AOV

Agouti

Phenotype

"To be a rich ruddy brown, evenly ticked with black guard hairs. Base fur dark grey to black. Belly fur to be silver grey. Ears and tail to be covered with black hairs. Foot colour brownish grey. Eyes black"
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A-

Agouti

Breeding Info

Carrying chocolate, mink or PED sometimes improves the colour. Carrying RED may produce a fiery colour, but it can make the ticking the wrong colour. Carrying black tends to make them too dark.

Reference Photos:

Lurelin Rozel, a rather dark agouti who carries black, mink and russian

British Blue Agouti

Phenotype

"An attractive blend of mid-blue ticking over a medium fawn ground. Undercolour to be blue down to the skin. Belly colour silver. Feet dove grey. Ears and tail to be covered with blue hairs. A brown tinge will be judged as a fault. Eyes black."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- dd

Agouti + British blue

Breeding Info

Can be prone to eclampsia and mite flare-ups.

Reference Photos:

Cinnamon

Phenotype

"To be a warm russet brown, evenly ticked with light chocolate guard hairs. Base fur mid-grey. Belly fur as Agouti but of a lighter shade. Ears and tail covered with light chocolate hairs. Foot colour light brownish grey. Eyes black."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- mm

Agouti + mink

Breeding Info

Select the lighter, brighter kittens, as these tend to develop into the correct shade. Cinnamons carrying RED tend to be brighter, however the ticking is too pale. The fire in their coat comes in around their flanks first.

Reference Photos:

Cinnamon Pearl

Phenotype

"Coat to consist of three bands of colour from the base up - cream, blue and orange, with silver guard hairs, to give an overall golden appearance with a silver sheen. Belly fur pale silver grey. Foot colour light creamish grey. Eyes black."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- mm Pepe

Agouti + mink + 1 copy of Pearl

Breeding Info

Pearl is a lethal dominant. Doesn't run in a line very well with Pearl - pearl is more cool-toned and cinnamon pearl is more warm in tone. Has a tendency towards being cobby. Can show incomplete penetrance.

Reference Photos:

Lilac Agouti

Phenotype

"To be an attractive blend of dove grey ticking over a medium fawn ground. Undercolour pale grey down to the skin. Belly colour silver. Feet dove grey. Ears and tail to be covered in grey hairs. Pinky tinge desirable, blue tinge a fault. Eyes very dark ruby to black."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- bb dd mm Rr

Agouti + chocolate + British blue + mink + one copy of RED

Breeding Info:

Can be prone to eclampsia and mite flare-ups.

Reference Photos:

Pearl

Phenotype

"To be palest silver, shading to creamish undercolour. Each hair to be delicately tipped with grey evenly over the whole animal. Belly fur to be creamy silver. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black"
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

aa mm Pepe

Black + mink + one copy of Pearl

Breeding Info

Pearl is a lethal dominant. Doesn't run in a line very well with cinnamon pearl - pearl is more cool-toned and cinnamon pearl is more warm in tone - but cinnamon pearl can help to correct sootiness in colour. Has a tendency towards being cobby in type. Can show incomplete penetrance.

Reference Photos:

Topaz

Phenotype

"To be a rich, golden fawn evenly ticked with silver guard hairs. Undercolour to be pale blue/grey carried down to the skin. Belly fur to be creamy silver. Top colour to be even carried well down the sides with clear differentiation between belly and top colour. Any tendency to sootiness or greyness of the top colour to be penalised. Eyes to be dark ruby (as dark as possible)."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- rr OR A- bb rr
Agouti + RED OR agouti + chocolate + RED

Breeding Info:

Rats carrying RED can be prone to kidney disease and clotting issues (platelet storage problem) - this can be selected away from. If the latter is a concern, avoid using RED does. Minimal anecdotal evidence that they don't respond well to prolonged inbreeding.

Reference Photos:

Platinum Agouti

Phenotype

"A bright blend of pale grey ticking over a rich cream ground, with a distinct ice-blue hue. Undercolour pale blue down to skin. Belly colour pale silver. Feet pale grey. Eyes red to ruby. Strong blue or brownish tones a fault."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- dd amam + dominant modifier
Agouti + British blue + American mink + dominant modifier

Breeding Info

Avoid chocolate or RED. A quicksilver (which lacks the dominant modifier) expressing chocolate or RED can look like a platinum, but won't have the right colour coat or eyes as an adult.

Reference Photos:

Silver Fawn

Phenotype

"To be a rich orange fawn, evenly ticked with silver guard hairs. Belly fur to be white as possible. The demarcation between the top colour and white belly to be sharp and clear cut, devoid of irregularities and brindling. Foot colour pale fawn. Eyes red."
- NFRS Variety Standard

Genotype

A- pp

Agouti + PED

Breeding Info

Better when homozygous for agouti. There aren't really any complementary varieties to run in the same line - running champagne in the same line makes the colour of silver fawns flat. Lab strains are often linked to a warfarin resistance gene where additional Vitamin K is needed; fancy strains don't have this gene.

Reference Photos: