D-ejej Enen or enen(Torted Black Magpie Harli or Tricolor)                                    aaB-c(chd)ddejej Enen or enen(Torted Blue Magpie Harli or Tricolor)                                   aabbc(chd)D-ejej Enen or enen(Torted Chocolate Magpie Harli or Tricolor)                             aabbc(chd)ddejej Enen or enen(Torted Lilac Magpie Harli or Tricolor)

General Description: A Magpie Tricolor or Harli is a Broken or Solid rabbit showing a white to silver white body and Black, Blue, Chocolate or Lilac brindling. A Torted Magpie is a Broken or Solid rabbit showing the Magpie brindling plus a Tort like shading in whatever variety the Magpie Harli or Tricolor is.

Pictures still needed in all Ages and all varieties of Torted Magpie Harli or Tricolor.

Sable

aaB-c(chl)D-E-(Sable carrying no other color possibilities)                                                       aaB-c(chl)cD-E-(Sable carrying REW)                                                                                      aaB-c(chl)c(h)D-E-(Sable carrying recessive Himi genes)                                                        aaB-c(chl)D-Ee(Sable carrying a non extension gene for Sable Point)

Basic Description: A sable should have a medium to dark sepia body with darker sepia to black shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The nails should be dark and the eyes should be brown. A ruby glow is excepted.

What is the difference between a Dark Sable and a Sable? A Dark Sable has an appearance very close to a Seal but may sometimes show a Ruby glow to the eyes. A Sable is lighter in color and shows a definite shaded appearance with a lighter body color and darker shading. Genetically, they are thought to be basically the same. However, a Dark Sable is thought to have a modifier that makes the color darker than normal. So dark, that it often looks like a Seal.

What is the difference between a Sable Point and a Sable? A Sable Point is a non extension version of Sable. Instead of a medium to dark sepia body color and darker sepia to black shading, the non extension gene causes the body color to be a rich light cream with medium to dark sepia(sable colored) shading(points) which is why it gets the name Sable Point. 

Kits

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

 Here is a litter with 4 Sable kits and 1 Himi kit(the white kit). They are 4 days old. At this point, Sable kits don't actually look like adult Sables. They usually look more tan or gray in color and their shading is not very noticeable. Don't be fooled, they are just going through one of many different color development stages.

These are out of a Sable Point x Himalayan breeding.

 

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a picture of a Sable kit's belly at 4 days old. Notice how the belly is darker than the rest of the body at this age. This should disappear later on. Inf fact, the belly may even become lighter than the rest of the body as the kits gets older.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Sable kit at around 12 days old. Notice the major change in the color. That grayish silvery shine to the coat is actually silvery gray ticking. Kits at this age will develop a layer of silvery gray ticking and sometimes a deep almost black coloration underneath. Don't worry, this is not a steel, it is just going through another strange color development stage. This kit will be a darker shade of Sable as an adult.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Sable kit at around 3 or 4 weeks old. Looking at the color, you should be able to see the color on the sides of the body starting to get lighter and a slight shading on the nose, ears and feet starting to develop. However, the silvery ticking is still there even though it is getting harder to see.

 Juniors

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a junior buck with very warm tones to the color probably caused by a higher level of rufus. His color is beautiful. As you can see, he is shedding but once he sheds the rest of that coat out and grows into his new coat, that color should be rich and deep.

 

 Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a Sable showing grayer color tones. Just shows you how different some Sables can look.This Sable is also quite a big darker in the body color than the rabbit in the picture to the left.

 Seniors

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is look at the face of a nicely colored Sable buck.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is another senior with more gray color tones. This is actually the same gray colored junior from above as a fully developed senior.

 Sable Martin 

atB-c(chl)D-E-(basic Sable Martin carrying no other color possibilities)                                   atB-c(chl)cD-E-(Sable Martin carrying REW)                                                           atB-c(chl)c(h)D-E-(Sable Martin carrying Himi)                                                            atB-c(chl)D-Ee(Sable Martin carrying a recessive non extension gene for Sable Point Martin)

Description: A Sable Martin should show a Sable Coloration with the medium to dark sepia body color and darker sepia to black shading. However, a Sable Martin should also have a Tan pattern similar to that of a Silver Martin. In other words, it should have a Silvery white belly, underside of tail, insides of legs and feet, chin, nostrils, eye circles, insides of ears and triangle(back of the neck). The eyes should be brown and can have a ruby glow. The nails should be dark. 

What is the difference between a Sable Martin and a Silver Martin? A silver martin should have solid self colored body that can either be black, blue, lilac or chocolate in color. A Silver Martin should then have a silvery white tan pattern on the underside of the tail, belly, insides of the feet, on the chin, nostrils, eye circles, insides of ears and triangle(back of the neck). Genetically, a Silver Martin is a Tan patterned Self Chinchilla. The Chinchilla gene causes the tan pattern to be silver in color with a regular self colored body. A silver martin's genotype should look like this. atB-c(chd)D-E-(Basic Black Silver Martin). A Sable Martin has the same silvery white tan pattern but shows a Sable body color instead of a one solid color over the entire body. Genetically, a Sable Martin belongs to the Sable color family instead of the Chinchilla color family. The Sable genes affect the tan pattern's color just like Chinchilla genes do giving the Tan pattern a Silvery White appearance. Silver Martin and Sable Martin may be confused as being similar genetically because they look so similar but are not and belong in two totally different color gene families. The Sable and Chinchilla color genes just cause a similar appearance to the tan pattern.

What is a Tan pattern? A Tan pattern does not refer to a pattern showing a Tan color. This is actually what breeders call a Silvery White, Cream or Mahogany pattern of color found on the belly, underside of tail, insides of feet, chin, jowls, nostrils(V of color under the nose), eye circles(thin circle around the eyes), insides of ears, triangle(back of the neck), and sometimes the chest and collar(strip of color running from the chest, across the shoulders connecting with the triangle.) with a non agouti colored body(example: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Sable, Smoked Pearl). A rabbit showing a silvery white Tan pattern is called a Silver Martin, Sable Martin... A rabbit showing a creamy tan pattern is known as Otter and sometimes Fox(Tort Otter) and a rabbit showing a Mahogany Tan pattern is known as a "Tan". "Tan" is also the only variety out of the 3 that shows a pattern on the chest and a callar because of its genetics.  

 Kits

 Still needed.

 Juniors

 Still needed

Seniors

 

Owner of Picture: Midori no Daichi Rabbitry

Here is a very beautiful Sable Martin showing a definite Sable body with a definite Silver Martin tan pattern on the insides of the ears, around the eyes, on the nostril, jowls, chin, belly. 

Owner of Picture: Midori no Daichi Rabbitry

Here is a regular Black Silver Martin as a comparison.  Major difference between a Sable Martin and a Silver Martin. Very beautiful!

  Sable Agouti

Other possible names: Siamese Sable Agouti, Sable Chinchilla.

A-B-c(chl)D-E-(Sable Agouti carrying no other color possibilities)                                           A-B-c(chl)cD-E-(Sable Agouti carrying REW)                                                                           A-B-c(chl)D-Ee(Sable Agouti carrying the recessive gene for Sable Point Agouti)

General Description: A Sable Agouti has a very similar appearance to a Chinchilla. In Genetics, the Sable genes have a very similar affect to the Agouti appearance as the Chinchilla genes have. In fact, the two colors are so similar that it can be crucial to identify the color at a young age when they are still kits. As adults, the Sable Agouti can look like a slightly stained Black Chinchilla which can be very confusing. The similar appearance to a Chinchilla is why some call this color a Sable Chinchilla. A Sable Agouti may have a Ruby glow to its eyes that a Black Chinchilla will not have. A young Sable Agouti kit should look more brown in color than a Black Chinchilla. All Sable Agoutis should have dark nails.   

Kits

 Still needed

Juniors

 Still needed

 Seniors

 

Owner of picture: Midori no Daichi Rabbitry

 Here is a Sable Agouti. Notice how similar it looks to a regular black chin with a little stain. However, the fact that this rabbit shows red eye in the picture may suggest that it has a ruby glow to its eyes typical of genetic Sables. 

