Kit updates!

PROGRESS

Well the kits are doing better since I began helping Blue to nurse twice a day and making sure the skinny ones ate. I thought we might lose 5 in addition to the one runt that died on day one. Now I believe we will have 7 healthy kits, as we have two runts still that are not doing well with their mom's reduced amount of nipples. I may in fact go ahead and pick up some KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) and help these two along. Most rabbits are in the 3-4 oz range, and are growing nicely. One is five ounces, #7, and is the biggest in the litter. He/she is pictured below, under the surprises heading! General nest box pictures:

SURPRISES!

In this litter we expected self blue (dark grey all over wool & face & body), & lilac (diluted self blue, looks lighter grey but uniform color as well) for sure. We got some surprises as well! We should be expecting blue, blue tortoiseshell, lilac, smoke pearl, red-eye-white, pointed white, and lilac tortoiseshell, I believe.


First off we have 2 rabbits, rabbits #7 & 8, that are very very light grey in color, with white tummies, white eye rings around the eye, and white undersides of tails. They have darker grey (in the lilac range of grey) ears outside of the white inner. They also have a lilac-looking spot covering their noses, and may have white nose bars along the very edge of noses.
I am just now starting to understand and study rabbit color genetics, and from what I can gather at this point they may be chinchillas, or some other variety I was not expecting. From what I read, rabbits with white tummies/ears/nose bars/tail undersides are Agouti-based in coloring, and that it is obvious from birth. You can just tell in the tummy picture that the wool is slightly darker on the top than the stomach. It is very obvious in the top picture, you can tell the inner ears are lighter. Since I am not expecting Agouti-based colors of any kind due to rabbit genetics, I must assume these two rabbits are smoke pearl, like their mother Blue. Although, the whiteness throws me. Pictures:



Another surprise is rabbit #6, which is a very dark grey as in self grey (like his dad Winchester), with a white tummy, white tail underside, white inner ears, white eye rings, and white nose bars. Again, from what I read something in the Agouti range of colors. Which should not be possible with our rabbit genetics. I have no idea what to color to call this rabbit. More to come soon! Pictures: