Mutation Monday
This is our last post in this series. Today we are talking about angora, locken and fading whites.
Angora is a long hair chinchilla. A normal chin has hair that is ¾-1.5 inches in length; where an angora can be 1.75-3+ inches in length. They were first recorded in 1964 by a Canadian breeder. Angora was only offered over seas for many year and only recently became available to USA breeders. Since they are still new here, not many are available as pets or even to other breeders.
It is believed to be a simple recessive genetic and also works in as cumulative trait. So the more parents/grand parents that are angora, the longer the potential hair can be. It is thought that there are several genes that affect the hair which is why some have long manes, ear tufts, ext.
Since angora is a hair trait, it is possible to come in every color of the rainbow!
Locken is another fur trait genetic. This is an ebony gene that causes the hair to curl. The first curly ebonys were noted in 1963 called the Sakrison mutation. Lloyd Sakrison of Virginia, Minnesota had a “curly charcoal brown male with characteristics of a karakul”. While I was not able to find much information on Lockens, it appears that the name was chosen in 2010 when a batch of curly chinchillas was imported to the USA from Germany to diversify the small gene pool here. The curls are linked to the ebony gene so can only express in forms of ebony. Kits are often born with lots of curls and as they age; the curls become more wavy in appearance. Breeders are working on improving size, confirmation and quality of the curls.
California fading white (also called California white tail) is another fur modifier. This causes pigment loss as the animal ages and can occur in any mutation; though it is most commonly seen in standard, violets and ebony. Animals can start to lose the pigment around their nose/ears as young as a few months and it can progress to the point that the chin becomes all white, or may only affect parts of the face. Not much is known about this genetic since very few breeders are currently aiming for it. There is believed to be a cumulative effect.
This is our last post in this series. Today we are talking about angora, locken and fading whites.
Angora is a long hair chinchilla. A normal chin has hair that is ¾-1.5 inches in length; where an angora can be 1.75-3+ inches in length. They were first recorded in 1964 by a Canadian breeder. Angora was only offered over seas for many year and only recently became available to USA breeders. Since they are still new here, not many are available as pets or even to other breeders.
It is believed to be a simple recessive genetic and also works in as cumulative trait. So the more parents/grand parents that are angora, the longer the potential hair can be. It is thought that there are several genes that affect the hair which is why some have long manes, ear tufts, ext.
Since angora is a hair trait, it is possible to come in every color of the rainbow!
Locken is another fur trait genetic. This is an ebony gene that causes the hair to curl. The first curly ebonys were noted in 1963 called the Sakrison mutation. Lloyd Sakrison of Virginia, Minnesota had a “curly charcoal brown male with characteristics of a karakul”. While I was not able to find much information on Lockens, it appears that the name was chosen in 2010 when a batch of curly chinchillas was imported to the USA from Germany to diversify the small gene pool here. The curls are linked to the ebony gene so can only express in forms of ebony. Kits are often born with lots of curls and as they age; the curls become more wavy in appearance. Breeders are working on improving size, confirmation and quality of the curls.
California fading white (also called California white tail) is another fur modifier. This causes pigment loss as the animal ages and can occur in any mutation; though it is most commonly seen in standard, violets and ebony. Animals can start to lose the pigment around their nose/ears as young as a few months and it can progress to the point that the chin becomes all white, or may only affect parts of the face. Not much is known about this genetic since very few breeders are currently aiming for it. There is believed to be a cumulative effect.