 Smoked Pearl

Other possible names: Siamese Smoked Pearl, Smoked, Blue Sable.

aaB-c(chl)ddE-(Basic Smoked Pearl carrying no other color possibilities)                       aaB-c(chl)cddE-(Smoked Pearl carrying REW)                                                                         aaB-c(chl)c(h)E-(Smoked Pearl carrying Himi)                                                                        aaB-c(chl)ddEe(Smoked Pearl carrying non extension for Blue Point/Dilute Sable Point)

Basic Description: A Smoked Pearl should have a Medium Pearl gray body with darker Pearl/Smokey gray shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The eyes should be blue gray and can have a ruby glow. They nails should be dark.

 Kits

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a kit out of a Seal and a Sable Point at 4 days old. At this age, it is hard to tell that they are smoked pearl other than their blue gray body. They should not start developing their real coloration till they are much older.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

 Here is the same kit from the left at around 9 days old. It is kind of bad lighting but if you look closely, you should be able to see a creamy layer of ticking over top of the darker blue gray color. This is normal. Remember the 12 day old Sable kit from above had this same ticking. Also notice the darker color around the eyes and ears.

 

Owner of Picture: Wildriver Rabbitry

Here is a picture of the same kit at around 4 or 5 weeks old. It still has some creamy ticking on the ears and face but it is hard to see in this picture. Also, notice how this kit now has a layer of blue gray over a layer of silvery white.

 

 Junior

 

 Owner of Picture: Hoppy Enough Farms

Here is a junior showing some nice Smoked Pearl coloration. Notice how the body is a little lighter than the shading on the feet, ears, around the eyes, on the nose, and tail. This is how a true Smoked Pearl should look. If your rabbit looks more like a solid blue, it is not a Smoked Pearl but a Blue Seal, Blue Dark Sable, Blue Self Chin or a regular Blue. 

 

Smoked Pearl Martin

Other possible names: Siamese Smoked Pearl Martin(that's a mouth full), Blue Sable Martin.

atB-c(chl)ddE-(Basic Smoked Pearl Martin carrying no other color possibilities)                     atb-c(chl)cddE-(Smoked Pearl Martin carrying REW)

General Description: A Smoked Pearl Martin should have the typical Smoked Pearl coloration with the lighter pearl body and darker pearl points. However, these should also have a silvery white Tan pattern on the underside of the tail, belly, insides of feet, chin, jowls, nostrils, eye circles, insides of ears and triangle. They eyes should be blue gray and can have a ruby glow. The nails should be dark. 

Pictures still needed in all age groups(kits, juniors, and seniors)

  Blue Sable Agouti

Other possible names: Smoked Pearl Agouti, Blue Sable Agouti, Blue Sable Chinchilla, Smoked Pearl Chinchilla.

A-B-c(chl)ddE-(Basic Blue Sable Agouti carrying no other color possibilities)                          A-B-c(chl)cddE-(Blue Sable Agouti carrying REW)

General Description: Blue Sable Agouti has a similar appearance to Blue Chinchilla/Squirrel. However, the eye color may have a Ruby Glow on a Blue Sable Agouti while a Blue Chinchilla/Squirrel will not. 

Pictures still needed in all age groups(kits, juniors, and seniors)

Chocolate Sable

Other Possible Names: Chocolate Siamese Sable.

aabbc(chl)D-E-(Basic Chocolate Sable with no other color possibilities)                                  aabbc(chl)cD-E-(Chocolate Sable carrying REW)                                                                    aabbc(chl)D-Ee(Chocolate Sable carrying non extension for Chocolate Point)                        aabbc(chl)c(h)D-E-(Chocolate Sable carrying Himi)

General Description: A Chocolate Sable may be a little more difficult to determine since it has such a close appearance to a regular Chocolate and since both can have a Ruby Glow to their eyes. A Chocolate Sable may have a slight shaded appearance with a slightly lighter Chocolate body and darker Chocolate points. A Chocolate Sable may also have shading line running over the hips. They eyes should be brown and can have a ruby glow. The nails should be dark.

Kits

 Pictures still needed

Juniors

 Pictures still needed

Seniors

 

Owner of Picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

This is a little hard to see but there is a slight brighter chocolate on the top of the back, ears and feet. The rest of the body is more of a grayish color. This is the Chocolate Sable coloration even though it is kind of hard to see.

 Lilac Sable 

Other Possible Names: Lilac Siamese Sable.

aabbc(chl)ddE-(Basic Lilac Sable carrying no other color possibilities)                                    

General Description: A Lilac Sable probably looks very similar to a regular Lilac. It may have a slightly lighter body color with slightly darker points. The eyes should be blue gray and can have a Ruby Glow. The nails should be dark.

 Pictures still needed in all age groups.

Blue Point

Other Possible Names: Smoked Pearl Point, Siamese Smoked Pearl Point,                         Blue Cream Point, Smoke Point, Blue Sable Point.

aaB-c(chl)ddee(Basic Blue Point carrying no other color possibilities)                                     aaB-c(chl)cddee(Blue Point carrying REW)                                                                              aaB-c(chl)c(h)ddee(Blue Point carrying Himi)

General Description: A Blue Point is a Blue Sable Point or a non extension Smoked Pearl. A Blue Point should have a light Grayish Cream body with medium to dark Blue Gray or Pearl Gray shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The eyes should be blue gray and can have a Ruby glow. The nails should be pigmented(not white). 

 Kits

 Pictures still needed.

Juniors

 

 Owner of picture: Hoppy Enough Farms

Here is a Blue Point junior. This particular rabbit is a darker blue point but you still should get the idea of the general color. Instead of a brown/gray sepia shading, this rabbit has a pearl gray shading. Instead of a worm creamy tone to its body, this kit has a creamy body showing cooler creamy grayish tones. 

 

 Chocolate Point

Other Possible Names: Chocolate Sable Point, Chocolate Siamese Sable Point

aabb-c(chl)D-ee(Basic Chocolate Point carrying no other color possibilities)                           Can also carry REW or Himi. 

General Description: A Chocolate Point should have a Creamy body with Milk Chocolate brown shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The eyes should be brown and can have a ruby glow. The nails should be pigmented(not white).

Lilac Point

Other Possible Names: Lilac Siamese Sable Point, Lilac Sable Point.

aabbc(chl)ddee(Basic Lilac Point carrying no other color possibilities)                                     aabbc(chl)cddee(Lilac Point carrying REW)

General Description: A Lilac Point should have a cream body with dove gray shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The eyes should be blue gray and can have a ruby glow. The nails should be pigmented(not white)

Sable Point Martin

atB-c(chl)D-ee(Basic Sable Point Martin carrying no other color possibilities)                          atB-c(chl)cD-ee(Sable Point Martin carrying REW)                                                                   Can also be found in Blue Point Martin, Chocolate Point Martin and Lilac Point Martin. 

General Description: A Sable Point Martin should have Sable Point, Blue Point, Chocolate Point or Lilac Point body with a Silver Martin Tan Pattern. The eye color should be Brown or Blue Gray depending on whether it is a Dilute or Dense color. The nails should be pigmented(not white).

How do you tell between a Sallander Martin and a Sable Point Martin? This could be very difficult since Sable Point and Sallander look so Similar. You can go to the Sallander Description below and the Sable Point description above to see the descriptions of the two different colors. Genetically, a Sallander Martin is a Tan Patterned non extension Self Chinchilla which belongs in the Chinchilla color family. A Sable Point Martin is a Tan patterned Sable Point which belongs in the Sable color family. 

Blue Seal

Other Possible Names: Blue Dark Sable, Blue Self Chin, Blue True Seal.

Note: The 3 names above are all different genetically.

Blue Dark Sable- aaB-c(chl)ddE-                                                                                              Blue Self Chin- aaB-c(chd)ddE-                                                                                                Blue True Seal- aaB-c(chl)c(chl)ddE-

General Description of a Blue True Seal: A Blue True Seal may look similar to a deep regular Blue. However, a Blue True Seal may have a lighter shading around the belly and flanks. A Blue True Seal should have no Ruby Glow to the eyes.

General Description of Blue Self Chin: A blue Self chin should look very similar to a Blue True Seal or a Blue Dark Sable. However, a Blue Self Chin may look more like a regular blue than a Dark Sable or a True Seal because of its lack of shading on the points or lighter belly and flanks. A Blue Self Chin should not have a Ruby Glow to its eyes.

