This litter is one of the most unique litters I have ever had. What makes it different is that, in the litter of 6, every baby is a different color. I have never really had this before. Usually I will get a bunch of different colors in a litter, but with repeats. Or, in the case of the New Zealands, I will get a whole litter of whites. But this litter has definitely topped them off.
Since I got so many different colors, I will briefly describe each color in this litter and include a picture of what it looks like at 3 weeks of age.
Here is a black kit. A black kit is born looking blackish colored. If you flip it over, it’s stomach will be a dark gray- black color. This baby is a very nice, rich colored black. It is probably going to have pretty dark, non-faded wool color.
This is a blue kit. The blues can look very similar to the blacks at birth. Sometimes you have to compare a black next to a blue to tell the difference. The blues look like a very dark, rich smokey blue color.
This kit is a sable. I actually originally thought this baby was a blue steel due to it's ticked appearance (this is why the photo says blue steel instead of sable). This kit was born looking blue and later developed a silver ticking on it. It's belly is a light brownish color and the ticking seems to be leaving. This little doe will soon turn into a rich brownish color as it develops.
This cutie is a chestnut. Chestnuts are born looking dark grayish-black, but if you flip them over you will find that they have pink bellies, underside of legs, underside of tail, and underside the chin. Chestnuts are an agouti. They are tan and slate banded with black tipping. This girl has a lot more rufus (reddish coloring) than you are average chestnut because it is out of a red parent.
This kit is an opal. An opal is the dilute form of a chestnut. Opals are blue and tan banded with blue guard hairs. They are born looking bluish colored with a pink stomach, underside of legs and tail, and underside of chin.
The last kit is a smoke pearl agouti. This is not a recognized color in the angoras, so it is unshowable. It is grayish colored and has the same darker shading on its face, but it an agouti, so it has a white stomach, underside of tail, chin, and legs. This kit was born looking gray, but its stomach also looked pink. This hinted to me that it was in fact an agouti.
So far this litter is maturing well. The largest babies in the litter are the black, chestnut, opal, and blue steel; however, the other kits are very nicely sized. This is probably going to be Missy’s last litter. She is getting older so I want to retire her. This doe has been an amazing foundation animal for me and has provided me with many beautiful litters. Missy as my very first breeding doe. She is going to stay here as a companion animal and fiber producer.
This whole litter is spoken for. I have quite a few interested people waiting for their babies out of her, and I am half debating if I should keep another baby out of her. The chestnut is sooo nice… but, I do have a chestnut that is a full sibling to this litter. Do I really need another chestnut? She is very beautiful but you can’t keep everything.
Lots more litters of the various breeds coming frequently! We are being showered with many beautiful litters. I will be breeding my French Angoras again this August, so look for some more quality babies available later in the year!
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