Compatible Colors

If you intend to raise your rabbits to be showable (either by you or the people who buy them), it is a good idea to know not only the conformation and allowable colors of your breed, but also which colors go together.  Rabbit color genetics can be rather complicated, so I'm providing you a guide that should help you without requiring you to have a good understanding of those genetics.

I'll start with the colors most common to the meat breeds.

New Zealands come in red, white, and black, officially.  Blues are also in development.  White (also called REW or ruby-eyed white in some other breeds) rabbits bred to white rabbits will always produce whites.  The genes responsible for white completely masks what color the rabbit would otherwise be, so it's a bit of an experiment when you breed them to other colors.  Some New Zealand whites can be bred to reds, others to blacks and blues.  If possible, take a look at the rabbit's pedigree.  If there are any non-white colors in the pedigree, that white rabbit will most likely be safe to breed to rabbits of the color(s) listed on the pedigree.  In New Zealands, you don't want to cross the black/blue lines with the red lines because you will get chestnuts and opals, which are not recognized varieties.  Blacks and Blues can definitely be safely crossed in any breed.

Californians SHOULD only ever produce more rabbits with the Californian markings (black nose, feet, tail and ears).  Occasionally, though, you CAN get REWs if the line has been outcrossed (usually with New Zealand whites), but they're not accepted as Californians.  In breeds that recognize the Californian and REW coloring, this isn't as much of a problem.  You can usually tell if a Californian rabbit carries white because the markings will usually be smaller and/or lighter (although, don't confuse smaller marks caused by heat or lighter marks caused by non-black color).

Now, on to the more varied colors.  Satins and Rexes both accept a LOT of colors, as do the lops and angoras, and many other breeds.  This list is going to be long, so if you're wondering about a specific color, I suggest holding ctrl+F, then typing in the variety you're looking for into the prompt that shows up ("Find" function).  All colors are best bred to rabbits of the same color or to REWs with compatible parentage, but sometimes it's fun to mix it up a little bit.

Chestnut, also called castor in rex, copper in satin, and sandy in Flemish can carry just about any other color, so even breeding two together, you have the potential to get ANY color, depending on parentage.  It also means that if you use a chestnut, you will probably get a litter that is at least half chestnuts.  Chestnuts are most compatible with opals, chocolate chestnuts (also called amber in rex, cinnamon in other breeds), black otters, blacks, red/oranges (fawn in Flemish).  Pedigrees should show which other colors are in the rabbit's background to help determine which colors are best to breed to.  For instance, if you have a castor rex from a red parent, you probably won't want to cross it with a self or otter (unless you live in Britain where Fox, aka torted otter, is accepted), and it would probably be best to avoid crossing it with non-reds (however, I have heard that chocolate chestnut/amber/cinnamon can reduce smut in reds; the flipside, though, is that you end up with gold kits rather than red, which will never be as intense red--Gold is accepted for many lop breeds, but very little else).  Generally, though, as long as the chestnut is not from red lines, it can be safely crossed with any full-color agouti, otter or self.

Opal is most compatible with chestnut, blue and blue otter, fawn (not Flemish) but can also be crossed safely with lynx.  (You can also make lynx by crossing chocolate chestnuts with opals, although the color may take some work to get nice).

Chocolate chestnut, also called amber or cinnamon, is most compatible with chestnut, lynx (lilac agouti), chocolate, chocolate otter, and gold.

Lynx (lilac agouti) is most compatible with lilac, and cream.  Occasionally, it is desirable to cross them with chocolate chestnut (amber, cinnamon).

Black otter is most compatible with chestnut (castor, copper), blue otter, chocolate otter, and black.  If your breed accepts silver marten, and the rabbit does not carry self, you can cross with chinchilla. Do NOT cross with tortoiseshells or red/oranges.

Blue otter is most compatible with opal, black otter, and blue, and can be crossed with lilac otter. If your breed accepts blue silver marten, and the rabbit does not carry self, you can cross with squirrel. Do NOT cross with tortoiseshells or red/oranges.

Chocolate otter is most compatible with chocolate chestnut (amber, cinnamon), black otter, lilac otter, and chocolate.  Do NOT cross with tortoiseshells or red/oranges.

