Struggling with color

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JReft

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We are newbies and just starting out. I got a matched pair of Lynx Rex from a breeder. The dam has lots of tricolor in her pedigree and the sire has lots of Amber. I ended up with seven kits which are now seven weeks old. Four of them I feel confident (ish...) are Lynx. The other three look like this. I was thinking they were Opal, but I’m not seeing any middle ring at all on them, just a pale undercoat. Does the ring show up later? I also don’t know how accurate the Evans Software is, but I finished entering all our pedigrees into it tonight and the tool that predicts offspring colors didn’t even show Opal as an option for this pairing. We are hoping to take the litter to a show at the end of next month and I’m hoping to get them figured out soon. Thanks for any help!
 

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That's opal. Often what I see in rex is that the opals tend to have a very pale undercolor as juniors that later molts into more correct of ring color. If it is from lynx lines, though, it might not get the correct dark undercolor as lynx rex have been bred to have a lighter undercolor.

In Rex, lynx is a little bit complicated. Evans software can't deal with Lynx rex. Lynx rex (at least, most the lines of lynx rex that are bred to fit the lynx standard) are often genetically fawns, not lynx. The standard for "lynx" rex was written to describe a fawn; the fact that it shares a name and close appearance to "lynx" in other breeds (which is what Evans software would be calling lynx) is unfortunate. So in rex you have two unique genotypes & phenotypes for lynx: phenotypic lynx which always has a light undercolor, is born pink and is genetically fawn, and genotypic (true) lynx which sometimes has a dark undercolor, sometimes not, is born dark (lilac) and is genetically lynx.

In this case, what I would guess is that you ended up mixing a phenotypic lynx (fawn) with a true lynx (the sire is probably the true lynx, if he has a lot of Amber in his lines, as true lynx is a dilute of amber). The most expected outcome of that crossing would be opal, but you could also get lynx (true lynx and/or phenotypic lynx) if the parents carry chocolate and/or non-extension (respectively)

Lynx is one of the more difficult Rex varieties to start out with; not only because of problems like this, but also because it can be difficult to find good stock to bring in. Good Lynx rex exist but are much harder to find than a good rabbit of a more common color.
 
Thank you so much!

That makes a lot of sense. The shades on the sire and dam are slightly different, and I would say she does look lighter (and more “fawn”) while he looks a bit ashy. Of the four lynx babies, they’re split half and half with two of each being slightly lighter and slightly darker, so from what you said, I’d guess two are phenotypic and two are genotypic, correct?

You made my day. I’ve been trying to figure these out for seven weeks now, and we have every intention of showing the whole litter to help us learn more about type, and I did NOT want to look like an idiot putting them in the wrong class. Thank you, again.
 

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