The future of your chosen color is at stake. Act now to help save our Red Variety!!!
If you are breeding reds, wanting to breed reds or getting reds out of Castor this is information you need to know. I am sure I am going to catch alot of static for putting this on this site from a select few breeders but I STRONGLY believe that the undercolor in reds being made to be very light even down to the bottom of the leg near the tail is wrecking the red breeder's chances at great improvement by limiting our ability to use the great majority of our reds that come from our beautiful bright orange ring colored castors.
What I see happening is that the intensity gene which makes our castor intermediate ring color so bright and orange is also showing up in our reds making our undercolor on the sides of the body darker and our top coats much more firey and brilliant red. This intensity gene is also clearly seen in chocolates, blues, and blacks and tortes and many other colors if you know what you are looking for. Due to the fact that it is so widespread through our herds and due to the fact that it is so dominant it will soon be all but impossible to get reds without this darker undercolor. You can already see this same gene starting to show very strongly in tortes in many areas of the US. Take a look this October at the differences in colors at Convention in the tortes and you will see the trend starting to come strongly into that color as well. In tortes you see this gene as a darkening of color over the entire animal. The red turns to mohogany, the points become much blacker and the black can extend into the body of the animal a bit. I have a two year old senior doe here that is so dark she looks like a black when you pass her cage. I think she carries this intensity gene double. Any of you using Margaret Gimblin's lines will see this intensity gene in your tortes. The torte standard will soon have to change as well but at least we are not yet in danger of losing our torte variety.
Back to the reds, why are we in danger of losing our reds? Because if we keep trying to breed reds pure for the light or white undercolor (on the low hindquarter) our red gene pool will become increasingly smaller and smaller. Already breeders are being forced to cull (after 6 mos of feed and care) gorgeous reds out of castors that "develop" the darker undercolor down around the bottom of the butt that is thought to be chocolate agouti. This gene is very strong and is NOT going to go away. The only way to keep your reds clean on undercolor is to breed within the increasingly shrinking population of reds that have the lighter undercolor or do not buy stock from other breeders that are getting reds out of castors. If you continue to breed for reds...or torte as it is looking now...that do not have this intensity gene you will soon find a great shortage of animals as outcrosses for your herds. I am not saying it is impossible to breed for reds with light undercolor as it is possible and quite easy once you get two animals with light undercolor but wouldn't it be great if you could get a red from...say...Cresthill's award winning 635 line to cross in to improve your density and type in your reds??? Well, at this point...almost ANY red from Castors is off limits with the standard set as it is. We as breeders need to vote to get rid of this light undercolor rule.
A chocolate agouti when it is born can in NO WAY mimic a red. It looks nothing like a red as a baby. A red is a red as a baby...somewhat light in color. A chocolate agouti looks like a castor but is very chocolatey colored. A smutty red cannot even be mistaken for a chocolate agouti as a baby as the smut usually doesn't develop until the red is into it's senior coat. We should be breeding for clean top colored reds but leave our undercolor alone and let us breed our reds!
Here are some nice pictures of a chocolate agouti and a red side by side. I am sure you can easily see the difference between the two colors. Here is my address for those of you who disagree...contact me at iceboxrabbitry@hotmail.com
Red or Chocolate Agouti?
Can you guess which is which? Read on for the answer.
See more pictures and get the answer below.
The above animals show close ups of the ring colors of the two animals pictured above. The animals are both placed with the close ups of their coats directly below them through the entire page. Please note the definition of ring color and the color of the undercolor in both animals.
Animal on Left over the back close up of the picture above.
Animal on the right close up of the picture above.
The last pictures I have for you to see are of both of these animals taken somewhat low on the hip. As you can see the undercolor on the animal on the right is much much darker in this area than the undercolor on the animal on the left. The color continues to darken a bit more as you get into the white over the hock of both animals but is still not much of a variation from what is pictured here.
In the above photos please take note of the small white patch just above the white dot in the picture at the right. This is where some judges in my area check for dark ring color. If they dont in your area you are very lucky and I hope it doesn't cost you a variety win someday at convention.
NOTE: The genetic red on the left was DQ'd on 7-15-02 by California Judge Cathy Szychulda when she blew into the area of the "dot". He passed a judging before hers and has a leg.
As you can see by the photo on the left there is a very light undercolor that almost appears as a shadow in the fur on the animal on the left side.
The photos taken for this page were both taken within seconds of each other here outside my barn so the lighting is exactly the same for both animals. I also tried to keep the distance of the animal from the camera the same and flash was only used in the first picture of both animals together. No flash was used for any of the close ups. Both animals are about 4 and a half months old as well so all things being equal with the exception that one animal is a buck and one is a doe...the Chocolate Agouti is the animal on the right.
Look back again and note how much the photo of the chocoloate agouti looks very similar to a castor when photographed close up. It has the same three rings, the same shading (distinct saddle over the back) and the same ticking of color down low on the body. Did you guess right? Contact me at iceboxdesign@hotmail.com if you have any more questions or comments. When they are ready to change the standard please make it state that the undercolor should be checked over the back and that the animal should show no topcolor, intermediate ring color or dark undercolor over the back. Please dont DQ for color down low by the tail as this often comes along with the deep firey red that we want to see in our reds.
NOTE: One option on the web poll has been removed. The option was "restrict where a judge can blow into the coat" and it had seven votes.