Lilac otter is most compatible with lynx and lilac and can be crossed with chocolate otter.  Do NOT cross with tortoiseshells or red/oranges.

Black is most compatible with chestnut (castor, copper, sandy), black otter, black tortoiseshell (often just called tort).  Most Flemish breeders will advise against breeding blacks with sandies, though.

Blue is most compatible with black, opal, blue otter, blue tortoiseshell.  It can also be safely crossed with lilac, black otter, tort.

Chocolate is most compatible with chocolate chestnut (amber, cinnamon), chocolate otter, chocolate tortoiseshell.  It can also be safely crossed with lilac, black.

Lilac is most compatible with lynx (lilac agouti), lilac otter, lilac tortoiseshell.  Many breeders recommend crossing with chocolate to intensify the color.

Red/Orange (called fawn in Flemish Giants) is most compatible with chestnut (castor, copper, sandy), fawn, gold, and black tortoiseshell, depending on which colors are accepted for the breed.

Fawn (not Flemish Giants) is most compatible with opal, red/orange, and blue tortoiseshell.  It can also be crossed with cream.

Gold is most compatible with chocolate chestnut, red/orange, cream, and chocolate tortoiseshell.

Cream is most compatible with lynx (lilac agouti), gold, and lilac tortoiseshell.


Black Chinchilla (called light gray in Flemish Giants, or just chinchilla in many breeds) is best bred to other chinchillas or REW, since most other accepted colors will result in smut (undesirable miscolored hairs).  For the breeds that have a wide variety of colors, they can be crossed with blue chinchilla (squirrel)  or chocolate chinchilla, frosted pearl, black silver marten.

Blue Chinchilla (squirrel) can be bred to black chinchilla, blue ermine, blue silver marten.

Chocolate chinchilla can be bred to black chinchilla, and lilac chinchilla, chocolate ermine, chocolate silver marten.

Lilac chinchilla can be bred to chocolate chinchilla, lilac ermine, lilac silver marten.

Black silver marten (called just silver marten in many breeds) can be bred to blue silver marten, chocolate silver marten, black chinchilla.

Blue silver marten can be bred to black silver marten, blue chinchilla (squirrel).

Chocolate silver marten can be bred to black silver marten, lilac silver marten, chocolate chinchilla.

Lilac silver marten can be bred to chocolate silver marten, lilac chinchilla.

Frosted pearl and ermines are compatible with each other and their chinchilla counterpart.


Sables and seals are compatible with each other and their sable marten and point counterparts, and Californian/Himalayans.

Steels are best bred to with their regular agouti or chinchilla counterpart.  Regular agouti will produce gold-tipped.  Chinchilla with a silver-tipped steel produces silver-tipped steels.  Black (steel)s with chestnuts or chinchillas.  Blue steels with opals or squirrels. Chocolate steels with chocolate chestnuts or chocolate chinchillas.  Lilac steels with lynx or lilac chinchillas.  (Steel gray Flemish are silver-tipped black steels).  Steels to steels can produce rabbits that look self, except for some ticking on extremities, but are actually double-steeled.

With harlequins, please keep Japanese (orange) with Japanese, and magpie (white) with magpie.  Broken (spotted) Japanese are called tricolors.  Black Japanese harlequins/tricolors may be crossed with red/oranges, as well as blue and chocolate harl/tris. Blue Japanese harlequins/tricolors may be crossed with fawns, as well as black harl/tris. Chocolate Japanese harlequins/tricolors may be crossed with golds, as well as black or lilac harl/tris. Lilac Japanese harlequins/tricolors may be crossed with creams, as well as chocolate harl/tris.  It is best to cross harlequins with broken reds, etc. if you're not breeding them to tricolors.  Tricolors can be bred to solid or broken reds, etc.  Magpies can also be bred to ermines.

Blue-eyed whites should only be bred with other blue-eyed whites, but can be crossed with REWs.  Vienna-marked rabbits should be bred to Blue-eyed whites for a litter that is half BEW (BEWs are accepted in shows, while VMs are not).

There are other colors out there, but to my knowledge, they are not accepted on the show table.