The Steel gene

The steel gene (aka as "the stinker gene"), is not fully understood, the following information is my "best guess" as to how this gene works. It is the most dominant gene in the "E" series...the last of the basic genes. The problem with the steel gene is that it needs the agouti gene to express itself...for example, a rabbit that inherits the "self" gene instead of the "agouti" gene will look like a self black rabbit, but COULD actually be a "self", "black", "full-color", "non-dilute", "steel" and would look like this:

[a][a]-[B][?]-[C][?]-[D][?]-[E(s)][?]

Looking at the rabbit above, you might see a rabbit that appears to be a black. Since the steel gene is dominant, most likely this "hidden steel" would have to have at least 1 parent that is also a steel..hidden or otherwise. A nicely colored "chestnut" steel would have the genetic code:

[A][?]-[B][?]-[C][?]-[D][?]-[E(s)][?]

Here is a picture of a "chestnut" steel (left), next to a non-steel chestnut (on the right).

Some people have asked me if it's possible to have a steel in the nestbox from a pair of non-steel parents. And MOST LIKELY you will not get a steel unless you breed a steel to something else. How do you tell a chestnut from a chestnut steel? Well, the steel gene fills in the belly with a greyish black color, it also fills in the eye circles and neck triangle of the chestnut. The steel gene also condenses the color along the bottom 3/4 of the hair shaft leaving a gold tipping all over the remainder of the rabbit.

One of the things that is different about the steel gene, is that the way that the steel bunny looks is affected by the other "E" gene, for example the steel bunny on the left in the above picture has the following genetic code:

[A][?]-[B][?]-[C][?]-[D][?]-[E(s)][E]

Notice that the gene in the "E" series that is non-steeled is an "E", there could also be an "e" in that position, but most say that the best colored steels have a "E" and NOT an "e". You will learn more about those genes in the next 2 segments. Any color can be steeled, except those colors that require 2 of the non-extension genes [e][e]. Recently, I have gotten a smoke pearl martin out of a steel breeding, the bunny has a white belly like a smoke pearl martin, but lacks eye circles or the neck triangle that a "true" smoke pearl martin should have, i've started test breeding this bunny and have determined his "A" series, and have not yet gotten a steel bunny from any of his breedings, i'm not sure if the steel gene is in him or not....but it would make sense as the steel gene fills in the eye circles and neck triangle...but this bunny did not have the darker belly that is the hallmark of any steeled bunny. If anyone has any ideas. Email me with you thoughts. My only idea is that the steel gene acted upon the "A" series gene causing the [a(t)][a] to become incompletely dominant--meaning that instead of one or the other...they blended!