Rabbit Color Predictor – Calculate Baby Bunny Fur Colors
Predict baby rabbit fur colors from the parents' coat colors. This tool applies Mendelian genetics across five coat-color genes to estimate offspring odds.
Rabbit Color Predictor
Predict baby rabbit fur colors based on parent genetics. Select each parent's color to see probable offspring colors and their genetic probability percentages.
Wild Gray (Agouti)
The natural wild rabbit color with agouti pattern
Gene pairs carried by this parent
A coat color cannot show which recessive genes a parent hides, but those genes decide the litter. Left as shown, this parent is assumed to carry no hidden recessive gene.
Wild Gray (Agouti)
The natural wild rabbit color with agouti pattern
Gene pairs carried by this parent
A coat color cannot show which recessive genes a parent hides, but those genes decide the litter. Left as shown, this parent is assumed to carry no hidden recessive gene.
Predicted Offspring Colors
Expected kit colors with probability percentages based on Mendelian genetics. Actual litter results may vary due to random genetic distribution.
Wild Gray (Agouti)
100%
Understanding These Predictions
Rabbit colors are determined by five major genes (A, B, C, D, E) working together. Each parent passes one copy of each gene to offspring, creating the color combinations shown above.
These predictions use a simplified model of the five primary color genes. Real genetics may involve additional modifying genes affecting shade and intensity.
For breeding rare colors or breed-specific standards, consult experienced breeders familiar with your specific breed's genetics.
Documentation
What is the Rabbit Color Predictor?
The rabbit color predictor is a calculator that estimates the fur colors a litter of baby rabbits might have. It works from the coat colors of the two parent rabbits and applies the rules of Mendelian genetics, the same rules Gregor Mendel worked out from pea plants in the 1860s. The tool gives each possible offspring color a probability, such as "50% black, 50% chocolate," rather than a single guaranteed outcome.
Rabbit fur color comes from several genes acting together, not one single gene. This article explains those genes, shows the formula the calculator uses, and works through examples by hand.
The five color genes
Five gene locations, called loci, control the coat colors covered by this calculator. Each locus has a dominant version (allele) and a recessive version. A rabbit gets one allele from each parent at every locus.
| Locus | Dominant allele | Recessive allele | What it controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| A (agouti) | A: banded, wild-type hairs | a: solid color, no banding | Whether fur has a wild rabbit pattern or is one solid color |
| B (black) | B: black pigment | b: brown (chocolate) pigment | Which dark pigment the rabbit makes |
| C (color) | C: full color allowed | c: albino | A rabbit with cc is white with pink eyes, no matter what the other genes say |
| D (dense) | D: rich, dense color | d: diluted color | Turns black into blue-gray and chocolate into lilac |
| E (extension) | E: normal dark pigment | e: pigment removed from most of the coat | A rabbit with ee shows orange or tan fur instead of black or brown |
A rabbit's full set of alleles is its genotype. What the genotype produces, the color a person actually sees, is its phenotype. Two rabbits can look the same but carry different hidden alleles, which is why a litter can include a color neither parent shows.
Common rabbit coat colors
| Color | Alleles needed | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Wild gray (agouti) | A_, B_, D_, E_ | Banded gray-brown hairs, like a wild cottontail |
| Black | aa, B_, D_, E_ | Solid black |
| Chocolate | aa, bb, D_, E_ | Solid warm brown |
| Blue | aa, B_, dd, E_ | Diluted black; slate blue-gray |
| Lilac | aa, bb, dd, E_ | Diluted chocolate; pale pinkish-gray |
| Tortoise | aa, D_, ee | Black or chocolate points on a lighter body |
| Fawn | A_, D_, ee | Reddish-tan; agouti pattern with black pigment switched off |
| Cream | A_, dd, ee | Diluted fawn; pale cream |
| White (albino) | cc | White fur, red or pink eyes; hides every other gene |
An underscore stands for "either allele is possible" because the dominant one hides the recessive one. A rabbit written as B_ could be BB or Bb; only breeding tests or a pedigree reveal which.
How to calculate offspring colors
For one gene with a dominant allele and a recessive allele, each parent passes one copy to each offspring, with an equal chance of either allele. A Punnett square lays out the four equally likely combinations.
Example 1: Black (BB) × Chocolate (bb). A homozygous black rabbit (BB) can only pass a B allele. A chocolate rabbit (bb) can only pass a b allele. Every offspring gets one B and one b, so every offspring is Bb, which looks black.
| B | B | |
|---|---|---|
| b | Bb | Bb |
| b | Bb | Bb |
Result: 100% black, 0% chocolate.
Example 2: Black carrier (Bb) × Chocolate (bb). This time the black parent carries a hidden b allele.
| B | b | |
|---|---|---|
| b | Bb | bb |
| b | Bb | bb |
Result: 50% black (Bb), 50% chocolate (bb).
Example 3: Two black carriers (Bb) × (Bb).
| B | b | |
|---|---|---|
| B | BB | Bb |
| b | Bb | bb |
Result: 75% black (BB or Bb both look black), 25% chocolate (bb). This is the classic 3:1 ratio from introductory genetics.
Combining more than one gene
The five loci sit on different chromosomes and are inherited independently, so the calculator works out each locus on its own and multiplies the results together.
Example: a black rabbit that is Bb at the black/chocolate locus and Ee at the extension locus, bred to a chocolate rabbit that is bb and EE.
- B locus (Bb × bb): 50% Bb (black), 50% bb (chocolate)
- E locus (Ee × EE): every offspring gets at least one E, so 100% show normal extension
Multiplying the two: 0.5 (black) × 1.0 (normal extension) = 50% black; 0.5 (chocolate) × 1.0 = 50% chocolate.
A dilution example: a black doe bred to a blue buck. Blue is a black rabbit that is dd at the dense/dilute locus, so this cross tests the D locus.
- If the doe is DD: DD × dd gives Dd in every offspring, and D is dominant, so every kit is black. Result: 100% black, 0% blue.
- If the doe is Dd: Dd × dd gives 50% Dd (black) and 50% dd (blue). Result: 50% black, 50% blue.
A doe that produces any blue kits when bred to a blue buck must be Dd, since a DD doe could not.
Why hidden genes cause surprises
The C locus and the E locus can each hide what other loci are doing.
A rabbit with cc is albino and shows no color at all, but it still carries whatever color alleles it inherited at the other four loci. Breeding an albino to a colored rabbit can reveal those hidden alleles in the offspring.
A rabbit with ee loses black or brown pigment from most of its coat. Whether it turns fawn or tortoise depends on the A locus, not the B locus. An agouti rabbit (A_) that is ee becomes fawn or cream. A non-agouti rabbit (aa) that is ee becomes tortoise instead, keeping darker points at the ears, feet, tail, and face. A black rabbit (aaB_) that turns ee becomes a black tortoise; a chocolate rabbit (aabb) that turns ee becomes a chocolate tortoise. Neither becomes fawn, because fawn requires the agouti allele, which a self-colored (aa) rabbit does not have.
Using the calculator
- Choose Parent 1's coat color from the dropdown.
- Choose Parent 2's coat color.
- Optionally set which hidden alleles each parent carries at each gene, if known from pedigree or past litters. Left unset, the calculator assumes a parent carries no hidden recessive allele.
- Read the list of possible offspring colors and their probabilities.
The percentages describe long-run odds, not a promise about any one litter. A small litter of three or four kits can easily miss a rare outcome even when the math says it should appear about a quarter of the time.
Limitations
The calculator models five main color loci. Real rabbit genetics includes more genes that adjust shade and pattern, such as the Vienna gene for blue-eyed white markings and the wide-band gene that affects agouti banding. Coat patterns like Dutch markings, broken (spotted) coats, and the temperature-sensitive Himalayan pattern come from separate genes not covered here. The calculator also assumes each parent's genotype is either known or defaults to "no hidden recessive allele," so predictions are only as accurate as what is actually known about each parent's ancestry.
Frequently asked questions
Can two rabbits of the same color produce a different-colored litter? Yes. If both parents carry a hidden recessive allele at the same locus, some offspring can show the recessive color. Two black rabbits that are both Bb can produce chocolate kits.
Why did my litter's colors not match the predicted percentages? Predicted percentages are long-run averages. Each kit inherits its alleles independently, so a small litter can land far from the predicted ratio by chance. Larger litters tend to track the predicted percentages more closely.
Can an albino rabbit produce colored offspring? Yes. The albino allele (cc) blocks color from showing but does not remove the color alleles at other loci. Breeding an albino to a colored rabbit can produce colored kits, revealing what the albino carried underneath.
Does this calculator predict coat patterns like Dutch or broken markings? No. It predicts base coat color only. Patterns come from separate genes that assort independently of the color genes described here.
How can a breeder find out which hidden alleles a rabbit carries? Three common methods: check the rabbit's pedigree for colors in its ancestry, test-breed it to a rabbit known to carry the recessive allele in question, or track the colors that appear across several litters.
Why are some rabbit colors rarer than others? Colors that need more than one recessive allele are rarer, because a rabbit must inherit the recessive version at every relevant locus from both parents. Lilac, for example, needs both a recessive chocolate allele (bb) and a recessive dilute allele (dd), so it appears less often than black or chocolate alone.
References
- Castle, W.E. (1930). The Genetics of Domestic Rabbits. Harvard University Press.
- Fontanesi, L., Tazzoli, M., Beretti, F., & Russo, V. (2006). Mutations in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene are associated with coat colours in the domestic rabbit. Animal Genetics, 37(5), 489-493.
- Lehner, S., et al. (2013). Two-exon skipping within MLPH is associated with lilac dilution in rabbits. PLoS One, 8(12), e84525.
- American Rabbit Breeders Association. (2016). Standard of Perfection. ARBA.