Genetic Color Help

Genetic Color Help
*from rabbitgeek notes oct 27 2007
There are a couple of genetic calculators online

Here is Welsh's site for the genotype calculator.
You can use it to get familiar with genetics.
http://www.welshrabbitry.com/matrix.php

Here is another calculator
http://www.mammarabbit.com/rabbit_genetics.htm
It has most of the basics down but not all of the genetics are
included such as dutch, steel, and others but may be helpful.

Computer genetic calculators are handy, including the Evans
program, but they are not perfect. Understanding color genetics
will help guide you through the maze.

Color genetics is a lot like the dice game Yahtzee. You try to get
sets of numbers to fill your scorecard. Sometimes you can "hold"
or "fix" some of the variables by holding some dice before the
next roll.

This is the similar in genetics. You can hold some of the variables
by using certain rabbits with known color genetic traits, and the
rest is a roll of the dice to see what you actually get in the litters.
Some people compare it to playing poker with two decks of cards.

Some of our French Angoras were very good at throwing
multi-colored litters that we called "party packs." Very exciting
to see what kind of colors developed. The skin color when born
can often turn into something unexpected and all we could do
was wait for the kits to grow into their coats.

I can recommend a little book called "Color Genetics of the
Netherland Dwarf Rabbit" by Bobby Schott. This little book takes
you through many of the basic color genetic principles in easy to
understand language with lots of good examples and some simple
pictures.

Although the book is written for Netherland Dwarfs, the color
genetics are the same for most breeds of rabbits. There are
variations in color names in different breeds.

Pam Nock has a website with lots of color charts
to help get used to the color genetic codes used.
http://nockrabbits.com

Here is a yahoo group where color geeks hangout
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/rabbit_genetics

That should keep you busy for a few hours.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

Shearing

from rabbitgeek notes Jan 2009:
Yes, we call it shearing and is a preferred method of wool harvest for
many angora rabbit owners. The coat comes off and the rabbit grows a
new one. Just like sheep are sheared for their wool.

There is a file in the group files area
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AngoraRabbitList/files/

Look for "How To Shear An Angora" by Germaine Pidgeon. Its a good
tutorial for visualizing how it should be done.

Shearing a good skill to have, even if you decide to be a plucker.
Because if rabbit comes down with symptoms of wool block, you'll want
to get that coat off ASAP! Also, many breeders will shear a doe before
breeding to prevent that coat from becoming nest material.

I usually put the rabbit on a grooming table, and starting along the
back along the spine I clip off little "ponytails" of wool. I set this
aside as the "good stuff" because along the back and sides is the best
length. Wool from the front or shorter length goes to a second pile
for blending or felting.

I leave about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch long. Don't worry if it is not
perfectly even in length because after it grows out you won't see the
difference.

Best time to shear is when they start to molt, to remove the old
growth coat so the new one can come in. The loose wool from molting is
a big factor in developing wool block so removing at the molt is good.

The rabbits generally like the shearing afterward and will jump around
doing spins and kicks (binkies) in their now lightweight condition.

For scissors we used the Fiskars School scissors with the rounded tips.
Or whatever happened to be on sale for school kids in the fall.

I hope that info helps.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

Shop vac notes

From Rabbitgeek notes
**Apr 4 2005, cross posted by Franco**

Use the Shop Vac with the hose plugged in the the "blower" outlet so
it blows air out instead of vacuuming in. Do this outside because when
you start blowing out the rabbit, dust and wool will fly everywhere!
Set the rabbit up on a grooming stand or on a table.

Set the shopvac on a nearby table or shelf because the hose is
relatively short. Start the shopvac but don't blow the air toward the
rabbit yet, let it get used to the sound first. Then you can direct
the air toward the rabbit for a moment then away, giving it a chance
to get used to it.

Then it is just like a blower. Use the stream of air to blow away the
dust in the wool. The stream of air will also untangle some of the
matts and will fluff the wool to an incredible "poofiness."

Using this air blower to groom avoids the wool fiber breakage that
occurs with combing and brushing.

Others on the list can give you the fine points of air blowing, since
I'm only a novice at the fluffy rabbit bit. But I'm an expert at
shopvac. :)

**P.S. When you go looking, you want to see the words "blower output"
or "blower port" on the box of the shop vac. The blower is feature you
want and not all shop vacs have this. In 2005 it cost about $40 for a
2 horspower shop vac with blower feature. 1.5 or 2 hp is adequate.

Avoid using compressed air since there is a lot of moisture and dirt
in the compressed air. At work we used filters and driers to treat the
air before using in air tools. **

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

Tray cleaning

*from the rabbitgeek notes*
The best tip for keeping rabbits in the garage came from Barbi Brown. Usually keeping rabbits in the garage means trays under the floor wire to catch the droppings.

For years we carried trays to the waste can and dumped them there. Barbi suggested we get a bucket and use a dust pan to scoop the poop out of the tray and into the bucket. Then take the bucket to the waste can.

This is so much easier than carrying trays around. Even if you plan to power wash the trays it is easier to move them when they are empty.

We put one or two handfuls of pine shavings in the tray to collect moisture and hold down odor.

If you sell manure you can put plastic bags in the bucket first (8 or 13 gallon trash bags) and tie them off before removing from the bucket. Tied off plastic bags are also good for fly control.

If you use five gallon buckets to move manure for sales, put a plastic bag in it first then tie it off. Will keep the buckets cleaner and reduce the smell. You can put the lids on the buckets and stack them for transport to sale. You sell the bag of manure to the customer, not the pail.

Then when customer takes the bags of manure, you can stack buckets one inside the other for transport home to be filled again.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

Radioactive rabbit

News article about radioactive rabbit found, Richland, WA
near the Hanford nuclear power plant
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/05/1238751/radioactive-rabbit-trapped-near.html

Have a good day!

Hanz and Franz

(click for larger image)
I was going through some files and came across this picture of Hanz and Franz. These boys were bought from a breeder by a woman who was concerned they were not getting the kind of care they should be. She contacted me asking if I would like to take them because she was not set up to care for them. She was keeping them in an empty horse stall. So I arranged to meet her during my lunch break from work and I took a carrying cage.

So when I picked them up, I was expecting the worst. Instead I found these gorgeous German hybrids. They were so beautiful and the coats were in such good shape I was thinking I should get a horse barn to keep angoras instead of cages. I took them back to my office and set them in our break room to wait until I could get them home. One of the guys at work said if Santa Claus had rabbits at the North Pole they would look like this.

By asking around I was able to locate the breeder who was able to confirm the German hybrid background. My youngest son Oscar named them Hanz and Franz. Oscar thinks he is so clever.

These rabbits were beautiful but they were dead in a few months. First one died unexpectedly, giving symptoms of wool block. I sheared the other one down and changed his diet to hay. But a few weeks later the other was dead too.

I cried and I beat myself up for weeks for not being able to keep them alive. I was really doubting myself after losing those two bucks. Then a few months after that I got an email from the breeder. They wanted to know if I still had the bucks. Seems all the rabbits from that bloodline had died and they were hoping my bucks were still alive for breeding.

I told them the bucks had died, apparently from woolblock. They said that's what happened to the others. Too bad because they all had such nice coats.

I am so glad they told me. I did nothing wrong. It was a bad bloodline. This impressed on me that genetics is overwhelmingly important for wool production and resistance to woolblock as well.

I do have a scarf made with angora yarn spun from my two little German rabbit friends who taught me something about genetics. And that yarn really got me started on my fiber adventure.

Have a good day!

Franco's Plucking Adventure

*from rabbit geek notes*
Franco's Plucking Adventure
originally posted on French Angoras Group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/frenchangoras
August 28 2004

Hi all,  I just plucked our FA senior blue buck who has been
over due for clipping. My lovely wife Tracy groomed him for
me with the blower so the wool would be nice and free from
tangles.  I was going to clip him with scissors, but he kept
jumping off the coffee table and running down the hall.
I noticed the wool was pretty loose, so I tugged at little
locks of it and it came off in my fingers, leaving the new
coat intact. We sat for about an hour and a half. I would
let him loose every 15 or 20 minutes to take a little walk
on the sofa.

He looks great. He looks blue again! His new coat is about
1 1/2 inch long and is a nice blue color, not faded looking
like his old coat.  And I have a brown grocery sack full of
blue angora to practice my drop spindle with!

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry, Sacramento, Calif.

August 29 2004
Hi,  I think at least half of the breeders I've met clip the
bunnies. My goal the other night was to practice clipping a
bunny. But the bunny did not cooperate by sitting still.

So that's how I came to sit down and pluck it. It was helpful
that the bunny was in a complete molt and ready for plucking.
All in all the evening turned out well for me and for the bunny.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry, Sacramento, Calif.

August 30 2004

Hi,  Thanks for your reply. Yes, the buck was ready to be plucked.
And the new coat is really 1 1/2 inch, I took a measurement with a
steel pocket ruler, being the industrial geek type that I am.

I had a little pair of hair trimming scissors at the ready. I brought
the rabbit in the house because it's 90F degrees outside lately and I
didn't want to stand out there in the heat.  So I haven't given up
the idea of clipping. I just wasn't successful on my first try.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry