The Black/brown ("B") gene set has two possible genes. They are listed in order of dominance: B and b. The B locus is responsible for making a rabbit either black based or chocolate based. There are only THREE different gene combinations for the B Locus: BB, Bb, and bb.
B: BLACK
- Most dominant gene, dominant over b.
- Common varieties of B: chestnut, opal, black, blue, chinchilla, black otter (blue rabbits are “black” based)
- Possible gene combinations of the B locus with B as the dominant gene: BB, Bb
Rabbits with B as the dominant gene are black-based rabbits and will not express chocolate.
b: BROWN/CHOCOLATE
- Most recessive, recessive to B.
- Common varieties of b: chocolate, lilac, amber, chocolate otter, chocolate chinchilla (lilac rabbits are “chocolate” based as well)
- Possible gene combinations of the B locus with b as the dominant gene: bb
Rabbits with b as the dominant gene are chocolate-based rabbits and will not express black.