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 permission of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. Three weeks old. Click Here to watch a Sable Point kit grow up. Picture permission 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 permission of Katie Boswell.	5-weeks old. Shown left to right: Siamese Sable, Seal and Smoke Pearl kits. Pix permission of Amy Hinkle. Note the shimmery cast to the ends of fur. Pix permission of Melody Cox Knieriem. Pix permission 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 permission 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 permission of Amy Hinkle. 2-weeks old. Pix permission of Becca Kohlenberger. Seal, two Sable Points, and a Smoke Pearl (has his head laying on his sibling). Pix permission 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 permission 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."
Seal, two Sable Points, and a Smoke Pearl (has his head laying on his sibling). Pix permission of Becca Kohlenberger.	14-days old. In the "shimmery" stage. Kit was a very pale blue at a few days of age. 5-weeks old. Shown left to right: Siamese Sable, Seal and Smoke Pearl kits. Pix permission of Amy Hinkle. Shown left to right: Smoke Pearl and two Siamese Sable kits. Pix permission of Becca Kohlenberger.	Pix permission 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.	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 permission 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 permission of Olive Tree Lops.	Picture permission of Becca Kohlenberger. Left to right: Smoke Pearl, Sable Point, Blue Point at 4-weeks old. Aren't they adorable?	Fairway's Zeus. Picture permission 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 permission of Blue Sapphire Rabbitry. Daisy Patch's Orla. Picture permission 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 permission 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 permission of Clover Field Farm.	Pix permission of Clover Field Farm. Pix permission 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 Tortoise, aaB_C_D_ee
"Eyes: Brown."
Litter of four healthy, fat black torts.		GBF's Springfield. Comparison of a Black Tort (left) and Chocolate Tort (right).
Blue Tortoise, 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 Tortoise, aabbC_D_ee
"Eyes: Brown."
Three chocolate tort kits. Eight-day old kit. Chocolate Tort, Sable Point, Broken Blue kits at 8-days.	GBF's Pendleton.	GBF's Sheridan. Holland Haven's Copper. Pix permission of Amy Hinkle.
Lilac Tortoise, aabbC_ddee
"Eyes: Blue-gray."
Left to Right: Chocolate, Chocolate Tort, Lilac Tort, Lilac. Pix permission of Laura Lyon. 4-days old. 2 Broken Chocolate, 1 Broken Lilac Tort, 1 Lilac Tort, 1 Broken Chocolate PW. Pix generously provided with permission from Bradley Clapp of Eight Points Rabbitry.	Blue, Lilac Tort and Blue kits.	Above pix generously provided with permission from Bradley Clapp of Eight Points Rabbitry.

Brokens

Few Days Old	Few Weeks Old	Adult Color
Broken Sable Point
Two broken sable points, solid tort, and solid sable point. Pix permission of Fisher Farms Rabbitry. Broken Black, Broken Tort, Broken Sable Point, Broken Tort, Broken Black. Pix permission of Fisher Farms Rabbitry.	10 weeks old. GBF's Calamity Jane. Pix permission 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.	Siamese Sables can vary greatly in their shading. This doe is very dark, but is a known REW carrier. Above two pictures permission 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 permission of Katie Boswell. Max-D Cookies n Cream. Pix permission of Max-D Holland Lops.
Broken Smoke Pearl
Pix permission of Katie Boswell.	Need pix.	Need pix.
Broken Blue Point (non-showable)
Need pix.	Pix permission of Fisher Farms Rabbitry.	Need pix.
Broken Black Tortoise
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 Tortoise
Broken black, black, blue, broken blue tort. Bluish cast with some beige on his back.	Bluish cast with some beige on her back.	Pix permission of Melody Cox Knieriem.
Broken Chocolate Tortoise
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 Tortoise
2 Broken Chocolate, 1 Broken Lilac Tort, 1 Lilac Tort, 1 Broken Chocolate PW. Pix generously provided with permission from Bradley Clapp of Eight Points Rabbitry.	5-weeks. ARR's Jess. Pix permission of Amy Hinkle.	Pix generously provided with permission from Bradley Clapp of Eight Points Rabbitry.

Shaded Group Colors

Note that in the HL World, Tortoise colors are simply referred to as Torts. If it is a Black Tort, breeders typically just say 'tort', as black is the most common. The other colors of torts, are specially spelled out (or should be anyway) - Blue Tort, Chocolate Tort, Lilac Tort.

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 or Sable gene). The torts get their shaded coloring from the Self (aa) and Non-extension (ee) genes working together.

Recent Updates:

Smoke Pearl kit - April 24, 2021

Black Tort, Solid Lilac Tort, Broken Lilac Tort, Broken Lilac Tort kits - March 28, 2021

Smoke Pearl youngster, Broken Siamese Sable - March 30, 2021

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 TORTOISE Colors

TORTOISE (tort for short) 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 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 impacted 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.