Louie
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Donkey Color Calculator
Choose the jack and jenny. See every foal color they could produce, and what would narrow the odds.
Updated · How it works and sources
Map ready: 4 colors
Colors to expect
Chance per conception. Ranges cover every compatible genotype, with no hidden-carrier frequency assumed.
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Dark (black or brown) 37.5% (3 in 8) Exact chance
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Gray-dun 37.5% (3 in 8) Exact chance
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Rose dun 12.5% (1 in 8) Exact chance
NLP may or may not show on red; the color name does not claim it is absent.
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Sorrel 12.5% (1 in 8) Exact chance
NLP may or may not show on red; the color name does not claim it is absent.
A representative watercolor appearance; the dark result includes black or brown. Markings can vary.
Long Hair: test both parents to calculate Poitou FGF5 hair-length outcomes.
Dark (black or brown)
The chance applies under the entered family answers and assumptions. Open the methods and sources to see how the color names are mapped.
Gray-dun
The chance applies under the entered family answers and assumptions. Open the methods and sources to see how the color names are mapped.
Rose dun
NLP may or may not show on red; the color name does not claim it is absent.
Sorrel
NLP may or may not show on red; the color name does not claim it is absent.
Why these numbers?
Each range spans every parental genotype that fits your choices. It does not guess hidden carrier frequencies. A family record can prove a copy; no foal of a color so far proves nothing.
Choose a look for each parent or use your recorded donkeys. See exact chances when the copies are known, or ranges across every compatible genotype. Family facts and donkey-specific lab results can narrow the answer.
Start with the parents
- Choose the jack and jenny
- Keep unknown copies unknown
- Enter the result your donkey lab reported
- Answer family questions with Yes or Not known
- Breed choices change words, never carrier frequencies
Read the foal colors
- Chances apply per conception
- Ranges do not assume hidden-carrier frequencies
- Family history can narrow the compatible copies
- White and spotting outcomes retain their viability notes
- Very wide pairings need a test or family answer before listing colors
Frequently asked questions
Can two gray-duns have a sorrel foal?
Yes. If both carry red and non-dun, the chance is 1 in 16 per conception.
Does a dark coat tell black from brown genetically?
No. The cause of brown is not identified, so the prediction names the combined dark (black or brown) look.
What colors do miniature donkeys come in?
Common colors include gray, black, red (sometimes called sorrel), brown, and ivory, plus spotted patterns that sit on top of a base color. Gray-dun is the ancestral dun color. Many donkeys have light points around the eyes, muzzle and belly. The cross can also show on a non-dun donkey.
Can two red donkeys have a black foal?
No. Red is recessive, so a red donkey carries two red alleles and can only pass red on, meaning two red parents produce a red foal. The opposite catches people out: two dark parents can each carry a hidden red allele and produce a red foal.
What makes a donkey ivory or white?
American ivory is a cream or white coat with blue eyes and pink skin. Its gene is unidentified. The calculator models American ivory as recessive only when ivory is in the family, using breeder records rather than a DNA result. It is different from frosted spotted white, which usually has dark eyes and skin spots, and from tested KIT dominant white. UC Davis has no ivory test.
Should I DNA test a donkey for color?
UC Davis offers donkey Red Factor (Ed/ed), No Light Points (N/NLP), and Dominant White and White Spotting tests. Its Poitou Long Hair test covers two FGF5 variants. These tests identify the variants they cover. Dun, brown, roan and American ivory have no test in that menu, so keep the family’s colors alongside any report.
Sources
What this tool covers
- Red, light points, dun, white and spotting, and American ivory with family history
- All compatible parental genotypes, with exact chances when the bounds meet
- Tested Poitou long hair variants at one FGF5 locus
Limits
- Per conception, including predicted lethal and unknown-viability KIT outcomes.
- No brown, roan or frosting gene is invented. Mules and hinnies are outside this model.
- Breed choices change words, never carrier frequencies.
