Weather-based color changes?

[Lindsay Krawsczyn]

So, I’ve got a handful of little sable point/frosty does (one might be a frosted pearl, I’m waiting for a test litter from her) and I’ve noticed something strange. In winter all their little points get a lot clearer looking (accept possible frosted) but when the weather heats back up they start getting a lot of little bits of color on the rest of their coat. My youngest one in particular, she’s I believe a sable point marten although I’m not 100% on that, has gotten these little dark patches on her back. I can’t really take pictures right now as I’m expecting a litter from her and don’t want to upset her but they’re rather dark in comparison to her otherwise white fur.

 

[Sagebrush]

I had a Himalayan (avatar pic) who would get white patches in his color points when it got hot, but like you said, would get really clear points during the winter. He never got any stray dark patches on his body though. That is a new one to me and I would love to see pictures when you can get some.
Winter

Summer

 

[Alaska Satin]

So, I’ve got a handful of little sable point/frosty does (one might be a frosted pearl, I’m waiting for a test litter from her) and I’ve noticed something strange. In winter all their little points get a lot clearer looking (accept possible frosted) but when the weather heats back up they start getting a lot of little bits of color on the rest of their coat. My youngest one in particular, she’s I believe a sable point marten although I’m not 100% on that, has gotten these little dark patches on her back. I can’t really take pictures right now as I’m expecting a litter from her and don’t want to upset her but they’re rather dark in comparison to her otherwise white fur.

The sable aka shaded allele <c(chl)> may be somewhat temperature-sensitive. I've noticed that very often sables get "blotchy" during a molt, and sometimes never return to the smooth, even color of their first prime coat, especially when the molt coincides with warm temperatures. However, since many of the C-series alleles are partially recessive, it could be that when a shaded allele is paired with a recessive himalayan allele, i.e. <c(chl)c(h)>, the himi allele's temperature sensitivity may be the factor driving color development. Although, in the sables it seems to be reversed, in that the darker coats seem to be connected with warmer temperatures, the opposite of the himi's darkening points, plus sometimes smut, in cold temps.

Following are some examples of the wild color variations I've seen in sables while they're changing coats. These are sables, rather than sable points, but I've seen the same effect on sable points.

The first three photos are Dusky, a <c(chl)c(h)> doe that molted mid-summer, so her coat grew in during some very warm weather. She ended up so dark she would have easily passed for a seal, except that I knew that genetically, she was not: her sire was a self black <Cc(h)> and her dam was a sable point <c(chl)c(h)>. Interestingly, her stray white hairs stayed consistent throughout all of her molts.


The fourth photo is her younger full sibling Dusty, so also <c(chl)c(h)>, with a much more correct adult coat coming in in the cooler fall weather. Although I have noticed that sables do seem to have a tendency to continue to darken as they age, Dusty never got nearly as dark as his sister, and remained a pretty good example of sable into his third year. Perhaps it was a result of his molt timing, or something else?


My daughter's sable point Holland also shows dark patches on her back and sides. You can see them a bit in this photo, but I'll see if I can get some other pictures that are more illustrative.

 

[Lindsay Krawsczyn]

So, I’ve got pictures. I forgot that I can actually see my rabbits patterning without removing them from my barn or their cages now because I got my lights fixed. But, I have a recent picture of her and an old on for comparison.


Best picture of I have of her back/rump from before

And my most recent picture

She was in the middle of building a nest, so her face is buried in her nest box (excuse how worn it is it and the whole barn are practically a family heirlooms) but as you can see there’s these weird little dark spots on her rump. She shed not too long after her previous litter was weened (back in late April I think, I’m not 100% sure) and if I remember correctly and they sorta just appeared after that. She’s never been the best marked, and she’s a mutt anyways, but I do find it a bit odd.

 

[Skai]

I have a black NZ buck whose flanks turn rusty brown in the heat.

 

[dlynn]

M

I have a black NZ buck whose flanks turn rusty brown in the heat.

My silver fox do that too. I have a pretty black doe that looks like dark chocolate right now. Lucky boy, a lilac started looking like dirty blonde. His normal light grey is coming back as he's shedding. Starting at head and moving down his shoulders.

 

[Robochelle]

I've read other posts on the forum explaining how Himalayan coloring works (can't recall where right now). There's less information on the Internet about it, but other rabbittalkers have cited published resources explaining that the Himalayan coloring is temperature regulated.

One description in particular struck me as amusing: if one shaved the fur if a himi coloring rabbit, and applied a cold pack for at least 15 mins a day, the hidden color would express on that area alone. That's why the himi coloring creates points: those are the areas of the body that are coldest.

Now, in addition to that, it is recommended one does not expose show animals with himi coloring to extreme cold, as it creates 'smut'. Which is fur that doesn't go back to growing pure white again after the cold goes away.

This might not explain the new brown spots, since it's summer, but if you noticed the spots at all during the winter this might be the smut...

 

[Mckatie]

I have 2 sable does about 5.5 months old. One,Frosty Delight is lighter,with a smoother coat than her sister, Swiss Mocha.
Swiss Mocha has become darker, with those random dark spots of smut across her back side, perhaps on her face.. Definitely not her best look. I don't have any recent pictures of either of them. I just considered it normal as the buck's coat would change with molt and season.