DRAFT - Orange/Fawn/Cream Lop Color Guide and Holland Lop Standard

The differences between breed color descriptions is part of the uniqueness of individual breeds and is what in part helps keep the breeds from being dull, boring, miniature or gigantic replicas of each other with differing fur structure or ear carriage. I totally see the value of maintaining color guides and standards which are unique and relevant to each separate breed if it is of value to that breed. There are only a few ways you can describe "black" colored animals or "Ruby Eyed White", they are or they are not. There are a few more ways you can describe Chestnut Agouti colored animals, as they may vary in intensity of color, proportion of ticking and darkness or lightness of ticking, clarity of banding, depending partly on on family strain, fur structure from breed to breed; Rex, satin, normal fur, lop fur, length of coat, density of coat, etc etc. As you move to a few other colors on the color genetics spectrum, we start to notice more variance in appearance of colors that may share a basic genetic traits for color, or are theoretically supposed to. This discussion is to be focused on Orange/Fawn/Cream colors in the Lop and Holland Lop colored guide.  First I will say that understanding these colors takes a small dose of color genetics knowledge.  In basic terms all of these colors are agouti patterned, with full expression of yellow pigment, and greatly reduced  expression (aka non-extension) of black pigment.  Some may also be dilute versions of the former, which is exactly what it sounds like, the paler, more pastel version.  These are just the bare bones basic definition of Orange/Cream/Fawn.  Imagine a Chestnut Agouti colored rabbit.  It is helpful to think of the banded portions of the body as being made up of two parts, the yellow/orange and the black/slate. The hair is really all yellow and the black/slate portions are sitting on top of the yellow. Now imagine removing the yellow pigment from the hair.  What is left? a (mostly) solid yellow colored hair, over the portions where there was agouti banding, ticking, undercolor.  We still have lighter areas for belly color, but no undercolor on the belly, still have eye circles, ear lacking etc your familiar agouti patterned markings, but we have no black pigment to show agouti banding.  It's the black pigment that makes the banding.  er the top of the fur removed, what is left is just the yellow portions. But think of it this way, the hair is yellow and the black portions were on top of the yellow hair. which were there where you could see them (intermediate bands an example, we can look at an entry at the ARBA Convention of Orange Netherland Dwarfs and see a wide variety of shades, intensity, clarity of color as well as fur type. They will most likely all fall within the SOP's definition of "Orange Netherland Dwarf" and the fill the definition adequately for proper ND fur type, ranging in quality of coat, length, density, finish etc. Let's assume they all meet minimum requirements and are deemed "Orange Netherland Dwarfs". You could line them up by shade of color. At one end you put the darkest according to Rufus factor, which is richness and intensity of yellow/orange/tawny color, which is what our eye sees of their yellow pigment, at the other end you put the palest colored animals. The ones that show the least amount of intensity of color


 then  average Fawn colored Flemish Giant, an Orange colored Netherland Dwarf and an Orange colored Mini Lop. We will see similarities but also differences.