The D Series — Hickory Ridge Hollands

Now that we've gotten that lengthy C series out of the way, we can move onto the much simpler D series. This set contains only two genes, D and d, which define whether your rabbit is black based or blue based.

The Dense Gene (D):

black seal holland lop kit sitting on table

The D gene creates black based rabbits. Examples include Chocolates, Chestnuts, Oranges, and of course, Blacks. As you may know, some of these colors are not black at all. This can be a little confusing. However, black based refers to colors that lack the washed out blue of dilute colors. The darkest points of a black based rabbit can be black, while the darkest points of a dilute rabbit can only be blue.

The D gene can either carry itself or dilute.

Blue tort holland lop rabbit kit sitting in front of brick wall

The Dilute Gene (d):

The d gene creates blue based rabbits. Examples include Blue torts, Lilacs, Creams, and Blue otters. All dilute colors have a blue cast to them, though some richer than others.

All dilute rabbits carry d.

That covers the basics of the D gene! Though it may seem a little complicated at first, rabbit genetics are really pretty simple. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at bunnyjeans101@gmail.com