General Description of a Blue Dark Sable(May also be known as a Dark Smoked Pearl): A Blue Dark Sable should also look very similar to a Blue True Seal. However, unlike a true Seal, a Blue Dark Sable may have Ruby Glow to its eyes and may have a slight shaded appearance on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. 

 Kits:

 Pictures still needed.

 Juniors:

 

Owner of Picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is a comparison between a Dark Blue Sable and a Blue. The Blue junior is on the left and the Dark Blue Sable junior is on the right. Notice how the Dark Blue Sable junior has a lighter more dusty blue gray body than the blue junior. If you look closely at the nose and ears, you should be able to notice that they show a little darker blue gray than the rust of the body. This is the slightly darker shading that you should see from the Sable genes. Even though you can still see the slight shading on this junior, its over all color is still just too dark to be a regular Smoked Pearl.

Owner of Picture: Cambridge Rabbitry

Here is another picture of the Blue Dark Sable.

 

 Seniors:

 Pictures still needed.

 

 Chocolate Seal

Other Possible Names: Chocolate True Seal, Chocolate Dark Sable, Chocolate Self Chin. 

Chocolate Dark Sable- aabbc(chl)D-E-                                                                                     Chocolate Self Chin- aabbc(chd)D-E-                                                                                       Chocolate True Seal- aabbc(chl)c(chl)D-E-                       

General Description: These three may appear very similar in color a regular Chocolate. However, a Dark Sable might have a slight shaded appearance of slightly darker color around on the feet, tail, ears and nose. Since it is a Chocolate, it could have Ruby glow to its eyes regardless of whether it is a Self Chin, True Seal or Dark Sable. A Self Chin will probably look even more like a regular chocolate. A Chocolate True Seal may have a slightly lighter belly and flanks.

Lilac Seal

Other Possible Names: Lilac True Seal, Lilac Dark Sable, Lilac Self Chin

Lilac True Seal-aabbc(chl)c(chl)ddE-                                                                                      Lilac Dark Sable-aabbc(chl)ddE-                                                                                             Lilac Self Chin- aabbc(chd)ddE-

General Description: These may appear very similar to a Regular Lilac. However, a True seal may have a slightly lighter color on the belly and flanks. A Dark Sable may have a slight appearance of darker shading on the feet, tail, ears and nose. A Self Chin will look more like a regular Lilac because of its lack of slight shading or lighter color around the belly and flanks. The eyes may have a Ruby Glow because of the Chocolate gene regardless of whether it is a True Seal, Dark Sable or Self Chin.

 Seal Point

Black Seal Point- aaB-c(chl)c(chl)D-ee                                                                                     Blue Seal Point- aaB-c(chl)c(chl)ddee                                                                                      Chocolate Seal Point- aabbc(chl)c(chl)D-ee                                                                             Lilac Seal Point- aabbc(chl)c(chl)ddee

General Description: A Seal Point should have a deep cream body with very dark sepia, blue, chocolate, or Lilac shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet and tail. The eyes should be brown or blue gray depending on the variety of Seal Point with no Ruby Glow. They nails should be dark. 

How can you tell between a Sable Point and a Seal Point? A Seal Point is extremely similar in appearance to a Sable Point. In fact, so similar that many times it is very difficult to tell whether you have a Seal Point or a Sable Point. Since you can have Seals pop out in Sable litters, you can also have Seal Points pop out of Sable Point litters. Appearance wise, a Seal Point may have a slightly darker cream body color and much darker shading than your average Sable Point but since you can have a Sable Point with dark shading, it could prove very difficult to determine the difference between the two. If the Sable Point colored rabbit has a Ruby Glow to its eyes, it is a Sable Point but if it does not, it could either be a Sable Point with no ruby glow to the eyes or a Seal Point. Either way, they are so similar that both are usually showable as the same variety even though, Sable Point should be the only one that is truly a showable color.  Of course, if the Seal Point is out of two Seal parents, then it is definitely a Seal Point.  

   Sallander

Other Possible Names: Chinchilla Tort, Iron Gray, Pearl(Angoras? Possibly?), Siamese(Satins and Mini Satins? Possibly? Could also be a genetic Sable Point.)

