The SILVERING Gene (si)....by Karen Fischer, President
The Silver Fox is one of
the breeds that possess the Silvering gene. Others include the Silver,
the Champagne & the Crème D'Argent. It is a recessive gene (si)
that must be homozygous (two recessive genes) in order to produce a
silvered coat. The gene is also polygenic, that is, can be breeder selected
for the amount of silvering on a given rabbit. These are often considered
to be "modifier" genes.
The silvering on a Silver Fox develops as the rabbit ages, often, continuing
after maturity. All kits are born black (or blue) and gradually develop
silvering as they mature. Variations in the amount and uniformity of
the silvering will depend upon the amount of "modifiers" the rabbit
inherits from its parents. It is not unusual for a whole litter to vary
widely in the amount and uniformity of the silvering.
There are many trains of thought on controlling the amount of silvering on the Silver Fox. Breeders often breed a heavily silvered rabbit to one with lighter silvering patterns to produce a litter with the correct amount of silvering. Others have developed lines in which two correctly silvered parents will produce a good proportion of the litter with the correct silvering. It should be mentioned that there will always be some level of variation in the litter.
Although heavily or lightly silvered animals may not place well on the show table, such animals with good type and fur qualities can be an asset to the breeding program if there are problems with developing the correct level of silvering in the herd. The standard does not disqualify for too heavy or too light of silvering, but it does stress UNIFORMITY of the silvering. The most common problem areas are: lack of adequate silvering on the head and feet in comparison to the body, consolidation of silvering (heavily silvered regions) in various locations of the body, complete lack of silvering in certain areas, and a high concentration of silvered hairs that may be considered by a Judge to be a white spot. Some silver fox are born with a small white spot on the forehead. On some individuals, this spot molts out while on others, it remains.
The white hairs that produce the silvering are also quite course in texture, which may contribute to the stand up qualities of the coat. Very young rabbits which have not begun to develop the silvering are often softer in texture that those that are older and have begun to develop silvering.
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