Characteristics of nutria color forms. Black nutria breed

Standard and colored nutria are bred in our country and abroad. Based on hair color, 10 mutational (with a deviation from the standard color) and 7 combined types of nutria are known, which were obtained as a result of a long process of breeding, variability and heredity of the animals’ organism. The color forms of the hairline made it possible to create new breed groups, very different from the standard dark brown nutria.

Standard nutria

Caged, it resembles the wild form and comes in a variety of shades. Abroad, you can find the definition of its color as “brown”, “steel”, etc. It happens with to varying degrees color intensity: from light brown to reddish and dark brown or black-brown. Most standard nutrias are dark brown in color, but they can come in a variety of shades. The overall tone of the hair depends mainly on the color of the coverts, long hair. The covering hair has an uneven color along the length of the shaft, the so-called zonal color. On the abdomen they are much lighter than on the ridge; their color intensity is higher at the base in relation to the apexes. Towards the ridge, the lightened part of the covering hairs gradually decreases and already in the middle of the side you can find individual guide hairs, fully pigmented along the entire length. Most of the guide hair is fully pigmented in the middle of the back, along the ridge. Therefore, the intensity of pigmentation of dark-colored and lightened areas of the covering hair determines the presence of different shades general color standard nutria. In the absence of selection for shades of lightness, even within the same farm, you can find nutria with the color of the bleached part of the hair from yellow to light brown with varying degrees of orange, brown, reddish or gray shades.

Standard nutria are the most common. Their downy hair is brown in color and varies in intensity and shades. The underfur of the abdomen is somewhat lighter than the underfur of the ridge. Standard nutria are characterized by weakly curled downy hair, which contributes to fur matting if the rules of keeping and feeding are violated. Characterized by high fertility (5-6 puppies) and good maternal qualities. The eyes are brown.

Golden nutria

Brought from abroad and propagated for the first time in 1960 in the Slavsky fur farm Kaliningrad region. In size and live weight they are not inferior to standard ones. On the ridge the color of the hairline is bright, pure yellow-golden; on the abdomen - somewhat lighter. On the back and abdomen the underfur has a pink tint. The awn has a strong shine, the underfur is silky. The eyes are brown. Fertility when breeding "in itself" (golden male x golden female) is low - 3-4 puppies; when mating standard with golden ones, the fertility is higher - 5 puppies, in color - 50% golden and 50% with the color of standard ones, or 1:1 (in the first case, golden 67%, standard 33%, i.e. 2:1). Some hobbyists consider it more profitable to cross standard nutrias with golden ones to obtain golden nutrias.

Black nutria.

Introduced from Canada in 1966. This nutria color variety originated in Argentina. The structure of pubescence and fertility differs little from the standard one. The yield of puppies when breeding “inside” and when standard females are covered with black males is more than 5.

Purebred nutria are characterized by a deep black coloration of the spine and a dark gray underfur, while the hairline is completely pigmented with the same intensity of color along the length of the hair. Zone-colored hair occurs in small tufts behind the ears. When breeding "inside" they get black puppies. Sometimes nutrias of standard coloring are observed to split off. Standard-colored puppies differ from others by the presence of zone-colored hair. Adult standard nutria obtained from such individuals have a darker color than purebred standard nutria when bred in-house.

When crossing black nutrias with standard ones, puppies are obtained with a pure black or dark brown coloring without zoned hair on the back or sides. But with age, the color of puppies changes and has a zonal character, especially on the head and sides. Such nutria are called black or black zonal.

When crossing black nutrias with standard nutrias, the resulting puppies are 50% standard and 50% black in color, i.e. 1:1.

White Azerbaijani nutria

They were obtained at the Karayaz fur farm of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1956. They are characterized by the pure white color of down and guard hairs. In some animals, the hair may be pigmented (up to 10%) in the areas around the eyes, ears and on the rump at the root of the tail.

The fertility of nutria when bred “in itself” and when crossed with a standard one is more than 4. Eye color is brown.

With purebred breeding, 2/3 of the offspring are similar to the parents, and 1/3 are of standard color; when crossed with standard ones, 50% of the puppies are white and 50% are standard.

White Severinsky

Have an awn and underfur white. Obtained from mating nutria of standard color with white spots on the head, paws, and tail with each other at the Severinskip animal farm.