Black Sallander- aaB-c(chd)D-ee                                                                                       Blue Sallander- aaB-c(chd)ddee                                                                                               Chocolate Sallander- aabbc(chd)D-ee                                                                                     Lilac Sallander- aabbc(chd)ddee

General Description: A Sallander should have a light almost white body with dark gray to black shading, blue shading, chocolate shading or lilac shading on the nose, around the eyes, on the ears, feet, tail and often the belly depending on the variety of Sallander. A Sallander may have a high level of smut on the body even though their body should be almost white in color. A Chocolate Sallander's body color should be more of a yellowy white than a Black Sallander. The eyes should either be Brown or Blue Gray depending on the variety of Sallander. Black and Chocolate should have brown eyes. Blue and Lilac should have blue gray eyes. Since Black Chinchilla can sometimes have blue gray eyes, some black Sallanders may also have blue gray eyes because they belong in the Chinchilla color family as well. A Chocolate or Lilac Sallander may have a Ruby Glow to the eyes from the Chocolate gene's influence but a Black or Blue Sallander should not since they are not Chocolate varieties.

What is the difference between a Sable Point or Seal Point and a Sallander? Both Sable Point and Seal Point should have cream body with medium to dark sepia(brown/gray) shading. A Sallander should have a dark gray to black shading. When looking at the two side by side, a Sable Point or Seal Point would have a much more of a deep brown look to the shading while a Sallander would have a much more smokey gray Tort like look to the shading.  A Black or Blue Sallander would not have a Ruby Glow at all while a Sable Point might have a Ruby Glow to the eyes. A Chocolate Sallander compared to a Seal Point or Sable Point would most likely have a brighter more rusty redish brown color than Sepia. The body color on a Chocoalate Sallander may also have a more of a yellow/orange tone to the body color than a Sable Point or Seal Point. A Chocolate Point and a Chocolate Sallander may be harder to determine the difference. Genetically, if Sallander colored rabbit is out of at least 1 parents that belongs in the Chinchilla color family, it is most likely a Sallander unless proven otherwise. This is because the Chinchilla(chd) color genes are slightly more dominant over Sable(chl) color genes. If you were to cross a rabbit out of the chinchilla color family(chd) to a rabbit out of the Sable color family(chl), the majority of the litter, if not all of the litter, would be chd colored rabbits instead of chl colored rabbits.   

  Kits:

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is newborn Solid Sallander kit. Notice how you can already see the shading on this kit even before it has much fur in.

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a broken black Sallander kit at around 5 weeks old. If you look at the ears, you should be able to see that smokey gray shading that I mentioned above.

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a Broken Chocolate Sallander kit at around 2 weeks old. If you look at the color, you should be able to notice that it is slightly more of a Rusty brown color. This is the Chocolate Sallander coloration. 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a picture of an older broken Chocolate Sallander kit. Here you can see the Chocolate Sallander coloration a little better.

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a 7 week old Sallander kit. This is a good example of the Tort like shading that you should see on a Sallander. Also notice how the color is very gray tinted. The body is a light almost white color and the shading is a smokey gray. 

 

 Juniors:

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a Broken Sallander junior. Here you can see the dark gray shading on the ears. A Sable Point would have more of a sepia coloration to the shading. 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a Broken Chocolate Sallander Junior. Compared to the junior to the left, you can see the more yellow tint to the over all color. Also, if you look at the ears, you can see the lighter more brown tint rather than the dark gray tint.

 Seniors:

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a Broken Sallander. Again, notice how gray the overall color is on this aniaml. A Sable Point's color should be more cream and Sepia in color.

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is an example of a smuttier Sallander with very dark shading.

 

Owner of picture: Foxaway Rabbits

Here is a dark smutty Broken Chocolate Sallander. Notice how brown the color is. Not sure whether the Ruby Glow in this picture is from the camera or if this rabbit actually has a Ruby Glow. If this rabbit actually has a Ruby Glow, it could be because of the Chocolate genes influence. As you can tell, this particular rabbit has very smutty dark color.

 

 

Welcome

Recent Blog Entries

by Natalie Shobe | 4 comments
by Natalie Shobe | 0 comments
by Natalie Shobe | 0 comments

Newest Members

deb_loftis@yahoo.com