Need help. Whats wrong?????(snowball)

[preciousgurl63]

Ok have a question about one of my sister n law's SF. It's color looks really weird for some reason.

My sister n law just started raising SF this year and this is her first litter out of them. She has a blue buck, a black doe and a blue doe. Well she bred both doe's. Each had a nice litter and are great mothers for being first timers. Well 2 days ago my SIL and I noticed that one kit doesn't look like the rest of its littermates. In this litter is nothing but blues and then one lilac. Dam is the black doe. It will be 3 wks old at the end of the month.
Well my SIL put a post of some FB groups to see if anyone knew what could be wrong with this kits color. Some people was say it might be a hided gene in one of the parents and then others are saying it looks to be a snowball and that it will molt out of it once its an adult.
Also have contacted the breeders of both buck and doe and as them why the kit is like this. They have no idea why and have never seen anything like this. Also the buck has produced kits before my SIL got him and always had blue or black normal looking kits. And the doe's breeder has bred the sister to the black doe and she produced normal looking kits.

So question is what do you guys think is the problem?

 

[Zass]

Is that an agouti mark I'm seeing on the top of the foot?

What does the belly look like?
(It IS a snowball, but there may be more going on genetically)

 

[preciousgurl63]

Its belly looks just like the side of it. I can get some pictures of it tomorrow when I got out to feed them.

 

[Zass]

Its belly looks just like the side of it. I can get some pictures of it tomorrow when I got out to feed them.

Try to get a good pic in sunlight if you can.

 

[Susie570]

What is a snowball??? :shock:

 

[Zass]

What is a snowball??? :shock:

Lots of white undercoat fur showing up through the guard hairs on a kit. It happens to some silver fox. I don't really know much more about what causes it genetically.

They do grow into normal looking coats eventually. With normal undercoat color.

I'm not used to seeing the tops of the feet being white.. It really looks like an agouti mark in the second pic. I think that snowball undercoat is making the kit's real color hard to determine.

 

[preciousgurl63]

Here are some updated pictures <br /><br /> __________ Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:54 am __________ <br /><br /> Here are more

 

[Susie570]

I don't know, but I think it's pretty.
The coat reminds me of the way a sable's coat looks? With that light undercoat and darker 'frosting' on top?
:shrug:

 

[preciousgurl63]

Thats what some people was telling my SIL on FB that it looks like a sable but others say its just a snowball.

 

[Miss M]

WOW, I've never seen anything like it! I mean... I've had a couple of chilled Cali kits end up somewhat frosty looking until they molted out, but nothing even close to this!

It's pretty... pity it will grow out of it.

 

[Zass]

Dood? Opinions on this?

 

[preciousgurl63]

Yes would like everyone's opinion on this please.

 

[LopLover]

I think it was Zass that mentioned something about a lot of Silver Fox being steel carriers. Steel gene maybe? I'm not really seeing actual agouti bands.

 

[Zass]

I think it was Zass that mentioned something about a lot of Silver Fox being steel carriers. Steel gene maybe? I'm not really seeing actual agouti bands.

Steel is possible, and lots of SF have it.

But, I think it might just be a really heavily fluffed blue snowball kit??

Now I want to find the pics I have...