Shaded Group
Solids
| Few Days Old | Few Weeks Old | Adult Color |
| Sable Point, aaB_c(chl)_D_ee | ||
| "Color is to be a rich sepia brown on the nose, ears, feet, legs, and tail. Marking color is to shade rapidly to a rich cream body color. The entire body is to be a creamy color, with white undercolor. Some slightly darker shading is permissible on the saddle, but highly undesirable. Body surface color is to be lighter than the point color to give the proper contrast. Eyes: Brown." | ||
Bottom to top: Tort, Black, Sable Point. 
Sable Point kit at 8 days old. |
 Pix courtesy of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. 
Three weeks old. Click Here to watch a Sable Point kit grow up. 
Picture courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. Left to right: Smoke Pearl, Sable Point, Blue Point at 4-weeks old. |
3.5 month old Sable Point buck - GBF's Kuala Bear. |
| Siamese Sable, aaB_c(chl)_D_E_ | ||
| "The surface color is to be a rich sepia brown on the head, ears, back, legs and top of the tail. The surface color will fade to a lighter sepia on the sides, chest, belly, inside of legs, and underside of the tail. Dark face color is to fade from the eyes to the jaws and all blending of color is to be gradual and free from blotches or streaks. The undercolor will be slightly lighter than the surface color. Eyes: Brown." | ||
These can be tricky! Shown left to right: Orange, Siamese Sable, Broken Opal, Blue, and Black Tort kits at 9 days old. The Siamese Sable and Blue look identical at first, but then the SS gets a shimmery cast to its coat (note the shimmery cast on the kit in this pix). Then it develops white ticking almost on the ends of its hair. It goes through several color changes before looking like a Siamese Sable. 
Sable Point on the left, and 4 Siamese Sables. Pix courtesy of Katie Boswell. |
5-weeks old. Shown left to right: Siamese Sable, Seal and Smoke Pearl kits. Pix courtesy of Amy Hinkle. 
Note the shimmery cast to the ends of fur. Pix courtesy of Melody Cox Knieriem. 
Pix courtesy of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. Click Here to watch a Siamese Sable kit grow up. |
 GBF's Houdini.  GBF's Dust Devil. |
| Seal, aaB_c(chl)c(chl)D_E_ | ||
| "Color is to be a rich sepia (almost black) saddle, shading to a slightly paler flank, chest and blly. Color is to go well down the hairshaft, with undercolor to match shadings throughout. Saddle color is to extend from the nape of the neck to the tail. Eyes: Brown." | ||
1-day old. Seal (dark kit), two Sable Points and a Smoke Pearl kit. Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. |
Shown left to right: Seal, Siamese Sable, Sable Point.
5-weeks old. Shown left to right: Siamese Sable, Seal and Smoke Pearl kits. Pix courtesy of Amy Hinkle. 
2-weeks old. Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. 
Seal, two Sable Points, and a Smoke Pearl (has his head laying on his sibling). Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. 
Black vs Seal. 15-days old. Seal on the left; black on the right. |
3 month old Seal buck - GBF's Handsom Ransom. 
Muddy Creeks Moxie. Pix courtesty of Christina Hallock. How do you tell a Black from a Seal? Check the eye color. The Seal will have a ruby cast. Or, per an article on the HLRSC site: "To determine black or seal color on the adult rabbit check the color on the bottom of the feet. The true black will have a grayish color there while the true seal will be a chocolaty brown color." |
| Smoke Pearl, aaB_c(chl)_ddE_ | ||
| "The surface color is to be a rich smoke gray on the head, ears, back, legs and top of the tail. The surface color will fade to a pearl gray on the sides, chest, belly, inside of legs, and underside of the tail. Dark face color is to fade from the eyes to the jaws and all blending of color is to be gradual and free from blotches or streaks. The undercolor will be slightly lighter than the surface color. Eyes: Blue-gray." | ||
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Seal, two Sable Points, and a Smoke Pearl (has his head laying on his sibling). Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. |
5-weeks old. Shown left to right: Siamese Sable, Seal and Smoke Pearl kits. Pix courtesy of Amy Hinkle. 
Shown left to right: Smoke Pearl and two Siamese Sable kits. Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. 
Shown left to right: Siamese Sable and two Smoke Pearl kits. Pix courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. |
Pix courtesty of Amber at Red Holland Lop Odyssey. |
| Chocolate Sable, aa bb c(chl)_ D_ E_ | ||
| NON-SHOWABLE color. Genetically the same as a Siamese Sable, except that it is chocolate instead of black. | ||
14-days old. Chocolate Sable on left, Chocolate on right. The shimmer has come to the ends of the fur on the Chocolate Sable. 
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Pix to come as I grow up. | 
GBF's Lumina, same kit shown at 14-days. Genetically she is aabbc(chl)cD_Ee - out of a Chocolate x Chocolate Tort breeding. |
| Blue Point, aaB_c(chl)_ddee | ||
| Beautiful, NON-SHOWABLE color. | ||
Picture courtesy of Daisy Patch Rabbits. Left to right: sable point, black tort, and blue point with of course the broken black tort in front. 
10-days old. Picture courtesy of Olive Tree Lops. |
Picture courtesy of Becca Kohlenberger. Left to right: Smoke Pearl, Sable Point, Blue Point at 4-weeks old. Aren't they adorable? |
Fairway's Zeus. Picture courtesy of Mythical Lops Rabbitry. Note the bluish cast to the markings. 
MTS Holland's Macey. This picture shows very well the blue cast to the nose markings. Picture courtesy of Blue Sapphire Rabbitry. 
Daisy Patch's Orla. Picture courtesy of Daisy Patch Rabbits. |
| Chocolate Point, aa bb c(chl)_ D_ ee | ||
| Beautiful, NON-SHOWABLE color. Genetically the same as a Sable Point, except that it is chocolate instead of black. | ||
Left to right: Chocolate Sable, Chocolate Tort, and Chocolate Point. 
Chocolate Point kit at 14-days old. |
Chocolate Point at 5-weeks old. |
Muddy Creeks Nevaeh. Picture courtesy of Christina Hallock. |
| Lilac Point, aa bb c(chl)_ dd ee | ||
| Beautiful, NON-SHOWABLE color. Genetically the same as a Sable Point, except that it is Lilac instead of black. | ||
The darker kit is a Lilac. The lighter kit turned out to be a Lilac Point. Pix courtesy of Clover Field Farm. |
 Pix courtesy of Clover Field Farm.  Pix courtesy of Clover Field Farm. |
Waiting for this little guy to grow up. |
| For all torts: "Color is to be a clean, bright orange on the saddle, blending into a shading of darker color over the lower rump and haunches. The top color is to carry down and blend into a dark cream undercolor next to the skin. Top of the tail is to match the body color. Underside of the tail is to match shadings, as near as possible. Shading on the head is darkest at the whisker bed, blending into a lighter shade along the jaw line, and darkening again at the ear base, blending up the ears to match body color." | ||
| Black Tort, aaB_C_D_ee | "Eyes: Brown." | |
Litter of four healthy, fat black torts. |
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 White River's Darby - beautiful bodied black tort. 
Comparison of a Black Tort (left) and Chocolate Tort (right). |
| Blue Tort, aaB_C_ddee | ||
| "Eyes: Blue-gray." | ||
Nine day old Blue Tort on bottom, Opal at top. 
Tummy of 9 day old Blue Tort. |
Same Blue Tort buck at 7 weeks of age. |
Blue Tort buck. |
| Chocolate Tort, aabbC_D_ee | ||
| "Eyes: Brown." | ||
Eight-day old kit.  Chocolate Tort, Sable Point, Broken Blue kits at 8-days. |
 GBF's Pendleton. |
Holland Haven's Copper. Pix courtesy of Amy Hinkle. 
Chocolate tort holland. Pix taken at 2010 ARBA Convention. |
| Lilac Tort, aabbC_ddee | ||
| "Eyes: Blue-gray." | ||
Left to Right: Chocolate, Chocolate Tort, Lilac Tort, Lilac. Pix courtesy of Laura Lyon. 4-days old. 
Top to Bottom: Lilac Tort, Lilac, Chocolate Tort, Chocolate. Pix courtesy of Laura Lyon. 4-days old. |
Blue, Lilac Tort and Blue kits. |
Such a pretty color. |
Brokens
| Few Days Old | Few Weeks Old | Adult Color |
| Broken Sable Point | ||
Two broken sable points, solid tort, and solid sable point. Pix courtesy of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. 
Broken Black, Broken Tort, Broken Sable Point, Broken Tort, Broken Black. Pix courtesy of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. |
10 weeks old. GBF's Calamity Jane. 
Pix courtesy of Katie Boswell. |
GBF's Catastrophe. She is a much cleaner Sable Point, plus she has more white, making her look almost like a Himi. |
| Broken Siamese Sable | ||
| Need pix. | Need pix. | 
Pix courtesy of Laura Lyon. |
| Broken Seal | ||
| Missed my photo op. | Missed my photo op. |
Certainly helps to know the genetics of the parents when it comes to identifying a Seal. They sure can look black...but they are not. Pix courtesy of Katie Boswell. 
Max-D Cookies n Cream. Pix courtesy of Max-D Holland Lops. |
| Broken Smoke Pearl | ||
Pix courtesy of Katie Boswell. |
Need pix. | Need pix. |
| Broken Blue Point | ||
| Need pix. | 
Pix courtesy of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. |
Need pix. |
| Broken Black Tort | ||
Lighter brown color on the back, shading to the darker sepia brown/black on the sides, interspersed with white. GBF's Bridgette. |
GBF's Emmet - gorgeous broken tort buck. |
ELS's Lucy - very nice broken tort doe. |
| Broken Blue Tort | ||
Broken black, black, blue, broken blue tort. Bluish cast with some beige on his back. |
Bluish cast with some beige on her back. |
Pix courtesy of Melody Cox Knieriem. |
| Broken Chocolate Tort | ||
12-days. Broken chocolate tort is on top (GBF's Gobi); broken chocolate agouti on bottom. |
Two broken chocolate torts pictured with their solid black tort sibling. 
A young buck. |
GBF's Gobi. 
GBF's Merkava. You can see the tort shading on her nose quite well. 
Chocolate torts are a nice bright, almost pumpkin color. |
| Broken Lilac Tort | ||
5-weeks. ARR's Jess. Pix courtesy of Amy Hinkle. |
ARR's Jess all grown up. Note the dove-gray coloring around the nose. |
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Holland Lop Colors
Shaded Hollands have darker color on the feet, ears, tail, and head. These areas fade to a lighter shade on the rest of the body.
The genes responsible for creating the shaded effect on the Sable Points, Siamese Sables and Smoke Pearls is the Light Chinchilla gene (often referred to as the Shaded Gene). The torts get their shaded coloring from the Self (aa) and Non-extension (ee) genes working together.
Recent Updates:
Lilac Point kit and several week pix 1/8/2013.
Broken Seal, Chocolate Sable - 12/10/2012.
Comparison Photos:
Broken Chocolate Tort, Lilac, and Broken Blue Tort. Notice in particular, the color difference on the ears between the chocolate and blue torts.
Blue Tort, Chocolate Tort, and Black Tort.
Chocolate Sable, Chocolate, Chocolate Point, and Chocolate Tort. Notice the 'shimmer' on the Chocolate Sable that the self Chocolate does not have. Chocolate Sables & Chocolate Points are not recognized colors.
Genetics of TORT Colors
ALL TORT colors are ALWAYS a minimum of: aa -- C- -- ee.
A basic BLACK TORT is aaB-C-D-ee.
To make a CHOCOLATE TORT, you simply change the B- to 'bb'. So, a Chocolate TORT is aabbC-D-ee. Remember, the B-series has only two alleles, "B" for BLACK and "b" for BROWN (otherwise known as chocolate for us Holland folks). The chocolate allele is recessive, so for it to show itself there MUST be two of them. So, to be a Chocolate ANYTHING, it must be "bb" in the B-series.
To make a BLUE TORT, you simply change the D- to 'dd'. So, a Blue TORT is aaB-C-ddee. The D-series is very simple, just like the B-series. There is only "D", meaning dense, and "d" for dilute. The dilute allele is recessive, so for it to show itself, there MUST be two of them. So, to be Blue ANYTHING, it must be "dd" in the D-series.
And, to make a LILAC TORT, you simply change BOTH the B- and D- to 'bb' and 'dd'. So, a Lilac TORT is aabbC-ddee. Anything Lilac, is ALWAYS both CHOCOLATE AND DILUTE.
Genetics of SHADED (non tort) Colors
ALL SHADED non-tort colors are ALWAYS a minimum of: aa -- c(chl)- -- --. They are always either "E" or "ee" in the E-series.
A basic SABLE POINT is aa B- c(chl)- D- ee. The ONLY difference between a Sable Point and a Siamese Sable is the Extension Gene in the E-series. A Sable Point is "ee". A Siamese Sable is "E".
A BLUE POINT (not currently a recognized color), is simply aa B- c(chl)_ dd ee. To make a Smoke Pearl, you simply change the "ee" to full extension, "E".
Although these colors are NOT recognized, the same logic applies: A Chocolate Point is simply aa bb c(chl) D- ee. A Chocolate Sable gets an "E" instead of "ee". And, a LILAC POINT? aa bb c(chl)_ dd ee. A Lilac Sable? Simply change the "ee" to "E".
This is where the light-chinchilla allele, the c(chl), gets a bit more complicated. MOST color alleles in rabbits coat color genetics, are either DOMINANT or RECESSIVE. Dominant means they are the strongest - they hide the other allele it is paired with. Recessive means, "I'm easily covered up by something else - in order to see me, I have to be paired with another just like me, or something even more recessive then myself". Liken it to having three people of various heights - someone 6 ft, another 5 ft and a child at 4 ft tall. Stand them behind each other, tallest to shortest. The 6ft person is the most 'dominant' - that is the only person you will see because he hides the shorter, more 'recessive', people behind him. Now, if you take him out of line, you can now see the 5 ft person, but not the 4ft. The 5 ft person is recessive to the 6 ft, but you can see him when paired with the shorter 4ft person. And the only way you will see the 4ft child, is if he is paired with someone his own height, or shorter. Make sense? That's the concept of Dominant and Recessive.
However, the c(chl) allele is INCOMPLETELY DOMINANT. It can be affected by a pairing with itself and sometimes lesser dominant alleles. When TWO c(chl) alleles pair up in a rabbit, this creates the color called SEAL.
A SEAL, would have the genotype of aa B- c(chl)c(chl) D- E-. A SEAL POINT would be aaB-c(chl)c(chl)D-ee. The same logic applies to changing the Seal to a Blue Seal or Chocolate Seal as we went through above. You simply change the B and D-series alleles to "bb" or "dd". Many times, what people call a 'dark sable point', is most likely a Seal Point.