Breeding for Lilac
What is Lilac? The National Fancy Rat Society Standards note that a lilac rat is "a pinky dove grey throughout, from tips of fur to skin, blueish tinge a fault. Foot and belly colour to match top. Ears and tail to be covered with grey hairs. Eyes should be very dark ruby or black."
The lilac variety is a complex variety, mostly due to the recessive gene expression required to 'make' the lilac colour. While all Self rats can be challenging (getting the perfect shade as well as the same colour top and under) for breeders, the lilac was of particular interest to me as I looked to take on more of a challenge when breeding. Currently there is only one breeder in the UK actively breeding Lilac for exhibition and pet homing, and only in top ear so I feel it's a good opportunity to add something to the fancy and grow my niche as a Self breeder to explore this variety.
What can I add by breeding Lilac?
How to breed for Lilac
To explain in the most effective way, I've outlined how to make a lilac with the assumption that no rats involved carry any additional recessives. In practice this won't be true however, for the purpose of explaining, these are the steps I'm aiming to cover. This process also assumes UK Mink will be used. I'm aiming to run a test line and substitute this with an Am Mink. In Am Mink Lilacs, it's expected outcome is a dark ruby eyed rat, compared to the black eye for UK Mink.
The key steps in breeding are:
What is Lilac? The National Fancy Rat Society Standards note that a lilac rat is "a pinky dove grey throughout, from tips of fur to skin, blueish tinge a fault. Foot and belly colour to match top. Ears and tail to be covered with grey hairs. Eyes should be very dark ruby or black."
The lilac variety is a complex variety, mostly due to the recessive gene expression required to 'make' the lilac colour. While all Self rats can be challenging (getting the perfect shade as well as the same colour top and under) for breeders, the lilac was of particular interest to me as I looked to take on more of a challenge when breeding. Currently there is only one breeder in the UK actively breeding Lilac for exhibition and pet homing, and only in top ear so I feel it's a good opportunity to add something to the fancy and grow my niche as a Self breeder to explore this variety.
What can I add by breeding Lilac?
- The end goal is to breed lilac in top and dumbo.
- Using American Mink (Am Mink), as opposed to UK Mink. It's possible the Am Mink would give me a better pinky dove grey as stated in the standard and give a less patchy coat that you see in UK Mink.
- Aim to improve robustness.
How to breed for Lilac
To explain in the most effective way, I've outlined how to make a lilac with the assumption that no rats involved carry any additional recessives. In practice this won't be true however, for the purpose of explaining, these are the steps I'm aiming to cover. This process also assumes UK Mink will be used. I'm aiming to run a test line and substitute this with an Am Mink. In Am Mink Lilacs, it's expected outcome is a dark ruby eyed rat, compared to the black eye for UK Mink.
The key steps in breeding are:
- Breed for Lavender
- Breed for UK Mink (or sub Am Mink)
- Pair Lavender and Mink to make Lilac
- Colour correct for the ideal Lilac shade
