Hoppy Ever After Rabbitry

06/23/2026

06/23/2026

My favorite videos!

06/23/2026

🥰🤣

06/23/2026

I’m not a cereal person unless this is BOGO! Are you? What kind?

06/23/2026

Tricolors 💕

06/23/2026

Progress!

06/23/2026

Their colors are starting to show. So cute!

06/22/2026

Learning! Rabbit genetics. Who would have guessed they would be so complicated

🧬 Modifier Genes in the American Teddywidder
Part 2: Single Mane, Double Mane, and the Newborn "V"

One of the most common assumptions in wool and mane breeds is that double mane rabbits will always have more wool and furnishings than single mane rabbits.

In reality, modifier genes can have such a significant impact on coat expression that this is not always the case.

A single mane rabbit with strong modifiers may develop furnishings and wool coverage equal to or greater than a double mane rabbit with weaker modifiers. Likewise, a double mane rabbit with weaker modifiers may appear no different than a single mane rabbit once the coat develops.

So how can you tell the difference?

The only reliable visual indicator is the newborn "V" pattern.

Double mane kits typically display a visible V-shaped area of reduced wool along the flanks at birth, while single mane kits do not. This pattern is temporary and gradually disappears as the coat develops.

Once modifier genes begin influencing coat expression, appearance alone is no longer a reliable indicator of whether a rabbit is single maned or double maned.

By approximately 1–2 weeks of age, it becomes impossible to accurately determine single mane versus double mane status based on furnishings, wool density, coat length, or overall appearance alone.

This is one of the clearest examples of how modifier genes can influence phenotype and why appearance does not always tell the whole genetic story.

In our next post, we'll discuss how breeders can evaluate mane modifier strength in young kits before full coat development obscures these early clues.

06/22/2026

Same age. Both are about 14 weeks old. Netherland Dwarf and French Lop