Color question on my Flemish giant!!

[Hnash031]

This is my Flemish buck and I am new to rabbits and wondering what color he would be considered? I was thinking chestnut but that doesn't seem to be an option for Flemish giants. I breed him to my light grey Flemish and I got a nice mix between the 2 colors just not sure what to call them! Thanks in advance!

 

[Bunnylady]

Your buck is a color that in Flemish is called Steel Gray. "Light Gray" is called Chinchilla in other breeds; "Steel Gray" is a Steeled version of Chin.

As you know, Flemish don't do "Chestnut," they do a much lighter version of it called "Sandy."

 

[Hnash031]

And that's what I thought but then I also have these babies who really don't fit!

 

[Bunnylady]

OK, I couldn't really see what was going on with the buck on the thumbnail . . . and I just learned how to get a better look (old dogs and new tricks, and all that).

Your buck is a straightforward, basic Steel (sometimes called a Gold-tipped Steel), which is not a showable color in the Flemish Giant. The Steel gene causes the black band at the tip of the hairs to extend further down the hair shaft, resulting in a darker than normal Agouti-type pattern. What would have been a Chestnut becomes a Steel, and a Chinchilla becomes a Silver-tipped Steel (called a Steel Gray in the Flemish).

The first kit you posted a picture of looks too dark to be a Sandy; I think it is a Chestnut. As you know, Chestnut is not a showable color in Flemish, and this is the reason one has to be careful about what colors one breeds together - there are possible gene combinations that result in non-showable colors. The second kit looks like a very dark Steel, but whether it is Gold- or Silver-tipped I can't tell.

 

[Rebecca Lemusaleman]

what if i want to mix the colors of my flemish giants to get a 2 tone or a callie can i do it i dont care if its not show able it is has a pet