By: Flo Ann Gordon
This article is reproduced from
the 4th edition ANDRC Guide Book 1986.

With 32 different color varieties, the Dwarf comes in more colors than any other breed in the standard, This is one of the reasons Dwarfs are so fascinating, but it is also why Dwarf color breeding can be very confusing, frustrating, and exasperating.

The English, who set up the color varieties and groups which serve as our basis for our present Dwarf Standard, were well versed in color genetics, for the varieties and groups described follow genetic rules. In setting up their color standards they were saying, "These are the genetic color possibilities among our Dwarfs. Let's see if we can develop them to perfection". Many American breeders, unfamiliar with this way of looking at a Standard, tend to think there really were existing Dwarfs in each of those varieties, and that each Dwarf produced in their nest box just had to fit one of the color descriptions, since there were so many to chose from. What they were forgetting was that it was perfectly possible to get "in-betweens" – Dwarfs with mixed color genes that were neither one nor the other variety. They perhaps didn't realize that the Standard describes a degree of perfection for which we strive in our colors – not a grab bag of varieties from which we choose to enter our Dwarfs at the shows.

The first bit of advice I would give to new Dwarf breeders would be to start with the more familiar colors _ the ones you see quite a few of at the shows. The fact that those varieties are appearing in some number indicates that the color isn't impossible to obtain right now, and that they have been developed at least to the extent that they are breeding true sometimes. That isn't true of all our colors in the standard. Many of the varieties are rarely if ever seen, and some of the others have not been developed anywhere near the degree of perfection described in the standard. Remember that the colors in the standard are simply descriptions of genetic possibilities that should be possible to obtain some day in the Dwarf, because those color gene combinations have been identified somewhere in the rabbit kingdom. The color descriptions are our challenge, not necessarily a description of accomplished fact in the Dwarf.

I hasten to add that if a Dwarf does not match the color description in the standard exactly, then it doesn't belongs on the show table. It belongs back home in the breeding pen in hopes that further offspring down the line will meet the color description exactly.

So, breeding same color to same color is the first rule, and the goal to strive for in your own breeding. But I realize this isn't always possible. Good Dwarfs are hard to get, so perhaps I can set down a few ideas of what to cross to what of you have to mix color varieties.

Dwarf breeders want to know what to breed to what to get what colors. They would like a chart or a list to consult. A little like mixing red paint and white paint to get pink paint, but genetics don't work that way unfortunately.

The problem is that Dwarf color is not determined by a single gene. Instead, at least 12 pairs of color genes combine and interact with each other in different ways to make the color of every Dwarf we own. And when we breed two Dwarfs together, we are mixing up at least 12 pairs of color genes from the father with 12 pairs of genes from the mother in different combinations, and the color possibilities of the offspring can become almost infinite.

There is really no way of predicting for sure what color the babies will be unless we know exactly all the color genes each parent carries in all the 12 pairs of different color genes…and this is nearly impossible unless you've bred all the ancestors yourself for 20 generations or more, and even then there can be surprises.

There are certain genetic combinations, however, that work better together than others, so those I'll try to describe, going down through the color groups as they appear in our standards.

Blue-Eyed White
BEW should not be crossed to REW, because poor, nonstandard, Dutch marked Dwarfs are the result. In their early development in England, the Chestnut was used to develop the BEW, but BEW to BEW is the best way to go.

Black and Blue
These two colors can be bred together, because the Blue is actually a Black rabbit with two recessive genes that have paired up to dilute the color. These two colors can also be bred with Black or Blue Silver Martens, Chestnuts, Opals, Chinchillas, Squirrels and Steel. The Marten and Agouti pattern markings will probably dominate in the first generation offspring. A Black could also be bred to a Tortoiseshell, which is actually a black rabbit with special recessive genes that make the Tort color.

Chocolate and Lilacs
These colors are not very common in Dwarfs as yet, but can be bred together, because Lilac is just a dilute Chocolate. They can also be bred to the rather rare Chocolate or Lilac Silver Martens, and also with Lynx in the Agouti group.

Lynx
This uncommon color is a dilution of a Chocolate Agouti for which we have no standard. A Chocolate Agouti would have Chocolate ticking and ear lacing instead of the Black ticking and ear lacing of the Chestnut. The Lynx could be bred to Chocolate Agouti, Chocolate and Lilac, and less desirably to Chestnuts.

Chinchilla and Squirrel
These are Agouti pattern rabbits where a mutation has changed all the yellow or orange color in the Chestnut to the white or pearl of a Chinchilla. The Chin has black ticking and ear lacing, whereas the Squirrel is a dilution and has blue ticking and ear lacing. However, the Squirrel should have a definite blue color and as sharp as definition in the banded hair shaft as the more familiar Chinchilla. Often a "faded out", or poorly defined or even shaded Chin appears in a Dwarf litter and is shown as a "Squirrel". Not so. A good Squirrel should, as the Standard description indicates, is regarded as a "Blue Chinchilla". Chin and Squirrel can be bred together, and could also be bred to Black or Blue or to Black or Blue Silver Martens. They should not be bred to a Chestnut, Opal, Lynx, or Tan, because it is too hard to get rid of all traces of yellow from the crossing of these varieties. Nor should they ever be bred to shaded varieties.

