The basics of rabbit coat color genetics focus on just FIVE basic genes, or chromosome locations (loci), that code for coat color. These genes are - logically - identified as A, B, C, D, and E. As you read on, you'll find the initials actually make sense!
The cottontail rabbit is a familiar wild animal that can be found living alongside people almost everywhere, in the city or the countryside. In the summer these rabbits find food easily - nibbling on clover, green grass and other green plants, even raiding the neighbor's garden to eat the plants there!
Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk. This is the best time to see them. They spend the remainder of the day resting in hollows or shallow nests in the ground called forms. In summer these nests are made in tall grass or brush. You might find a rabbit nesting in an unmowed lawn, meadow or under a bush. In the winter, the rabbit will seek out a place with protection from snow or wind. Overhead cover such as a bush protects the rabbit from birds of prey. Rabbits frequently use woodchuck, skunk or badger burrows during winter months and sunbathe in any nearby sunny spots.
During times in the winter with little snow rabbits eat grasses and other plants they can find. The bark of young trees and shrubs is eaten when snow covers other plant foods. You might want to help out the rabbits in your neighborhood by scattering apple peels, carrot tops or lettuce leaves on the snow in your yard.
You can sometimes tell that a rabbit lives nearby if you see small shrubs or tree seedlings nipped off just above the snow. You may see piles of their round, dark colored droppings. It's easy to identify a rabbit's tracks or footprints. When hopping, the hind feet land first with the front foot prints appearing inside the back feet's prints. Like this:
Suggested Vegetables and Fruits for a Rabbit Diet By Susan A. Brown, DVM
Rabbits in the wild all over the world successfully consume a wide variety of plant material. Various types of dry and fresh grasses and plants with leaves comprise the largest portion of the wild rabbit diet. Rabbits will also eat bark on trees, tender twigs and sprouts, fruits, seeds and other nutritious foods in much small amounts. This is important to know when we decide what is a healthy diet for our house rabbits.
The majority of the house rabbit diet should be composed of grass hay (any variety) which is rich in Vitamin A and D as well as calcium, protein and other nutrients. Eating hay promotes healthy teeth and gastrointestinal tract and should be available to your rabbit at all times. Varying the type of grass hay or mixing hays is a great idea (such as timothy, orchard, brome, etc). Avoid the use of alfalfa hay as the primary source of hay due to the fact it is very high I calories and protein, far more then the average house rabbit needs. Alfalfa is not a grass, but rather a legume (in the pea and bean family).
Fresh foods are also an important part of your rabbit's diet and they provide additional nutrients as well as different textures and tastes, which are enriching for your friend as well. Fresh foods also provide more moisture in the diet, which is good for kidney and bladder function. The bulk of fresh foods should be made up of leafy greens (about 75% of the fresh part of the diet). Any leafy green that is safe for a human or a horse to eat is safe for a rabbit to consume. An approximate amount to feed would be around 1 packed cup of greens for 2 lbs of rabbit body weight once a day or divided into multiple feedings a day.
Many plants contain a naturally occurring chemicals called an alkaloids, which are mild toxins that protect plant in the wild. The one most talked about with rabbits is oxalic acid and it is completely harmless to animals or humans when consumed in small amounts. The amount of oxalic acid within each plant can vary significantly due to several factors including the composition of the soil the plant grew in, the time of year and the age of the plant. Most of the fresh vegetables we feed rabbits have a low to zero level of oxalic acid, but a few, most notably parsley, mustard greens and spinach have relatively high levels. (Note that kale, which is often implicated as a high oxalate food is actually very low in oxalates). The toxicity of oxalic acid comes with feeding large quantities of foods high in this chemical and can result in tingling of the skin, the mouth and damage to the kidneys over time. These foods are nutritious and do not need to be excluded from the diet if you feed them appropriately. I recommend feeding a minimum of at least 3 types of leafy greens a day (and only one of them should be from the group listed above) Don't feed the same greens all the time from week to week if possible, mix it up. For instance if you feed parsley this week, then leave it out of the diet for next week and use something else. Rotating the greens will also give your bunny variety in taste, texture and general nutrition!
Some folks are concerned that you rabbits need to acquire a significant amount of vitamin A from greens. As mentioned above, hay is rich in vitamin A, so it is unnecessary to be concerned about the specific vitamin A content of the greens. Just for information though, kale is extremely rich in vitamin A as well as most of the leaf lettuces. And while we are on the subject of vitamins, rabbits make their own vitamin C in their bodies, unlike humans who have to get vitamin C through their diet. You may know that dark green leafy vegetables and red peppers have more vitamin C per weight then citrus fruits!
Some people are concerned about feeding foods that cause gastrointestinal (GI) gas in people such as broccoli. A rabbit's GI tract is not the same as a human's and many of the foods that may cause gas in a human do not cause gas in a rabbit. The most common types of foods that do create havoc in the rabbit's GI tract are those that are high in starch and sugars because they create a change in the pH of the cecum and eventually can throw the whole system off. The result can be serious GI disease. Foods that are notorious for causing rabbit GI problems when fed improperly are grains of any kind and legumes (beans, peas, etc). Even starchy root vegetables and fruits if fed to excess with their high load of sugars and starch could be a problem and should only be fed as a very small part of the diet.
There has also been discussion about feeding vegetables that are goitrogenic in humans (causing a goiter) more notoriously those in the broccoli/cabbage family. One study done on rabbits indicated that it would take several weeks of exclusively feeding huge quantities of these foods to see any abnormalities in the blood. This is so far removed from normal feeding instructions for rabbits that there is no cause for concern in feeding these nutritious foods.
Beyond leafy greens you can feed other vegetables such as root vegetables or "flowers" such as broccoli and cauliflower. These foods are often higher in starch or sugars and should be fed in lesser amounts then the leafy greens. Avoid foods in the onion family such as leeks, chives and onions because eating these foods could cause blood abnormalities. A good amount of "other" vegetables (non leafy greens) to feed your rabbit would be about 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day in one meal or divided into two or more.
Fruits can also be fed in small amounts. In the wild these would be special high calorie foods obtained only at certain times of the year. Fruits make great training treats! You also might choose to hand-feed the fruit portion of the diet as part of developing a close bond with your bunny and also to make sure he has an appetite every day. It is a great way to see if your bunny is feeling good when you observe if he takes his fruit treat every morning! If he doesn't want to eat his treat, it is time to call your veterinarian. Remember that dried fruits are about 3 times as concentrated as the fresh variety so feed less of those. Rabbits, like many animals naturally gravitate towards high calorie foods such as those high in sugar or starch. This is a protective device from the wild days when they could never be sure when or if they would get the next meal. When a plant would produce fruit, it is for a limited time and all the animals in the area would want to gobble these gems up quickly! This means that rabbits cannot limit themselves when given sugary or starchy foods if left to their own devices! Overfeeding fruits can result in a weight gain or GI upset so it is up to you to feed these foods in limited amounts. An approximate amount of fruit to feed your rabbit is a teaspoon per 2 lbs of body weight daily in one feeding or divided into multiple feedings.
IMPORTANT: Before introducing any fresh foods to a rabbit it is best if he has been eating grass hay for a minimum of 2 weeks. The grass hay will help to get his GI tract motility and flora in good working order so that he will be able to accept new foods more easily. When introducing new fresh foods to any rabbit's diet it is best to go slowly to allow the gastrointestinal tract and all its important microorganisms to adjust. Introduce one new food every three days and keep a watch on the stools. It is rare for a rabbit that has been on a hay diet first, to have any problems using this method, but if you note softer stools that persist over a couple of days then you might want to remove that food from your bunny's diet. Keep a list as you go of the foods that your rabbit has successfully eaten you will then have a handy shopping list when you go to the store!