In open areas, the skin is pink, the eyes are bluish-gray, slightly closed.

Most males have normal reproductive ability, but there are individuals that do not show sexual activity. Females are most often infertile. When crossed with standard nutria, all puppies are of standard color with white markings, so Severinsky white nutria are not used for industrial breeding.

White Italian (albina)

Brought to the USSR from Italy in 1958. The underfur and awn are white with a creamy tint, which distinguishes them from the white Azerbaijani nutria. The skin on non-pubescent areas is pink, the whiskers are white, the eye color is brown. Fertility of white Italian nutrias is the same as standard ones. When breeding “inside”, all offspring are white. When crossing standard nutrias with white Italian ones, all puppies will be silver in color. When backcrossing, white and silver puppies are already obtained. The average number of puppies in a litter when bred internally and when crossed with standard puppies is up to 5.

Snow Nutria

Obtained by crossing a silver female with a light golden male in the Slavsky fur farm of the Kaliningrad region in collaboration with the All-Union Research Institute of Hunting and Fur Farming, whose specialists (G.V. Sokolov, N.M. Timofeev, 1967) subsequently continued their work in experimental fur farm "Vyatka" in search of options for crossing other colors of nutria crosses obtained from mating white Italian and golden nutria. Later, a herd of snow nutria was created and the animals were sold for breeding to other farms. The greatest fertility is observed when crossing with white Italian nutria, which allows you to get a larger offspring than when breeding “inside”. The eye color is brown, the nose, tail and paws are light pink. There are three types of snow nutria. All of them have white hair color, according to appearance indistinguishable.

Albinos

Characterized by white hair color and pink eye. They are not bred on farms due to their low reproductive capacity and weak constitution.

Silver nutria (Argenta))

Characterized by an overall dark gray color; the underfur is heterogeneous in color: it varies from bluish-slate to brown and from light gray to dark gray. Silver nutrias are a cross between standard nutrias with white Italian and beige nutrias, as well as combined types of nutrias that carry genes for beige and white Italian colors (pearl, snow, lemon).

Mother of pearl nutria (pearlate)

Obtained from crossing beige with white Italian. They have silver-gray fur with a slight cream tint. The awn is zonally colored, the underfur is bluish-cream. The overall tone of the skin resembles mother-of-pearl. When breeding mother-of-pearl nutrias “inside”, the puppies turn out to be heterogeneous in color: beige, white, pearlescent. Among the nutria of the named color, there may be individuals with an undesirable dirty-gray tint.

Dark brown nutria (brunella)

They have almost black awns on the back and dark gray on the sides; The color of the down is dark brown-bluish.

Pastel nutria

Obtained from crossing straw nutria with black ones (Severinsky animal farm) and pearl nutria with black ones (Vyatka animal farm). The color resembles pastel mink, some have a darker tone, the color of ripe chestnuts. Their eyes are brown. At birth, puppies are dark in color, but lighten with age. In adult individuals, zonal coloration of the covering hairs appears. But the zoning is insignificant and unnoticeable, so the overall color tone is uniform.

Downy hair has a brown or light brown color, the same along its entire length. They have normal reproductive ability and use in great demand and are widely distributed in amateur farms.

Lemon nutria

They are similar to golden ones, but have a lighter color with a yellowish tint. They are obtained by crossing golden nutrias with white Italian or beige ones, when individuals with a lightened golden color, called lemon, appear in the litter along with silver puppies. Lemon nutria can be used to make snow. When lemon nutria are crossed with each other, puppies of lemon, white, and golden color appear in the litter. Using white Italian males and lemon females can produce lemon, silver, white Italian and even snow white puppies.

Beige nutria

Brought from Italy in 1958 along with mother-of-pearl and pink ones to the Severinsky state farm. In Poland and Canada, beige nutria are called “Greenland sapphire” or “sapphire”; they are classified into dark, medium, and light based on their color tone. Beige nutria are very popular among amateur nutria breeders and are widely used in industrial production. Are different brown hair with a characteristic smoky tint. The general color of beige nutria varies from gray-beige to dark beige with a peculiar silvery veil. The guard hairs have a zonal color: the base is beige or brown, the tops are white. The underfur ranges from light beige to brown, and in light-colored individuals it ranges from light beige to light brown. The eyes are brown. In terms of fertility, they are not much different from the standard ones.

Creamy nutria

They are characterized by a brown and beige tint on the back and light beige on the belly. Guard hairs are zonally colored. The skin on the nose is brown, pinkish-blue on the paws. The eyes are cherry red. Nutria have the most beautiful pubescence at 4-5 months; with age, the coloring deteriorates somewhat due to the appearance of yellowish and brownish tints. When creamy nutrias mate with each other, the offspring is creamy; If you coat a cream nutria with a standard male, the entire litter will be standard in color.

Smoky nutria

Obtained in the droppings of standard nutria in 1962 at the Karayaz animal farm. They are similar in color to standard ones, but have a purer color, without a brown tint. Unlike standard ones, the underfur on their abdomen is pure gray. The eyes are brown. They reproduce normally and are unpretentious in maintenance; average fertility is about 5 puppies. When crossed with standard nutria, the offspring will only be standard color. When bred internally, the puppies will have the color of their parents.

Straw nutria

Appear from shedding when breeding standard nutria; Characteristic are light brown and brown shades with yellow-brown hair color. With age, the yellow-brown shade becomes more expressive. The color of the nose, eyes, whiskers and fertility are the same as the standard one. It is not bred in its pure form. It is used mainly to obtain new color variations by crossing with nutrias of other color groups.

Brown exotic nutria

Obtained at the Severinsky State Animal Farm as a result of crossing golden ones with black ones. In color they stand out with a peculiar combination of golden and black tones. The covering hairs are brownish-brown, darker on the back and lighter on the belly. The underfur is brownish-gray. When breeding “inside” and when crossing them with standard ones, puppies of black, golden, brown exotic and standard colors are born. Hats made from exotic colored skins are in high demand.

Black zonal

Unlike blacks, they have zonally colored hair in the area of ​​the ears and on the sides of the body; zonation is often noticeable on the abdomen. Obtained from crossing pure black with standard, white Italian, pearl, beige and some others (N.A. Tsepkova, T.Yu. Antipova, 1987). When breeding “inside” you get 25% black zonal ones, when crossing with pure black ones you get half of those and half of others.

Pearl nutria

They are obtained by crossing pastel with snow or lemon. The general color of these nutria is light. The covering hair is light gray, almost white, uniform throughout its length; downy - brown on the ridge, gradually becoming lighter towards the belly. Light-colored individuals have dark beige down, and their coloring is somewhat reminiscent of white Italian ones. Puppies are born darker, pastel-like, but with lighter covering hair than the underfur. To obtain dark pearly ones (with contrasting coloring of the covering hairs), dark pastel nutrias are mated with snow ones obtained from beige individuals.

All color types of nutria, as a rule, reproduce well (Table 1), bringing viable offspring, which, subject to the recommended feeding and maintenance methods, grow and develop well (Table 2), giving high quality skins. Colored skins are valued higher than standard colored skins.

Table 1

Table 2

Color variations	Live weight (average), kg	Body length (from the occipital protuberance to the root of the tail, average), cm
Standard
White Italian
Golden
Mother of pearl
Pastel

Thanks to breeding work carried out in different countries, nutria breeds have been developed that differ in their body dimensions, different colors and quality of fur. Before you start breeding these animals, you need to decide on the direction of your activity. Some raise animals solely for their skins, while others want to make a profit from selling meat. Brief introduction with a variety of nutria species will help novice farmers decide on the choice of breed.

Breed classification

Nutria are classified by the color of their fur. This is the main difference between the breeds. Almost half of livestock breeders breed animals with a natural coat color, gray-brown, which is characteristic of animals in wildlife. Nutria with this fur color are classified as a standard breed, and all others are classified as colored. The second category of animals is the result painstaking work breeders. These animals are valued primarily for their luxurious fur.

Popular nutria breeds:

• standard;
• silver;
• golden;
• black;
• mother-of-pearl;
• smoky;
• brown;
• white.

It is worth discussing each breed separately, identifying their advantages and disadvantages, before making a choice in favor of one of them.

