Our weather has been unusually cold for the Southeast, actually the entire country. Here it has been dipping into the teens at night and hung in the 20s to 30s during the day, so we placed various materials around the cages as wind breaks, which also reduced the available light in the rabbitry. That is why I did not see, until this week that BGG4 was not just black any more, but it seems she is beginning to show a color on the tips of her fur on her sides.
I thought silvering that would be highly unlikely because most sources claim that two recessive "si" genes are required. Her father was a NZW that would hide all such genetic markers, however I have learned since that there is far more to the silvering gene concept that I might address later.
Anyway, when I first saw it, I was thinking I was seeing steel. That did not make any sense to me, because I thought steel would show immediately, while silvering can begin to appear as early as four weeks and can take months to fully fill in. BGG4 just turned two months, so it seemed more likely that it would be silvering, except that I can see now that it is not silver and not just the guard hairs. The older she gets, the more it appears golden and even the black is more golden in the sunlight, so I have learned that steel can show more later on after all.
If I wanted steels or color variations, I would be having fun with this, but I do not want steels, so it is not that fun.
If I wanted steels or color variations, I would be having fun with this, but I do not want steels, so it is not that fun.