Rabbit color genetics baffle people. While they're straightforward when broken down, it takes studying to get to that point. Add the fact that many Angora colors are called different names than other breeds, and even more than that, appear different due to wool, and you have a mess on your hands.

Here are some general color breeding rules. To explore the genetic codes behind the colors, I'm going to refer you to Betty Chu's great site. I have grouped these by color groups. For a beginning breeder, keep within your color groups! You'll get better color overall.

Selfs

Lett's start with basics. Black and Chocolate are the basics. Every color is either black based or chocolate based. Blue and lilac are dilutes of Black and Chocolate. Dilutes are recessive, meaning both parents have to carry the gene to produce one. Chocolate and lilac will have a ruby cast to their eye in certain lights, and a correct lilac is a pinkish gray. Blue is a deep dark gray.

Breed to:

Self
Tort
Agouti
Pointed

Don't breed to:
Sable
Smoke Pearl
Chin


Black Satin Angora

Chocolate Satin Angora

Blue Satin Angora

Lilac Satin Angora

Tort

Tort is a self with a non-extension gene added. This means that the color is not-extended all the way through the coat. Instead, it manifests full color only in certain areas.

Breed To:
Torts
Selfs
Agouti (to get fawn, red and cream)

Do not Breed To:
Pointed White
Chin

Black Tort Satin Angora

Chocolate Tort Satin Angora

Blue Tort French Angora

Lilac tort Satin Angora

Agouti

Agouti is dominant to self. Only one parent has to be agouti to produce agouti offspring. A rabbit can not however 'carry' Agouti. Agoutis vary in ring color, and brightness. Again, Chestnut (black based) agouti, the self explanatory chocolate agouti are your base colors. Opal is the dilute (blue) version of chestnut) and lynx is the dilute (lilac) version of chocolate agouti. Note: Chestnut and Copper are the same genetically in Angoras, the difference is basically the rufus level.

Breed to:

Agoutis
Selfs

Don't breed to:
Pointed
Pearl
Sable
Smoke Pearl
Tort

Satin Angora Chestnut Rings

Copper Satin Angora

Satin Angora Chocolate Agouti

Chestnut Agouti English Angoras

Opal Satin Angora

Satin Angora Lynx

High Rufus Chocolate Agouti Satin Angora

Red/Fawn

Reds, fawn and cream are the offshoot of Agoutis. They have the Agouti gene, the Non extension gene, and a W (wideband) gene. They are beautiful when correctly bred. They can all be black, or chocolate based. Typically chocolate based reds are cleaner in color with less smut. Cream is the dilute version. Note: Genetically Red and Fawn are the same in angoras. The difference is the modifiers.

Breed To:
Red
Fawn
Cream
Agouti
Tort
Ideally only breed to Reds to reds to intensify color.

Do Not Breed To:

Sable
Smoke Pearl
Chin
Pointed

Red Satin Angora

Fawn Satin Angora

Cream French Angora

Chocolate Tort, Fawn, and Red babies. When evaluating color, especially angoras, it is very important to look at babies young. Reds and fawns are born hot pink, fawns growing out to a straw or gold color, reds getting darker. Chocolate torts can masquerade as reds, but their dark tails will give them away. Chocolate agoutis can also be mistaken for reds but are born chocolate.

Chinchilla

Chinchilla. What a beautiful color. Of course nothing is quite as simple as it seems, and nothing confuses people more than the C locus of colors. The best idea is to think of the C locus as a choose your own adventure. The beginning of the story is the simple cc. This is Ruby Eyed White. This gene we will explain in a bit. You can choose which adventure to take: chl (sable), chd (chinchilla) or ch (pointed). You can only however choose one. A rabbit can not carry two of these.

Breed to:

Chinchilla
REW (ideally agouti based)

Do Not Breed To:

ANYTHING ELSE

Black Chinchilla Satin Angora

Chocolate Chinchilla Satin Angora

Squirrel Satin Angora

Lilac Chinchilla Satin Angora

L-R Chinchilla English Angoras Black chin, squirrel, Chocolate Chin, Lilac Chin, Pearl, Ermine

Pointed White

Another C locus gene is ch. ch is pointed white. This color is probably the most straightforward of the c genes besides REW.

Breed to:
REW (non agouti based)
Self
Sable

DO NOT BREED TO:

Tort
Any Agouti

Black Pointed White

Chocolate Pointed White

Sable

Sable is yet another C locus gene (getting the confusion yet?)

Sables are chl gene. This is Chinchilla light.

Breed to:

REW (non agouti based)
Pointed White

DO NOT BREED TO:
Agouti

Sable French Angora

Smoke Pearl French Angora

Ruby Eyed White

Ruby Eyed White is the base of the C locus.
It's not really a color, but instead picture it as a bunny in a Halloween costume. He got bored, and decided to be a ghost. What he is underneath.. Well that depends on his genes, and only test breeding can uncover that. There are a few colors he can NOT be, the rest of those on the c locus. Because a REW is cc. Any other c locus gene, will make that color appear. So we know he can not be, or carry, chin, sable, pointed white, pearl, or seal.

Anything else is fair game.

Breed to: compatible colors to what he is underneath. Judicious knowledge of his pedigree is needed.

REW English Angora

REW French Angora

REW Satin Angora