Sable Point, Siamese Sable and Smoked Pearl.
The Siamese Sable and Smoke Pearl can be bred together because Siamese Smoke Pearl is simply the recessive dilution of Siamese Sable. They can also be bred to Sable Marten and Smoke Pearl Marten, in which case the Marten markings will tend to dominate. The Siamese Sable can also be bred to the Sable Point, though Sable Point to Sable Point is much safer.
Sable Point is the latest addition to the Standard and is actually a very light Siamese Sable with " modifying genes" to produce no saddle color. Too dark of saddle in an otherwise light-colored animal seems to be the biggest problem in the color. So if I were raising them, I would breed Sable Point to Sable Point and keep only the lightest saddles. To try to lighten saddle color I would breed Himalayans and Siamese Sables with very light saddle color. But I would not breed in the dilute Siamese Smoke Pearls unless it was the only way I could get very light saddle color because the Points of the Sable Point must remain Sable, not the Siamese Smoke Pearl dilution.
The biggest problem in the Siamese Sables and Smoke Pearl Dwarfs comes in getting the correct "medium" shading described in the Standard. The babies come out dark, medium, and light. The degree and placement of shading seems to depend on modifying genes, so using the most attractively shaded parents you can get help to achieve the goal. Many breeders use Himalayans with their shaded Dwarfs to help tone too dark a shading. While this can be effective, the danger comes in keeping and using any Himalayan youngsters, except for continuing them in the shaded program. The resulting Himalayans are not likely to be very good in color or markings.
It is not advisable to cross any shaded rabbit with any member of the Self group or the Agouti patter group, or to Silver Martens (just Sable and Smoke Pearl Martens) or to Tans. Color disasters in the form of half-and-half, in- between, no describable color Dwarfs can appear for a very long time to come.

Tortoiseshell
Really a Black, self-colored animal with a pair of recessive genes that shove the black color to the "points" of the animal, leaving the rest Orange. The biggest problem with Torts in recent years is that instead of having the clear orange saddle described in the standard, they tend to be rather dark all over. I feel this is because we have the wrong modifying genes altering the saddle color, and to improve it, I would breed in Himi or very light saddled Sable Points or Siamese Sables. Tort have been bred to Black, which may be where the wrong modifying genes for saddle color have come. Torts can also be bred to Orange and Fawn, and first generation offspring will probably be Orange or Fawn with uncertain saddle color, depending on how clear the parents color was.

The name of this group tends to confuse people, because the most common Dwarf members are Silver Martens. There are very few Tan Dwarfs, and almost no good ones, though various breeders are working at it. Genetically, in the rabbit kingdom, the mutation for Tans came first, and the mutation for Martens came after – where the yellow or orange color was changed to silver or white.

Silver Martens
Come in Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. Black and Blue Silver Martens can be bred together, and to Black and Blue, and to Chinchilla and Squirrel. Chocolate and Lilac Silver Martens can be bred to each other or to Chocolate and Lilac. Silver Martens should not be bred to the shaded martens, nor to Tans, nor to any member of the Agouti pattern group which carries a yellow or orange color.

Sable Martens and Smoke Pearl Martens
Shaded animals with Marten markings. They can be bred to each other or to Siamese Sable and Siamese Smoke Pearl. They should probably not be bred to Silver Martens, or to any other variety, with the possible exception of Himalayan to improve shading….but, subsequent generations of Himalayans will probably be poorly marked and colored and should probably not be used unless used strictly in a shaded breeding program.

Tans
Come in Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. Dwarf Tans are still extremely rare because good Tan color seems to come only from out-crossing to normal size Tans, and then it's very difficult to get good Dwarf type re-established. Bred together they never seem to produce anything much better than themselves even down through many generations. When and if good tans are ever developed, only Black and Blue Tans should be bred together, and Chocolate and Lilac Tans like-wise. Because it is so hard to get and maintain good Tan color, Tan Dwarfs should probably not be out-crossed to any other variety.

This last color group in the Standard is kind of a catch-all for Dwarfs that "kinda" but don't quite fit in genetically to the other color groups. They are still perfectly legitimate colors.

Himalayan
Come in Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. The original, and by far the most common color is black, though there are some legitimate Blue, Chocolate, and Lilac around. But what breeders often call Chocolate are more than likely faded out Blacks. Start with the best colored animals, with high marking. These come from many generations of Himi to Himi breedings. The faded out Himi's probably came from color out-crosses back in the ancestry, and takes a very long time to correct. Black and Blue may be bred together, and Chocolate and Lilac bred together. I would be very reluctant to cross Himi with other colors in the hope of retaining Himi kits. Himi can however, can be useful in improving the color of other varieties.

Orange and Fawn
Genetically these are Agouti coated animals with the addition of the recessive Tortoiseshell gene. It is very hard to find a good Orange Dwarf, which doesn't retain some vestige of it's Agouti origins through blue undercolor or some black ticking or ear lacing. Ideally the breeding would be Orange to Orange, or to the dilute, Fawn, or to Tortoiseshell. But I would be tempted to breed Orange or Fawn to Himi, or to Siamese Sable or Siamese Smoke Pearl with very light saddle color or to a very light Sable Point in an attempt to get rid of the Agouti-coated color problems. A close reading of the Standard will show that the Orange and Fawn are really "shaded" animals in the ideal state, and this is why I think breeding in certain shadeds or Himi might help achieve the ideal color.

Steel
This is still one of the rare colors existing in Dwarfs today. To produce it requires one in a pair of two genes for a Dominant Extension of black ticking Two genes of this nature would produce a Dwarf which looks Black to all except on close examination. So it's a combination of one special "Steel gene" with one common Black or Agouti gene. If you should ever get or produce a Steel Dwarf, breed it to another Steel or Black or Blue or Chestnut Dwarf, and then look and hope for another improbable Steel in the litter.