AFRMA - Colors & Coats - Colors In Litter: Wants Siamese, Russian Blue, Agouti

This article is from the WSSF 2017 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

Colors & Coats

Colors In Litter: Wants Siamese, Russian Blue, Agouti

By Karen Robbins

Tiffany Carla Muller, Switzerland, Facebook
Q Sorry to disturb you but I had a big problem with my baby rats’ colors [determining the colors]. The 8 babies are self without markings. The mother is Siamese. Father is Black from Black Silver Irish male with Russian Blue gene. I was thinking they are Siamese, Russian Blues (are females)—but there is lilac tone?, Silver Dove? (also female)—but it is too light undercoat, maybe coming darker with time? Normally it is my Siamese project and would keep only Siamese—the best one boy, for my black self no silvering female, but the colors in this litter make me crazy, there is not Himalayan, not too much Siamese, and not too much Black. I would like to breed Siamese, Russian Blue, Agouti—all colors in self and standard ears.

The mother of the litter. Photo from Tiffany Carla Muller.

The litter in question. Photo from Tiffany Carla Muller.

A Russian Blue kitten. Photo from Tiffany Carla Muller.

A brown kitten. Photo from Tiffany Carla Muller.

A On the monitors here the mother looks like a Russian Blue Point Siamese (she has a long narrow head so make sure you breed her with males with very good heads). The baby in the hand is Russian Blue. The one on the lap looks like Russian Dove (Russian Blue + Mink or Chocolate). The picture of all the babies looks like 1 Black, 1 Chocolate, 1 Russian Blue, 3 Siamese somethings (they don’t look like Seal Point; possibly Chocolate Point, Russian Dove Point, Mink Point—though you didn’t get any Self Mink—or something else), one looks like a brownish Russian Blue (top of pic with head down), and a Silvered brown something—is this the same one as on the lap? If the silvered one keeps the silvering till it’s older, then it could be a Silver Russian Dove.

When you have any kind of brown colors (Mink or Chocolate) in the lines, it will muddy the color of Blacks and Russian Blues, so that is why your Black doesn’t look black (has a brown tint) and the Russian Blues have the brown tones. Obviously your rats carry Chocolate since you got a Self one.

Chocolate Point Siamese looks like Seal Point Siamese but not as dark. Depends on what the color looks like on the Siamese ones as adults as to what color version they are.

Himalayan requires the albino gene (Siamese + albino) and will look like dirty whites as kittens (yours look more creamy colored). From what I can see of 2 of the Siamese, they look like a light Siamese (not Himi) but not sure on which color version; can’t tell on the one that just has the head showing.

So, not sure what color version you are looking for in the Siamese as to whether you want to keep any. If you keep the Russian Blues, they will need work to get rid of the chocolate influence on the color.

None of these rats are Agouti colors so hopefully you have Agouti in something else for that project.

Nice to see these colors in Self and not marked.

You can read more on Siamese, Russian Blue, and genetics:

March 6, 2019