It doesn't have to be painful, and most likely you will enjoy it alot.
First thing we need to know is that there are 5 main rabbit color gene locations that affect the color we see on a rabbit. Every rabbit has two genes in each location. 1 gene comes from the mother and 1 from the father. Each parent contributes 50% of its gene to the offspring. the 5 main sets of gene locations are known as A, B, C, D and E.
A Gene location:
There are a total of 3 different genes that can be found in the A gene loci. Every rabbit can only have two genes in that place, out of the 3. Only one gene is given by the Sire and one by the Dam. This gene is what causes the distinctive 3 rings of color on the hair shaft of agouti rabbits.
A gene: This gene is known as the Agouti gene, it is THE most dominant gene out of the 3, whenever it is present it WILL manifest itself and you will see an agouti rabbit. This is the gene responsible for: Castors, Chinchillas, Lynx, Reds, Opals, etc. Only one A gene is necessary for the rabbit to be an agouti.
at gene: It is recessive to “A” but dominant over the next gene we will be talking about. This gene is responsible for Otters, it is known as the “tan” gene. This gene creates a rabbit that looks like a solid color rabbit and adds the tan coloration on the cheek, belly, nostrils, triangle on the back of neck, lacing on the ears, etc.
a gene: This is the most recessive gene out of the three. It is responsible for self colored rabbits such as: blacks, chocolates, lilacs, and blues. Since it is recessive, you need to have two of the same genes given by each parent in order to show a self rabbit. A rabbit that is a self shows a constant color over its entire body.
So to recap:
Each rabbit has two genes
One from each parent
- A = Agouti (most dominant)
- at = Tan (second most dominant)
- a = self (completely recessive)
A a = Agouti rabbit
A at = Agouti rabbit
A a = Agouti rabbit