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White Undercoat on Dilutes White undercoat is an interesting but annoying phenomenon. As far as I know, it's only seen on dilute kits. In my litters, it's appeared on Blue, Lilac, and Blue Tort. I haven't heard of it on Smoke Pearl. We assume it's inherited, but we don't know what, if any, gene is responsible. A friend dubbed it the "long white gene". In the UK, they're called "snowballs". The fact that it hasn't been reported on Smoke Pearl may mean it's only attached to non-shaded color, which includes Self, Tan Pattern, and Agouti. The white appears quite early. Often at 4 weeks or so. It might not appear on every dilute in the litter. It gives the baby coat a cottony texture which might indicate that the undercoat wool is longer. It does grow out eventually, but the time it takes varies. The heavier the white, the longer it takes. It might be 3 months or more before it disappears completely. White undercoat has long been the bane of Opal breeders. Many jr Opals are DQ'd for it. Opal breeders agree that it will probably grow out, but it might not be until the coat is nearly mature. I wondered if maybe white undercoat is related to Opal. Many of my litters that produced it traced back to Opal, and another friend made the same claim. If it is in fact an unidentified gene or modifier, maybe it originated in the Opals? I and others have also noticed that the heaviest white undercoats leave vestiges in the adult color that almost looks like ticking. "Mealy" is the term for this lighter ticking in a darker surface color (not the same as Steel), sometimes seen on the heads of Tan Patterns. This is the annoying part for someone trying raise outstanding Blues. This mealy remnant wouldn't be noticed in the Opal coat as the agouti banded hair shaft (normal ticking) would hide it. The following photos are white undercoats that appeared in my litters. I now cull all Selfs that have it as their color is rarely good enough to show.
The following trio of photos is something completely different that stumped the breeder.
The breeder wondered if it was Siamese Sable with a white undercoat. It's actually Sable Point. In this case - Seal Point. This is not a white undercoat. It's the normal Sable Point creamy body color topped with extreme smut. It's quite similar to the smut on Cold Himis. While this is good for Himis, it's bad for Sable Pts. This Sable Pt will likely be very dark and smutty when it matures. These Sable Point photos are courtesy of Iron Mountain Rabbitry and Shaded Night Rabbitry. Thank You! Related Info: Color Articles; Glossary; Links * DISCLAIMER * This article was written from personal experience and opinion, and some input from other breeders. It is intended as a guide only. Other breeders may disagree or have other methods. This article or any part of this site may not be reproduced without permission. |
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