Americans
Guinea Pig Color Breeding Information First let me state that what follows is not an absolute. Guinea pigs can and do like to surprise you. This is only intended as a guide to color breeding not as the rule. I did not write this article and do not know the author but I am sharing it as I found it easy to understand and well written.
SELFS:
Breeding of self colored guinea pigs to broken colored guinea pigs can tend to produce marked color with poor distribution of pattern or patching so it is not an advisable strategy. Selfs are sometimes bred to some of the marked varieties such as the Roans and Dalmatian. Himalayans and Brindles may be bred to blacks. Beige: You can breed beige to beige of course but you can also breed to white and chocolate. You may get a darker beige or a lighter chocolate when breeding to chocolate. When breeding to white look closely at the pedigree first. You will find that some whites carry other colors that may not be what you want to mix with your beige. Black: This color can be bred to quite a few other color varieties. You can breed black to either silver or golden dilutes and solids. You can also breed (of course) to other blacks and to lilac. When breeding to a lilac you may produce a very dark lilac. Chocolate: You can breed this color to chocolate, beige, and I am told also to red. Red: You can breed to red or chocolate. White: You can breed to white, beige or cream. Cream: You can breed to white or cream. Red-Eyed Orange: You can breed to red-eyed orange or white. If breeding to white be careful of the eye color of the whites. A white can be dark -eyed and a dark eye will dominate giving you a poor red rather than a red-eyed orange.
MARKED VARIETIES:
Dalmatian: Since breeding Dalmatian to Dalmatian tends to have the same genetic problem as breeding roan to roan I have been told that the best way to breed them is a "dominant modifier to a self" is the recommend procedure. Since I have never bred dalmations I do not know the very much about this variety and recommend talking with breeders more familiar with them before getting into breeding them yourself. Tortoise Shell: Although some will recommend breeding to tortoise shell and white I have found that by adding the white to the gene pool it is very hard to breed it back out and small patches of white keep showing up. The best breeding is to another tortoise shell with good color. If this is not possible then breeding to a good red or a good black can be done but may cause some problems in distribution of patches. Tortoise Shell and White: Breeding to other TSW’s is best but options do include the same as with the tortoise shell. Himalayan: This variety does not cross well with other varieties. It is at all times best to breed to other Himalayans. If you do breed to blacks any blacks that are produced from this are not good breeders as their color is diluted. Broken Color: There are two classes of broken color: (1) Intense or primary and (2) pastel. Mixing the two will in most cases result in fading of the primary color and is not recommended.
SOLIDS:
Brindles: As with roans one parent must be a brindle and the other can be either a red, or a black or a tortoise shell. Roans: One parent must be roan the other parent can be almost any of the other varieties as long as white is not included as it can cause unwanted patching.
AGOUTIS:
With agoutis it is not recommended that golden or silver agouti be bred to dilute agouti as it will result in fading. This guide is offered as suggested breeding options and not "as the only way to do it".
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Self Colors
Beige, Black, Chocolate, Cream, Lilac, Red Eyed Orange, Red, *White.
Solids
Brindle, *Roan, Dilute Solid, Golden Solid, Silver Solid.
Agoutis
Dilute Agouti, Golden Agouti, Silver Agouti.
Marked
**Broken Color, *Dalmatian, *Dutch, *Himalayan, Tortoiseshell, * Tortoise Shell & White
Tan Pattern
Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac.
* = color not accepted for White Cresteds.
** = broken colors having white as part of the color make up are not accepted for White Cresteds.
SELFS:
Breeding of self colored guinea pigs to broken colored guinea pigs can tend to produce marked color with poor distribution of pattern or patching so it is not an advisable strategy. Selfs are sometimes bred to some of the marked varieties such as the Roans and Dalmatian. Himalayans and Brindles may be bred to blacks. Beige: You can breed beige to beige of course but you can also breed to white and chocolate. You may get a darker beige or a lighter chocolate when breeding to chocolate. When breeding to white look closely at the pedigree first. You will find that some whites carry other colors that may not be what you want to mix with your beige. Black: This color can be bred to quite a few other color varieties. You can breed black to either silver or golden dilutes and solids. You can also breed (of course) to other blacks and to lilac. When breeding to a lilac you may produce a very dark lilac. Chocolate: You can breed this color to chocolate, beige, and I am told also to red. Red: You can breed to red or chocolate. White: You can breed to white, beige or cream. Cream: You can breed to white or cream. Red-Eyed Orange: You can breed to red-eyed orange or white. If breeding to white be careful of the eye color of the whites. A white can be dark -eyed and a dark eye will dominate giving you a poor red rather than a red-eyed orange.
MARKED VARIETIES:
Dalmatian: Since breeding Dalmatian to Dalmatian tends to have the same genetic problem as breeding roan to roan I have been told that the best way to breed them is a "dominant modifier to a self" is the recommend procedure. Since I have never bred dalmations I do not know the very much about this variety and recommend talking with breeders more familiar with them before getting into breeding them yourself. Tortoise Shell: Although some will recommend breeding to tortoise shell and white I have found that by adding the white to the gene pool it is very hard to breed it back out and small patches of white keep showing up. The best breeding is to another tortoise shell with good color. If this is not possible then breeding to a good red or a good black can be done but may cause some problems in distribution of patches. Tortoise Shell and White: Breeding to other TSW’s is best but options do include the same as with the tortoise shell. Himalayan: This variety does not cross well with other varieties. It is at all times best to breed to other Himalayans. If you do breed to blacks any blacks that are produced from this are not good breeders as their color is diluted. Broken Color: There are two classes of broken color: (1) Intense or primary and (2) pastel. Mixing the two will in most cases result in fading of the primary color and is not recommended.
SOLIDS:
Brindles: As with roans one parent must be a brindle and the other can be either a red, or a black or a tortoise shell. Roans: One parent must be roan the other parent can be almost any of the other varieties as long as white is not included as it can cause unwanted patching.
AGOUTIS:
With agoutis it is not recommended that golden or silver agouti be bred to dilute agouti as it will result in fading. This guide is offered as suggested breeding options and not "as the only way to do it".
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Self Colors
Beige, Black, Chocolate, Cream, Lilac, Red Eyed Orange, Red, *White.
Solids
Brindle, *Roan, Dilute Solid, Golden Solid, Silver Solid.
Agoutis
Dilute Agouti, Golden Agouti, Silver Agouti.
Marked
**Broken Color, *Dalmatian, *Dutch, *Himalayan, Tortoiseshell, * Tortoise Shell & White
Tan Pattern
Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac.
* = color not accepted for White Cresteds.
** = broken colors having white as part of the color make up are not accepted for White Cresteds.