LIST OF POSSIBLE FOODS TO FEED
NOTE: It is always preferable to buy organic produce if at all possible. If collecting wild foods such as dandelion greens, make sure they are from a pesticide-free area. All fresh foods regardless of the source should be washed or scrubbed (in the case of hard vegetables) before serving them to your rabbit.
LEAFY GREENS
These foods should make up about 75% of the fresh portion of your rabbit's diet (about 1 packed cup per 2 lbs of body weight per day).
Leafy Greens I (need to be rotated due to oxalic acid content and only 1 out of three varieties of greens a day should be from this list)
Parsley
Spinach
Mustard greens
Beet greens
Swiss chard
Radish tops
Sprouts (from 1 to 6 days after sprouting, sprouts have higher levels of alkaloids)
Leafy Greens II (low in oxalic acid)
Arugula
Carrot tops
Cucumber leaves
Endive
Ecarole
Frisee Lettuce
Kale (all types)
Mache
Red or green lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Spring greens
Turnip greens
Dandelion greens
Mint (any variety)
Basil (any variety)
Watercress
Wheatgrass
Chicory
Raspberry leaves
Cilantro
Radicchio
Bok Choy
Fennel (the leafy tops as well as the base)
Borage leaves
Dill leaves
Yu choy
NON-LEAFY VEGETABLES
These should be no more then about 15 % of the diet (About 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day).
Chinese pea pods (the flat kind without large peas)
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage (any type)
Broccolini
Mushrooms (any cultivated type)
Summer squash
Zucchini squash
FRUITS
These should be no more then 10% of the diet (about 1 teaspoon per 2 lbs of body weight per day). NOTE: unless otherwise stated it is more nutritious to leave the skin on the fruit (particularly if organic), just wash thoroughly. IF you are in doubt about the source of the fruit and you are concerned about chemicals in the skin, then remove it.
Apple (any variety)
Cherries (any variety)
Pear
Peach
Plum
Kiwi
Papaya
Mango
Berries (any type)
Berries (uncooked)
Pineapple (remove skin)
Banana (remove peel; no more then about 2 1/8 inch slices a day for a 5 lb rabbit…they LOVE this!)
New zeland White / California White
มีลักษณะตัวขาว ตาแดง (กระต่ายเผือก) เมื่อโตเต็มที่หนักประมาณ 4 - 5 กิโลกรัม
นิยมใช้ในการทดลองยาเนื่องจากเห็นเส้นเลือดบริเวณหูชัดเจน บ้างเลี้ยงเป็นกระต่ายเนื้อ เลี้ยงไว้ดูเล่นได้
Chart of 144 Rabbit Coat Colors And Their Genotypes
Below is the most extensive color family chart on this website. It contains most of the rabbit colors you might think of, though there are some exceptions. For example, there are no “steel” colors listed. You can take any of the “E-” full-extension colors (e.g., black) and add “steel-tipped” to the name, changing the E to Es (The only exception is the chestnut, which is A- B- C- D- E-; if you change the “E” to “Es” the color is actually called “steel” rather than “steel-tipped chestnut”). There are no “tri” color rabbits on this chart either. This chart only uses the A, B, C, D, and E genes. The BEW gene, Broken gene, silver gene, Dutch gene, and Wide band gene are not included. You can find a more extensive list in “A book About Bunny Colors” — but this list will cover most of the colors you encounter. Note that the names of different colors vary a little from breed to breed, so feel free to ask us if you have a question about a color.
Each line on the chart contains one color family. They vary only by the color gene (C, cchd, cchl ch or c). The genotypes are listed with dashes for a missing equally dominant or less dominant gene. Notice that the far right column contains “REW” regardless of the other genes involved.
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world.
There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, endangered species on Amami Ōshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares, make up the order Lagomorpha.
