Bunnies and Balls.....June 8, 2005

It appears that we have skipped Spring this year.  Last week we were moaning about our cold, rainy days and this week we are all dripping in sweat.  The day before yesterday, it reached 97 degrees.....ouch! 

My days have been filled with stirring the dye pot and sitting behind the carder.  Although I really enjoy this part of fibering......I enjoy it a bit more when I am not so pressed for time.

The Fiber Frolic is this weekend and it promises to be another fun year.  Lots of fun classes for both children and adults.  You can see some of the fabulous workshops being offered here.

Out of the dyepot and carder comes this Opalessence blend of purples, apricot, greens and blues.  It is a blend of angora, silk and merino and has lots of luster.  My youngest daughter, Hannah, has informed me that I need to make her a shawl with some of this.  At 10 years old, she already loves fiber.  It is nice to see young people interested in fibery things!

Bunny Genetics 101

I have been breeding animals for a good number of years now and whilst I find color genetics in the dogs, very straight forward and easy to understand, the bunny colors are a challenge.

Now that these bunnies are older, you can definitely see the difference in their colors. Even though they are both buff colored, they are different.  The little one on the left is a dilute of chocolate, Lynx and the bunny on the right is Fawn

It appears that both bunnies are what is called Agouti's, which in general terms means that their fur is banded.  As you can see in this picture, both bunnies show a distinct separation of color.  The Lynx's band is white now, but when his second coat comes in, that white will be replaced with an almost mauve color and the tips will remain darker.

The Fawn's band is an apricot color and will probably be the same when his adult coat comes in.

One of the things that identifies an Agouti rabbit, are the circles of white around their eyes and typically inside of their ears, it will be white as well.

The other places you will see white is on the belly and under the tail.  It is pretty obvious with this rabbit, that he is indeed an agouti and because of his orange color, the term for him would be Fawn.

I had a wee bit more trouble identifying this little guy, the Lynx.  As you can see, the coloring around his eye is not quite as distinct as his brother's is.  He is also sporting a light chocolate nose and some grey on his feet.

Lilac and Torte are referred to as Self colors, in other words, they will not show the banding of color.  The color is the same all the way thru.  Tortes have a pattern on top of the color, and they have a dark mask on their face and their bellies are much darker.  In a previous litter of this same breeding, there was a Lilac Torte. In her baby coat she showed this same banding, which caused me some confusion in identifying this boy.  Her adult coat, however is solid and she sports a milky chocolate mask on her face.  She is one of my favorites here and had this little guy been a doe, he would have stayed as I really love this almondy color.  Next week, I will show you some examples of torte and self's.

All of the bunnies will be heading to their new homes over the next 2 weeks.  I will miss their cute little faces.  My next litter of bunnies will be a pure German litter and while I am excited about the breeding, I will miss seeing these colors.  Pure Germans, are always red eyed white rabbits.  The challenge with them, is trying to remember who is who....LOL.  I use colored magic markers to put different colored dots on the bottoms of their feet.

If any of you are at the fiber frolic this weekend, please do stop by and say hello!

Comments

[Pamela]

Mmm, lilac torte sounds nice, but I'm in the mood for chocolate torte :)

[Laura]

Haha! I know what you mean about telling them apart. We had nine black lab puppies and we painted their toenails different colors to tell them apart!

[Christine]

Dang! those bunnies are cute!

[Becca]

this is a fascinating post ...

[Jean]

Okay... now I want a bunny too!! Thanks, Kim. Thanks a lot! ;-)

[Kathy]

Those bunnies are adorable -- I want to reach through my screen and pet them! Enjoy Fiber Frolic!

[Lizzy B]

Those Bun Buns look like they are very cuddleable. The genetics is very interesting. I didn't know that the fur colorings were so different!

Your rovings are lovely as always. :)

[Kristen]

those pictures are great - but don't help my "I want a rabbit!" cause. (I need to wait a few years, but it's hard to rationalize it!) I am looking forward to petting your wares in person - see you this weekend!

[claudia k]

Great info on genetics. The bunnies are simply, simply too cute. Happy carding and may you sell out on the first day!

[Rebekah]

what adorable creatures! I just want to snuggle them.

[La]

Is it really pathetic that all I want to do is pet and hug and squeeze your bun(nie)s? The look so soft and sweet and beautiful!

Wish I was going to the fest. Have a great time!

[Margene]

You can talk about the color of bunnies all you want but I can't get past the darling faces!

[Robin]

Are you doing immersion dyeing in the first picture, or just rinsing the fiber after dyeing? It is beautiful! Do you like to dye the fiber in the separate colors before blending the angora and wool, or do you blend before dyeing? I am still trying to figure out which is better!

[lauray]

oh wow! I always learn something new here. :) The rabbits are just wonderful. Wish I was going to the fiber fest, I'm too far away.

[lynne]

What lovely rabbits! And lovely yarn, too!

[Risa]

Thanks for the quick lesson in rabbit color genetics. I found it awfully informative and the models are downright cute. Beautiful colors and such sweet little faces.

[Betsy]

Too beautiful!! I now see what the difference is between the solid and agouti coloring. They are lovely. Thank's for all the information.

[Cassie]

Kim, you absolutely must stop posting the world's cutest bunny pictures. Because I sit here and squeal and everyone questions my sanity - well, until I show them the pictures too. But its embarassing.

[Leslie]

Lovely faces and looks like good color in those boys! I have a lynx in one of my litters this time, along with two lilac, a chocolate chin and a chocolate agouti. Talk about confusion for awhile!

[Donna]

Funny you mention that! Twinkie is around 18 months old now, and her colour is still changing. When we first got her, she was pretty much white, with darker tipped ears, nose and feet. The darker parts have gradually gotten darker, and bigger. Her whole nose is dark now, as are her ears, but the dark parts are still spreading, and just in the lst week we have noticed that she is getting a dark patch above her front leg. Odd. But your bunnies are such pretty colours!

[Anne]

They are just a gorgeous pair!! What wonderful colors. But yeah... the color genetics thing makes my head spin - that's why I leave it to you and Chris. ;)