Fur Quality, What to Look For.
The outstanding characteristic of chinchillas is their fur, which is unmatched by any other fur bearing animal, i.e. there are more hairs per follicle than any other mammal. The fur is so dense it is impossible for a chinchilla to get fleas as they would not be able to move between strands of fur !! It is silky, dense, and unusually soft and light. In its Standard form it has tricoloured markings designated the lower zone (under coat), band, and veil (clouding). Protruding for only a few millimeters beyond the undercoat of the fur are special guard hairs. These guard hairs provide special elasticity to the mature coat. The abdominal region of the coat usually does not have the pattern and is usually white or light gray. Though with the introduction of the ebony the colour can now be wrapped around the body of the chinchilla.
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Image reproduced from Chinchilla
Club Online Magazine
It’s
important to note that the fur on the neck and the hips is usually not as
good as the fur on its back. Ideally you want to breed for the most uniform
overall body hair. Its best to first check the fur on the chin’s back
when checking for the following fur qualities as this should be the best area
for your chinchilla. An important item to check is the bar. (Note the picture
above for where the bar is located) The bar should be a bright white color.
Ideally, the bar on each hair should be about 1/7th of the total fur length
and have even edges where it meets the underfur and the veiling. The next
place to look is the chinchilla’s belly. The belly colour should be
a nice bright white with no off-color such as yellow, grey, or brown. The
white belly and the grey sides should form a reasonably straight line where
they come together.
Clarity of Colour : Clarity (that is purity of colour)
is a major factor when determining the quality of a chinchilla. Clarity refers
to the blue-gray, gray-blue or gray colour of the Standard (obviously this
will alter between different colour mutations) without a yellow, brown, or
red tinge. Chinchillas with colour tinges are considered to be "off coloured".
Consideration must also be made for other causes of the chin being off colour
such as dirty cages. Older animals that were once Clear nearly always become
discoloured with age as the fur oxidises. This discolouration will have no
effect on the offspring though they themselves will develop a tinge to their
fur as they get older. This discolouration often gives a red to red-brown
tint to the fur.
Veiling : The next area to focus on is veiling. How well the colour
of the chin covers it is referred to as veiling. The veiling is determined
by the top band on each hair. The veiling will differ depending on mutation
color; however, in a standard the veiling should be black or carry a bluish
tint. Ideally, the veiling tip should be the same proportion on each hair
throughout the body. It won’t be the same size since chinchillas have
longer fur on their hips and shorter fur on their necks. It should be a gradual
change from dark to light from the back to where it meets the tummy line and
should not look blotchy.
Density : This is how much hair your chinchilla has or the plushness
of the coat. You want your breeders to have nice thick hair all over their
bodies. The easiest way to judge density is to blow into the fur. The more
skin you can see when you do this and the longer it takes the hair to stand
back up, the less dense the fur is. Ideally, you want to see little or no
skin when you blow into the fur, and it should spring back quickly. It’s
OK if the fur does not close back up completely but it should bounce back
and show only a slight disturbance in the fur. If the fur does not move at
all when you blow into it then the chin has superb density. You can also cup
your hand around the chinchilla’s rump to feel the fur. A chinchilla
with good fur density will fill cushiony. Chinchillas will have less dense
fur on their hips but it should be only a slight difference from the body.
The fur on the hips should stand up straight and not lay open.
Fur length : This equally as important. Long hair can look shaggy
and short hair won’t have that flowing overall look. Chinchillas have
different hair lengths on different areas of their body. The overall look
of the hair should be smooth with no obvious, abrupt changes in fur length.
Texture : Texture of the fur can be hard to determine. You want
your chinchillas to have fine textured hair that looks soft and flowing. Coarse
hair will not give the chinchilla a smooth look. Blowing across a chinchilla’s
fur should help you determine its texture. Fine hair should ripple while more
coarse hair will lie down.
Finish : Finish is also very important. This is the overall
appearance. The chinchilla’s fur should look smooth with no lines, swirls,
or other blemishes. The fur should stand up and guard hairs should be present.
You can easily see the guard hairs by holding the chinchilla at eye level
and looking across its fur. These hairs are longer than the rest of the fur
(as much as ½ an inch in some animals) and help give the fur its springy look.
Finally we come to size and conformation though these really do not come under the heading of FUR but are still important when judging the overall appearance of a chinchilla. You want to choose large chinchillas with a blocky conformation. Ideally you want your chinchillas to be close to the same width at the shoulders as they are at the hips. They should appear to have little or no neck.
The best way to get an idea of what is good and bad in fur quality is to go along to one of the chinchilla shows being held around the country, and listen to the judges comments about the chins on the show bench. Some of these animals may actually be for sale (check the notice board at the back of the hall), and this will give you a chance to buy a good show quality animal.
The
NCS home page gives details of what to look for in a good quality
chinchilla.
Do not be alarmed by loose fur in your chinchillas cage or in the general area around the cage. Chinchillas gradually shed their fur every three months. New fur growth usually starts at the neck and moves slowly like a wave, down the back of the animal and over the sides. Where new hair is pushing up through the old, a distinct line, known as a priming line, can be seen across the animals back, giving the classic horse shoe shape. When new fur growth reaches the tail the animal is said to be in prime, and it's fur is in the best possible condition. A chinchilla will stay like this for several weeks and then begin to grow a new coat all over again.