The rabbit lives in many areas around the world. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren. Meadows, woods, forests, thickets, and grasslands are areas in which rabbits live. They also inhabit deserts and wetlands. More than half the world’s rabbit population resides in North America. They also live in Europe, India, Sumatra, Japan, and parts of Africa. The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.
The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype, as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies.
Unbelievable, how bunny-droppings can cause a sensational biologic discovery!
Why does a bunny hides easter eggs? So far, the question is only solved from a cultural and social perspective. Both the bunny and the egg are symbols of fertility, and they somehow got together in the 17th century. A biological explanation is never seriously been researched. Actually, we also found the answer just by accident.
First, we just wanted to know why our bunny friend Willi produces such perfectly round droppings. An X-ray showed us that he internalized the mechanics of a marble mill! Does the species “Lepus Mechanica” excist?
To support our thesis that we discovered a species, rather then a single mutated exemplar, we went searching for a second bunny with this sophisticated mechanic. Accidentally, an old rabbit was digging around in our Quatschquarry, who volunteered to be X-rayed. We were shocked to find out that he was internally equipped with all the machines to grind, cast, rotate and spray.
Obviously, the Lepus Mechanica has developed itself in the cause of the evolution into an Easter egg bunny (“Lepus Pascha Ovum”). If he reproduces himself as fast as other type of rabbits, you will soon find chocolate eggs after Easter. Just keep searching!
Several characteristics of the rabbit make it an excellent model for study. This will be further explored in "The History of Model Use" section of this page. Many studies have resulted in the development and improvement of various micro-manipulation techniques such as the production of transgenic rabbits. Unlike many other species such as the chick or rat, relatively little is known about the development of a rabbit. Nevertheless, it is still an appropriate animal model as the results from many experiments are significant to that of other mammals, including humans. (55)
A rabbits potential for reproduction is high, breeding from the early stages of 3 to 4 months of age. A mature female rabbit can be pregnant from 6 to 8 months in a year, producing up to 30 to 40 young in this time. (56)
This list page enables you to scroll down the diseases of lagomorphs (rabbits, hares and pikas). The diseases are grouped together, first indicating COMMON DISEASES AND REASONS FOR PRESENTATION, then with SIMILAR DISEASES DEFINED BY THE MAIN SIGNS OR SYSTEM AFFECTED e.g. all the diseases causing mainly respiratory signs or respiratory system pathology are in the group "Respiratory Diseases", and arranged by alphabetical order within the groups, and finally grouped by DISEASE AGENT TYPE (viral, bacterial etc.) again organised alphabetically within each group.
Rabbits and their relatives belong to the scientific group Lagomorphs (order Lagomorpha). This term is used to refer to the rabbit, hare and pika species collectively. The order Lagomorpha contains two families: the Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and the Ochotonidae (pikas). This differentiation is of relevance because there may be differences between families in their biology, management, diseases and drug responses.
Rabbits are fast-moving, big-eared mammals. There are about 25 different species of rabbits. They live in a variety of environments, including deserts, swamps, marshes, forests, grasslands, and prairies. Rabbits are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Most rabbits live for about a year in the wild. They are hunted by dogs, foxes, raccoons, weasels, bobcats, lynxes, hawks, and eagles. They have a fast reproductive rate. Anatomy: Rabbits range in size from 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) long. They have very big and powerful hind legs which they use for hopping and for digging burrows. Diet: Rabbits are herbivores (plant-eaters). They eat grass, leaves, bark, and twigs. Classification: Kingdom Animalia (animals), Phylum Chordata (having a notochord), Class Mammalia (mammals), order Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas), Family Leporidae (rabbits and hares), many Genera.
Kale, mustard greens, and spinach contain high levels of oxalates (the salts of oxalic acid), which can accumulate in the system and cause toxicity over time. Rather than eliminating these veggies from your list (because they are highly nutritious and loved by most rabbits), limit your use of them to 1 or 2 meals per week.