12.5 %

A 12.5% chance of something interesting.

Today I bred Thistle, our ruby-eyed white buck, to Dandelion, our fawn colored doe. What an experience. I actually felt a little awkward about watch two rabbits "do the deed", but now I know what to look for. When they say the buck falls off the doe when it's all over... they mean it. He literally fell on his side. It was kind of amusing actually.

As someone who has always had neutered or spayed animals, it is so foreign to purposely put two animals together to achieve more animals. Babies are what you usually don't want. But now my mind is being reformed and a litter of rabbits is hopefully on the way.

Rabbits take about thirty days to gestate but can deliver kits anywhere from 27-34 days after conception. We'll see! Dandelion's litter should arrive around February 25th. Originally I wanted to breed Clementine first, but she isn't old enough yet and Dandelion is.

So about that 12.5%. Dandelion and Thistle's litter has a 50% chance of being Ruby-eyed Whites and a 12.5% chance of being an interesting color. While Ruby-eyed Whites are necessary for certain breeding pairs, let's admit that they aren't the most fascinating to find in the box. These colors are grouped together by genetic possibilities and I won't confuse you with the details of color genetics... because honestly, I don't fully understand it myself. Here's a little list of what might show up:

12.5% chance of
Chestnut, Opal, Fawn, Orange, Red

12.5% chance of
Black, Blue, Tortiseshell, Blue Tort.

12.5% chance of
Chestnut, Lynx, Opal, Fawn, Orange, Red

12.5% chance of
Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Tortiseshell, Blue Tort., Chocolate Tort., Lilac Tort.

50% chance of
Ruby-eyed White

I'm rolling the dice for Orange or Red or Black! How cool would black angora yarn be? I know!