Rascally Ratties Rattery | Rascally Ratties Rattery

NEW ZEALAND RAT COLOURS AND MARKINGS

COLOURS

TICKED COLOURS

Agouti (A-) Colour is a rich chestnut with dark slate at the base of the hair.
Coat is evenly ticked with black guard hairs. Belly colour is silver grey. Eye colour is black.

Cinnamon (A-mm) Colour is a warm russet brown, evenly ticked with chocolate guard hairs, with medium slate at the base of the hair.
Belly colour light shade of silver grey. Eye colour is black.

Argente (A-mmrr) (also known as Ruby Eyed Cinnamon) Colour is a warm orange colour, and be evenly ticked with grey guard hairs. The base colour is to be cream down to the skin. The foot colour is to match the top, with the belly colour a pale brown. Eye colour is ruby. Is often confused with cinnamon or fawn. It can be differentiated from them by the ruby eyes and grey guard hairs.

Fawn (A-rr) (also known as Topaz) To be a rich, golden fawn evenly ticked with silver guard hairs. Under colour to be pale blue/grey carried down to the skin. Belly fur to be creamy silver. Any tendency to sootiness or greyness of top colour to be penalised. Eye colour is ruby.

Amber (A-pp) (also known as Silverfawn) Colour is a light golden orange, evenly interspersed with light hairs. Belly colour is light, but not white. Eye colour is red (pink)

NON-TICKED COLOURS

Black (aa) Colour is a deep lustrous black, devoid of rustiness or white hairs. Eye colour is black.

Mink (aamm) Colour is an even mid-grey brown, devoid of dinginess, silvering or patches, and having a distinct bluish sheen. Eye colour is black.

Buff (aarr) (also known as Beige and occasionally Lavender) Colour is a warm grey-tan. Eye colour is a dark ruby.

Dove (aammrr) (can be known as Lilac, but mostly "lilac" refers to a different colour) Colour is an even dove grey, with no blue, devoid of dinginess and silvering.
Eye colour is Dark Ruby.

Champagne (aapp) (Also known as Dove) Colour is very light beige with a pinkish cast, with no suggestion of dullness or greyness. Eye colour is red (pink).

Pink Eyed White (cc) (Also known as albino) Eyes- pink. Fur is white.

MARKINGS

Self (HH) (Also known as Solid) All one colour with no white patches or markings.

Hooded (hh) Hooded rats can be exhibited in any recognised colour. The hood should be complete, covering the head, throat, chest and shoulders, except in light coloured markings where a pale coloured throat and chest is allowable. The spine marking must extend down the back to the tail, with as much of the tail coloured as possible. The spine marking should be 1/4 to 1 inch wide, be unbroken, and be as straight and even as possible. All white areas should be free of spots or brindling. Belly to be white.
Faults: Ragged edges on the hood or spine markings, spine marking too wide or too slender, spine marking not continuous, white on the throat or chin, spots of colour or brindling in white areas, or spots on tail.

Berkshire (Hh) To be symmetrically marked, with as much white on the chest and belly as possible. The white will not extend up the sides of the body. The edges of white area will be clear-cut and devoid of brindling. Back feet to be white to the ankle, forelegs to be white to half the leg. Tail to be white to half its length. The body colour will conform to a recognised colour. The white area will be devoid of any colour or staining. A white spot on the forehead or Blaze is desirable.
Faults: Missing spot on forehead or Blaze, feet or tail not white, coloured spots on white belly, or brindled edges.

English Irish (hh(i) ) Irish rats can be exhibited in any recognised colour. Must have a white (Inverted) equilateral triangle on chest. Front feet white to half their length. The triangle to be of good size, symmetrical, clear-cut and devoid of brindling, not to extend in a streak down the belly, and should occupy all of the space between the front legs.
Faults: Triangle irregular in shape, triangle extending onto sides or front legs, coloured spots within the triangle, white on feet too high or too low.

Down Under (unsure) Downunders can be exhibited in any recognised colour. The hood should be complete, covering the head, throat, chest and shoulders. The spine marking should be approximately 1 inch wide, and should be solid, continuous and symmetrical, and extend down the back to the tail, with as much of the tail coloured as possible. The back legs and feet are to be completely white. The front legs to be white to half the leg. The belly stripe should be a solid, continuous stripe of colour extending from the chest down to and filling the area between the back legs. The demarcation between the white sides and the belly colour should be as symmetrical and clean cut as possible. The spine and belly colour should not extend around to the sides and should not contain any white spotting or brindling. The sides are to be white and free of coloured spots.
Faults: Uneven, ragged, narrow, broken or brindled spine or belly stripe, uneven or brindled hood marking, colour on legs, coloured spots elsewhere on the body or white spots on the stomach.