Standard

Animals belonging to the standard breed are similar in appearance to their wild relatives. Their fur is brown. Shades can be different and vary within the range from red-brown to light brown. The color of an animal's fur depends on the color of the covering hairs. Their ends are always lighter than the base, which creates the illusion of an overflow, a play of light.

The fur on the belly and sides of the body of these animals is slightly lighter than on the back and neck. Most farmers prefer this particular variety of nutria because they are unpretentious in nutrition and undemanding in care. The standard breed has good fertility. The female brings up to 12 cubs in a litter.

Specifications:

• the average weight of an adult animal is 5-7 kg;
• body length is 45-60 cm;
• color – shades of brown;
• eye color - brown.

Attention! Nutria love to swim in water, bathing helps maintain their fur. good condition, this must be taken into account when planning to breed them. A small pool is being built for the animals where they can splash around.

Silver

This variety was obtained by crossing representatives of the beige and Italian breeds. The silver nutria is characterized by an unusual fur color. The undercoat of these animals is dense and dark, and the covering hairs are strong, glossy dark gray or almost black at the base and silvery at the ends.

The highlight of this species is the presence of a vertical silver stripe running along the entire line of the back along the ridge. The fur of animals with blue undercoat is especially valued. Despite the fact that this breed of nutria has a strong constitution, the main purpose of their cultivation is to obtain skins. They are used to make luxurious fur coats, fur hats and vests.

Specifications:

• the weight of the animal reaches 8 kg;
• body length – 47-62 cm;
• the physique is strong, the muscle corset is well defined;
• color – silver, silver-blue;
• eyes are red.

Attention! The slaughter yield of meat of this breed exceeds 53%, it is tasty and juicy.

Golden

Golden nutria have beautiful sand-colored fur, and on the back, along the ridge, there is a thick, bright golden stripe; the color of the covering hairs here is rich. In the belly area and on the sides the fur is lighter. The undercoat can be beige, pink or white. These animals were brought to Russia from Europe.

Specifications:

• body length – up to 60 cm;
• weight – 6-8 kg;
• brown eyes;
• golden color.

Disadvantage of the type - low rate fertility. If you cross a female and a male of the golden breed, 3-4 puppies will be born. If you want to get a large offspring, you need to mate females with representatives of the standard breed. In this case, half of the litter will have the mother's characteristics, and the remaining puppies will inherit the father's genetic information.

Black

Black nutria comes from sunny Argentina. Its fur is highly valued because it is uniform in color on all parts of the body. The guard hairs are dense and shiny, and the underfur is dark gray.

In a litter of purebred black animals there are 5-7 puppies. If you crossbreed with representatives of the standard breed, animals with black or dark brown skin will be born.

Specifications:

• an adult grows up to 65 cm in length;
• weight – 6-8 kg, and some individuals are more well-fed (up to 12 kg);
• eye color – brown or black:
• The color is uniform black.

Mother of pearl

The pearlescent appearance was created by crossing an Italian white and a beige nutria. The color of their fur is uneven. guard hairs on different areas bodies are painted in shades of beige, pink and blue color. Such heterogeneous color is called zonal.

Attention! The predominance of gray guard hairs in the coat of pearly nutria is considered a defect.

When two representatives of this species are crossed, cubs with completely unpredictable colors are born.

Smoky

The smoky breed is similar in appearance to the standard one. The guard hairs of these animals are not brown, as in representatives of the standard species, and their undercoat is always gray. The fur on the belly is slightly lighter than on the back and sides, but even there it is ash-colored.

Attention! Crossing nutrias belonging to the smoky breed leads to the birth of cubs of the same color. If you breed a smoky female to a standard male, the puppies will inherit the fur color from the father.

Brown

The brown exotic nutria breed was bred in the Krasnodar region during Soviet times. Breeders conducted an experiment on crossing golden and black animals. The result exceeded expectations - the fur of the new species turned out to be rich brown, smoothly transitioning to a lighter shade in the abdominal area. The underfur is characterized by a gray-brown tone. The animal's paws, tail and muzzle are dark, and the rest of the body is lighter.

Attention! Puppies obtained by crossing brown breeds are born with dark fur. As you grow older, the saturation of the tone decreases.

White

Soviet breeders made a number of attempts to breed nutria with pure white fur. They first started operating in 1930. However, the albino animals they obtained were unable to produce healthy offspring. After the first unsuccessful attempt, breeding work was started again in the mid-20th century. Scientists have managed to breed white offspring from nutrias that have white spots on their heads. But later, when they had males and females with fur of the desired color at their disposal, they did not produce a single cub.

Although Krasnodar scientists faced complete failure, they managed to breed white nutria in Azerbaijan. This happened in 1956. The resulting breed had white not only guard hairs, but also the underfur.

Characteristics of Azerbaijani white nutria:

• dense build;
• thick neck, smoothly turning into the body;
• edging of fur around the eyes, ears and the mouth is slightly darker than other parts of the body;
• paws and membranes are pink;
• brown eyes
• Fertility is average - there are 4-5 puppies in a litter.

Attention! When mated with a male of the same breed, Azerbaijani white nutria produces puppies of both white and standard colors, but the litter is dominated by pups with snow-white fur.

There is another variety with white fur - the Italian nutria, but this breed's fur color is not snow-white, but rather beige or gray. This illusion is created due to the shade of the undercoat; it is colored a subtle beige or light gray, while the guard hair covering the undercoat is white. Animals whose undercoat is unevenly colored or has too rich a tone compared to the surface hair are subject to culling.

The main difference between the breeds is the color of the fur. The most valuable skins come from brown, black and white nutria. Having decided on the choice of breed, the farmer needs to figure out how to care for the animals, what to feed them, and what breeding method is best to use. Awareness of these issues will allow you to achieve success in animal husbandry.

In the countries of the former CIS, Europe and America, nutria breeds of various colors are bred. Through selection, species have been bred that have not only a different color from the standard nutria, but also a different direction. That is, meat breeds of nutria, among which you can find real giants and those that are raised exclusively for their high-quality skins.

There are several main breeds and we will dwell on each of them in detail.

Standard

It is very similar to the wild one, the color of the fur can be different, but most often it is brown or steel. The color intensity is different. The bulk of the fur is brown with various shades. The color of the skin's hair depends on the color of the covering, long hair. The covering hair can have a different tone - zonal. For example, the color on the tummy is much lighter than on the back. This variety is the most common. Downy wool can also be of different saturations and colors. The fluff on the belly is lighter than on the ridge. Females bring five babies, sometimes more. They are distinguished by great care for their growing offspring. Eye color is brown.

Silver

Silvery nutria exclusively beautiful view They are bred almost all over the world. The fur looks elegant and they are bred mainly for their skins. Color dark gray. The outer gloss of the fur of silvery nutria is given by the soft undercoat. There are individuals with different shades. There may be special variations of light gray tones.

Very often there are individuals of this type, with brown or blue underfur. This combination gives the fur a sophisticated and chic look. In order for the skins to be of high quality, you need to properly house the animals and take good care of them.

One curious feature is why silvery nutria got their name. The entire color of the animals is dark gray, and on the ridge it is completely silver.

The color of the skins is very pure, without shades of brown. This variety was obtained by crossing beige and Italian breeds. It is worth mentioning separately about the eyes of these animals. Unlike other breeds, silver nutrias are red.

Silvery nutria are quite large in size, among which you can find simply giants. If they are fed properly and cared for well, their weight can reach more than twelve kilograms. Silver babies are obtained by crossing females of the regular breed and males of the mother-of-pearl breed. IN in this case in the brood there will be babies of a uniform color.

When a white Italian breed female is mated to a standard breed male, the litter may contain puppies with silver fur.

This breed is universal; in addition to the luxurious skins that are used to make luxurious fur coats and hats, they produce quite a lot of high-quality meat.

Golden

They came to our countries from Europe. The size and weight are about the same as regular ones. The hair on the back is bright golden in color. On the tummy - a little lighter. The underfur is pinkish. The eyes of most individuals are brown. In the case of mating of a male and a female of this breed, there will be no more than four babies in the litter. To increase fertility, this breed is mated with others. Including standard ones. In this case, it turns out that half of the babies are golden in color, half are standard.

Black

This species was bred in Argentina. In many respects it is similar to the standard one. When crossing individuals of this breed, there will be no more than five babies in the litter. The fur is black. The underfur is dark gray. Moreover, the intensity of hair color is the same throughout the body. In some cases, so-called breeding occurs, when babies of normal color are distinguished from others by zonally colored wool. If you combine this breed with ordinary ones, you get babies with black or brown fur. The color is uniform throughout the body.

Mother of pearl

This variety is the result of crossing beige individuals with white ones. The fur color is silver-gray. Coloring is zonal. Underfur with a bluish cream tint. The skin has a pearlescent tint. The litter may contain babies of various shades in addition to the basic white and pearlescent. There may also be gray puppies.

Video “Nutria of different colors”

Male and female with different fur colors.

Smoky

The color of smoky nutrias is very similar to standard ones. However, the shade is cleaner. The eyes are gray. They are unpretentious. There are usually five babies in a litter. If it happens with common breeds Nutria babies will be born with a normal color.

Brown

Brown nutria breeds are the result of crossing golden individuals with black ones. The color of the fur can combine golden and black shades. The hair is brownish-brown, darker towards the ridge, lighter towards the bottom. The undercoat is brown-gray. If you cross nutria of this species with each other, then the litter may contain different puppies with different shades of fur from black to golden. Fur hats and others fur products This species is in great demand.

These are the main types. But there are many others.

All of the above types of rodents reproduce well, produce healthy offspring, which, when properly maintained, grow normally, gain weight and produce meat and skins of excellent quality.

It is worth noting that colored skins are more expensive than regular colored skins.

Breeding nutria on small private farms is becoming increasingly popular. Animals are not only unpretentious in food and living conditions, but also differ good health. Selecting swamp beavers for breeding better in a nursery or on a special fur farm. And before you make a choice, you should learn more about the characteristics of nutria breeds: not only the color of the fur, but also the weight of the rodent, the nuances of its maintenance, and fertility depend on the breed.

Features of nutria breeds

The swamp beaver family includes more than fifteen breeds. They are divided depending on color into:

• Standard,
• Colored.

Standard nutria are closest to their wild relatives in color, body shape, and fur density. They have good eyesight, a developed sense of smell, and hearing. The rodent's skin is brown: from light on the tummy to dark brown or almost black on the back. Guard hair different lengths: shorter on the tummy, much longer on the back. Standard breeds of nutria are the most fertile and less demanding of conditions, so they are often the first choice of nutria breeders. The downside is that the price for standard fur is always less than for colored fur.

Colored breeds of nutria appeared as a result of long and targeted selection, fixation of the necessary mutations and careful selection of puppies for the breed. Colored nutria are less fertile, and some require special conditions. Thus, cream and silver nutria tolerate cold weather less well, and white nutria are very picky about the quality of food.

Colored nutria: selection features

Fur breeders divide all colored breeds into two groups. The first includes breeds with a dominant gene:

• Azerbaijani,
• Black,
• Buraya,
• Golden.

To the second - breeds with a recessive genome:

• Italian,
• Beige,
• Lemon and others.

The main difference: the ability to transfer color to puppies during intrabreed selection, as well as with other colored nutria. If a standard female is coated with a colored male with a dominant gene, then most of the puppies will turn out to be colored: the color can be the color of the male or different from the parent. If the male is recessive, then most of the puppies will be of a standard color. This practice is very often used in young farms, when two or three colored males of different breeds are purchased for a family of 10-15 standard females.

When breeding nutria, many breeders prefer to keep the line pure.

A line means all males obtained from one breed sire. Such males transmit characteristic features to all offspring: animals differ in the quality of their fur, brightness of color, exterior, breed and fertility. The disadvantage of this selection is the strict attitude towards the selection of females.

It is important to avoid close inbreeding. Second important point: females must be large, exterior and carry color genes.

Description of nutria rocks

There is no consensus on which breeds are best for home care and breeding. To answer this question, it is necessary to study the fur market and focus on which skins are more in demand. When choosing a nutria breed, you should also take into account personal preferences and wishes, climatic features of the region and possibilities.

Standard breed

Breeding and maintaining standard nutria is the simplest. This is why the breed has become so popular. The fur color of a standard swamp beaver varies from light brown to black-brown, and may have zonal lightening - this is allowed by the breed standard. At good feeding females are capable of producing up to three litters per year, each of which consists of 6-8 puppies. Standard females are good mothers: they are distinguished by their milk production and are able to produce not only their own, but also adopted puppies.

