A Sable breeding program

I thought it would be worthwhile sharing some of the things I've learned about sables since I started this journey.

I am a bit obsessive with research, it's a great habit to have for my law degree, but can also really irritate people in the real world. So if you don't want an in depth discussion of every microscopic detail I've learned about sables, probably time to stop reading.

As a start to my research I turned to the Australian standard and secondly the English standard. I read papers on sable genetics written by both Australian and English breeders. I then came to the fairly annoying conclusion that no one actually knows what a perfect sable should look like or even what their genetic makeup is. They all shared a similar conclusion that there were three ways to create a sable. These were white agouti dilute x Himalayan, cream agouti dilute x Himalayan and buff x Himalayan. Okay fair enough, you need a Himalayan to create shading and you need to avoid agouti at all costs unless you want an agouti sable. So I then start studying the pedigrees of the five pedigreed sables I own. Hang on a second, what? I own a sable from a mixed background of self chocolates and Himalayan, and then four sables which came from mating the original to a cinnamon agouti.

So I start looking at the breeders, studying matings, examining as much as I can. Every genetics paper I read tells me one thing, one thing that they all agree on... Sables don't breed true. Sable x sable gives 50% sables, 25% sable dilutes and 25% himalayans. Then, I find a breeder who has bred over 150 sable bred babies. In those 153, 137 were sables and just 16 were Himalayan. None were dilutes. The actual thread of this discussion can be seen here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/cavycolors/messages/1467?threaded=1&m=e&var=1&tidx=1

So this then means the sables come from unknown genetics. We know how to create them, but we have no tracked what the actual gene involved is.

To me sables are magic, they are so very beautiful, and so unknown. I love a challenge and the sables are a challenge in a way the longhairs are not. The longhairs are a challenge in the grooming, they are a way of truly competing. But sables, sables are I guess an experiment in genetics. I have so missed science since I started uni, it is nice to be faced with such a challenge.

So my plan is to see if this is true. To see not only if I can breed sables that match our Australian standard, but also to see if I can get them breeding true. If I can establish a line of sables that breed true, I can prove they are not just a random genetic quirk.

In order to this I'm starting with as wide a gene pool as I can manage. It's why I've placed three sable sows with three unrelated Himalayan boars. This will be the one and only out cross until I've reached 100 babies.  I intend to select for the lightest possible babies each generation. It's my belief that the lighter they start, the more distinct the shading will become as it appears that their initial colour is the belly colour when they reach adulthood.

Each sable born here will be photographed monthly for their first twelve months. Each month I will photograph each side, the head and the belly. Since I do not breed much or often this is a long term project, but I would truly like to see the sable reach it's potential. Instead of the faintly murky sables I have now, I would love to breed one where the shading is visible even in dim lighting, one which has a stark near black head against a pale beige belly.

This blog may simply turn into a documentation of my sable adventure, but I promise, every step will be documented.