BEW Breeding

[Crysti]

My long term goal is to have a BEW project, so I'm trying to learn all I can now.

I know that shaded/chocolate/lilac should never be breeded into a BEW line. But what if let's say, a black bunny with chocolate somewhere in it's history gets breeded in? Does that also cause the ruby cast or have the chance of causing it?

If so, how do you go about avoiding picking a bunny with that in their history? I have a pet lop who is a VM black and pedigreed, and his history on the pedigree only goes back a few generations. Is it 'okay' if those colors are far enough back or does it run the risk of ruining the eye no matter what?

 

[SableSteel]

They're recessive colors - having an ancestor that is shaded/chocolate (past 1 generation) doesn't guarantee the rabbit carries it. A shaded grandparent would give the rabbit 50% chance of carrying shaded. A shaded great-grandparent would give a 25% chance. Being a recessive color, both parents need to carry shaded/chocolate for the baby to get eye color programs (which is what happens when the rabbit is chocolate or shaded under the BEW). It is impossible to breed out recessives like chocolate or shaded, but at a certain point the chance they carry it is small enough that you can a make decision whether or not to risk it.