# My Black isnt Black?



## GBov (May 4, 2008)

And I cant post images - how long do I have to be a member before that gets unlocked? - but I will describe him.

He was sold to me as a NZ Black and his under coat is black but his outer hair is brownish reddish. 

His two sons in the grow out cage are nice and black but one is now growing his frosting of brownish hairs.

Was it a case of sell it to the newbie cause she wont know any better or is he something else, color wise?


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Was he outside? They'll sunbleach and turn brown. Give him a lot of protein like hulled sunflower seeds or if the person was only using 16% pellets 18% plus legume (alfalfa or clover) hay and you might force a molt. Then he'll grow his true coat and you can see if he's black or blue.. until you put him in the sun again.


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## EnnisLakeFarm (Jul 18, 2010)

Could it just be "rust"? If my Silver Fox gets any sunlight she gets a brownish reddish tint to her coat. It goes back to black when she sheds/molts.


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## arachyd (Feb 1, 2009)

I was also thinking sun bleached him. Is he dark on the belly?


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

This can also occur if they pee on their feeders and rub on it or pee on each other.

Really blacks need to be kept in very low light in order to maintain true black.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

I have two littermates. Both were solid black when young.
Now they are grown. The buck remained as black as ever. The doe is now a dark brown, black undercoat.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Most likely it's sun bleaching or moult.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

He is outside but in a shaded area. Will all blacks go rusty? We got two girls and have his two sons in the grow out pen that is MUCH more sunny than the breeder pens so it will be intresting to see if they rust too.

Rusty rabbits eh? Who'd o'thunk it!


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Outside in a shaded area may not be enough. There are a lot of reflected light rays that can still damage the fur.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Maybe agouti? I also recently bought a purbred "broken black" NZ buck that had a questionable coat. He is maturing into having a lot of brown hairs (wild rabbit coloring, not red). His breeders rabbits were all purebred/pedigreed, but he had a few mismarked adult agouti NZ in his barn. Mine has a blue/gray undercoat. I was hoping he would produce blue down the line...maybe not.

He looks like a broken black from a distance.


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

probably sun. Rabbits and black cats will both turn brownish if they are in sunlight.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Outside in the shade will not keep your blacks black. In order to maintain black without brown cast, they must be in a darkened and shadowy building.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

They'll still sunbleach some. Plus shade when? Unless you've got a 4 sided building with a roof you get sun on your cages sometime and then you've got windows in most buildings. If you want black rabbits they've got to be in a building away from a window. Chocolates will do it too. Mocha when we got him 
















The doe Twix who wasn't quite as bad









In a stable with no windows and just sliding doors at the far ends, along with a picture of the doe having been kept in the house so we have kits to play with all the time



















The difference is night and day between indoor and outdoor dark colored rabbits.

Note- camera dates are incorrect due to one losing battery and not setting the date on a new one a year later


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

My buck is black. Not the least bit of bleaching out.
He free ranges, no cage at all.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

What breed is he pancho?


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

We used to have seal Mini Rex. Yes, they're supposed to have a brown tint, but none of them rusted out to a light brown color like that, and all ours were outside. Some under solid roofing, some under that white hard plastic garden roofing stuff... They all had a dark, rich, black coloring with a brown hint, and brown undercoats... :shrug:


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

I"m not sure what it's called but I have that color in my NZ rabbits. It's basically a black rabbit with brownish tips and it's beautiful looking fur. They've lived their entire lives in the garage so it's not sun bleaching. I thought it was called steel but I"m not sure. The first of these rabbits came out of a blue buck and red doe.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Do they look like either of these?  










Agouti NZ doe



















Gold Tipped Steel buck - 50%NZW, 50% SF

Both of these colors can result from crossing NZW with other colors of NZ.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

And number three is the winner for the rabbit color match-a-long lol.

Was talking to a breeder and he said that the more I breed black to black the more black my blacks will be.

But have to admit, I LOVE his color!

All my hides are in the freezer until I either find a cheap place to tan them for me or til I get the time to do it myself. I am then going to make a blanket from them all so I love having all the different colors. In my head the blanket is right pretty


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> What breed is he pancho?


Don't know, just a big black rabbit.
I think the doe is an agouti by looking at the pics above.
They run free in my back yard.
I think the doe has babies as I saw her carrying some hay under my work shop last week. Guess I will know in a few weeks.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

If she is agouti, then when you blow into her fur, there will be bands of color.
She should also have a distinct colored belly, usually white or cream.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Haven said:


> Maybe agouti? I also recently bought a purbred "broken black" NZ buck that had a questionable coat. He is maturing into having a lot of brown hairs (wild rabbit coloring, not red).


Here is the buck I spoke of, for comparison. Purebred NZ, 12 weeks.








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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

That broken looks Gold Tipped Steel (GTS). Could very well be purebred if there's a cross between white and black and/or red in the background.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

He's definitely purebred. The coat is turning brown more and more as he matures. At 6 weeks, he only had a few brown hairs on the back of the neck.


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## foxielady40 (Aug 9, 2015)

I have 3 Silver Fox does that were pure black when they were born. They are now almost 5 months old and the tips of their fur on the sides of their body and a patch on top of the head are brown. Is this caused from sun bleaching? I've also heard that it can be caused from high humidity. Two of them are litter mates and the hutch is not in direct sunlight at all times but does have some sun at the end of the day. The third is in it's own hutch and has some morning sun and afternoon shade. I also have a fourth doe who is also a sibling of these three and has remained black through out. Is there anything that can be done to make their fur return to the original black color? Will it change after they molt? I am new to rabbits and breeding and any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

foxielady40 said:


> I have 3 Silver Fox does that were pure black when they were born. They are now almost 5 months old and the tips of their fur on the sides of their body and a patch on top of the head are brown. Is this caused from sun bleaching? I've also heard that it can be caused from high humidity. Two of them are litter mates and the hutch is not in direct sunlight at all times but does have some sun at the end of the day. The third is in it's own hutch and has some morning sun and afternoon shade. I also have a fourth doe who is also a sibling of these three and has remained black through out. Is there anything that can be done to make their fur return to the original black color? Will it change after they molt? I am new to rabbits and breeding and any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.


Foxes will moult a dead coat of fur that often turns brown. Gets worse with urinating on each other (big litters especially), humidity, and sun exposure. It's pretty normal.


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