Will the grey lighten?

I currently have 9 kits. 6 from one doe and 3 from another. The mother of the 6 is caring for them all as the mother of the 3 was a first timer and had no clue what to do. It is very easy to tell which is which because the 6 are snow white while the other 3 are much darker. They are Californias so they should be white. My question is, will they lighten enough to show, or is it just tough luck? Also, I had a previously had 2 kits, one white, one has quite a bit of grey (different doe altogether). The grey has lightened, but not enough to show. My husband is wondering if it is the buck that is causing this. I tend to think it is the doe since all 3 of the dark ones (almost grey) came from the same doe. Thoughts? I will keep breeding them and see if it continues, but I can't have a bunch of grey kits so I need to try and eliminate the problem if I can. Hope this is clear enought to get the picture.

I have read that if Californian kits get cold when they are very young they can turn gray. The color is suppose to lighten as they get older.

Emily

I've heard that, but I've also heard it is genetic. It's just strange that the 3 from one doe are much darker than the other 6. They were born 1 day apart, right next to each other, so you would think it would be more, if not all of them. Also, their skin is darker, not just the fur.

it's often been posted on HT and on meatrabbits. cali kits that get cold turn grey, when they moult they turn the right colour again.

When do they molt? We are going to show meat pens, so we show at 10 weeks. I have one that is 8 weeks and still has quite a bit of grey on it.

Yep, after the first moult the color will go away, and since they were cold enough to go grey you may have better markings on your hands. Unfortunately, it probably won't go away until the 3-4 month period when the adult coat comes in.

OK, thanks. We'll see what happens. They won't be any good to show in Houston then. That leaves me with 6. I've got to have 2 sets of 3 that are as identical as possible to show. I think we're just going to put the best 3 together, then just slap the others together. They won't win, but the kids will get a sense of what it takes to show them. I really wish we hadn't lost the 12 from Ferocious. That would have given us a better chance. :-(

Its called "smut" and yes some will go away. The colour points are tempurature sensitive and the colder they are, the darker they will get. Its probably because there were only 3 so they didn't stay as warm as the 6 when they were first born. Their points should also be much darker as well when they come in.<br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:52 pm __________<br /><br />I just saw that you are from Texas! How cold was it there?

We got down to 10. We had about 72 hours straight below freezing. I know all of you up north are used to it, but I'm ready for it to hit 60 next week. I put them in almost immediatly with the other kits. It was obvious from the start she wasn't going to care for them. They are a day younger than the others though. Hopefully I have 3 does bred now.

Californians will get this grey color as kits. It is called nest box frost. You are allowed to show them in meatclasses with the nestbox frosting. If you show in the junior classes the frost must be gone (they molt this and it comes back white) If they have it as a junior they will be DQ from the class.

The reason for nestbox frosting is that the point color is tempature related (genetic). You will notice in the cooler months your mature Californians will have darker point color. Some will also develope "smut" color on cooler areas of the body. Many of our does will develope it on their bellies, hips and dewlaps. Even the bucks sometimes will develop it on their hips.

Californains will be DQ'd in a show if the "smut" is on a usable portion of the pelt. For example on the dewlap is okay as it is not a usuable portion of the pelt, but the belly smut is a DQ.

Smut doesn't mean your doe wasn't careing for the kits as they were born. Sometimes the poor doe is drying the kits as fast as she can and it is still cool enough that the kits chill enough for the frosting to occur. We get different levels of frosting on ours occasionally even in the summer! Some Californian lines have more problems with this then others.

Just be sure to check them over real close. We once had a doe take BOB and then on the BIS table the judges looked at her several times, then one turned her up and saw a spot on her belly! He did tell me later she would have taken BIS but for some reason he looked at her belly! The judge for the BOB had missed it, I had missed it! Darn she was a nice doe too........oh well she retired and made nice babies.
Good Luck with those fryers they will be fine even with frosting for the meat classes.

Denise