The structure of the standard nutria is very similar to its wild relative: a large head, a thick, short and strong neck, small ears covered with dense hairs, a strong and muscular body with deep chest. Paws with well developed toes.

Very often on videos on the Internet you can see standard males of gigantic size. With good feeding, the animal grows up to 60 cm in length and can weigh up to 15 kg!

Nutria are albinos

White nutria are sometimes called albinos, but this is not true. Albinism implies a complete lack of pigmentation: the skin of such an animal is snow-white, the skin is pink, the paw pads and tail are also pink. Eyes may be pink or red. Albinism is a rare and complex mutation that can occur in any breed. Having received one or two albino puppies, breeders often seek to consolidate the mutation in subsequent litters. This is not always possible: when crossing closely related individuals with a genetic mutation, some puppies are born with weak bones, poor eyesight, and various physical abnormalities.

Most puppies do not survive to puberty. Males may be unable to reproduce.

White Azerbaijani breed

Swamp beavers of this breed have one distinctive feature: the down and outer hair are snow-white and indistinguishable from each other in their structure. This is what makes swamp beaver fur so valuable and expensive on the market. The breed color is transmitted to puppies by dominant genes, so even when mating with standard swamp beavers, some of the offspring will have beautiful white fur, the tail and paws may be black.

Albino

The main difference from Azerbaijani whites is the creamy beige or champagne-colored shade of the undercoat. The outer coat is snow-white. Any pigmentation, darkening or inclusions of other shades are unacceptable by the breed standard. When crossed within a breed, all babies in the litter will be white. It is profitable to cross Albins (Italian white swamp beavers) with standards: more than half of the puppies in the litter will have beautiful color- silver.

Snow nutria

Snow swamp beavers are not a separate breed. This is the result of crossing a silver female and a golden one (preferably a light golden male). It is better to choose a female from the litter obtained from an albino female - this will increase fertility. It is quite difficult to get snow puppies in a litter, but the price of the fur is worth all the effort. Mating of two snow individuals is not recommended: the litter will contain no more than three cubs of standard, white, brown or golden color.

Argenta

Argenta or silver nutria are distinguished by their gray (from dark to light) color with a beautiful, steely tint. The undercoat ranges from bluish (the most valuable) to sand color. Argentas were obtained by crossing Italian (albino) and beige individuals with standard ones. Crossing two Argentas is not recommended: fertility decreases.

Perlata

Pearly swamp beavers are the result of mating between beige swamp beavers and albino beavers. It is better to use an Italian white female and a beige male. The fur is a beautiful, rich gray-silver shade with a noticeable creaminess. The undercoat most often has a bluish tint. Intrabreed selection allows you to get cubs:

• Burykh,
• Belykh,
• Beige,
• Mother-of-pearl.

Brunella

Brunella or brown nutria are distinguished by very dark, almost black color of the outer hair on the back and golden on the sides. The fur of these animals looks luxurious: in videos on the Internet you can often see how the animal’s fur shines gold in the sun. Brown nutria skins are quite expensive. When crossing two brown individuals, puppies are born in the litter different colors: some of them may be standard, some brown, some golden.

Pastel nutria

Very rare breed. The color is very similar to the color of a ripe chestnut. The color has zonal darkening. When breeding within the breed, it is almost impossible to obtain a pastel color. It is recommended to cross with brown, golden, standard nutria.

Lemon nutria

Swamp beavers of this rare color are most often kept in apartments: they have very soft and delicate fur, and in appearance they least of all resemble ordinary nutria. The color can only be obtained from a pair of golden and albino or beige nutria. They are quite demanding in care: they do not tolerate cold weather well, need high-quality food, and are susceptible to infectious diseases.

Nutria sapphire

The second name of the breed is beige nutria. Divided into three intrabreed types:

• dark,
• Average,
• Light.

The breed is quite popular among hobbyists: the animals are easy to keep, not demanding, fertile, and their fur is highly valued on the market. The main hair is brown (from dark chocolate to sand) with a beautiful smoky tint. The color is zonal: the base of the hair is very often close in color to beige or light brown, and the end can be silver.

Creamy nutria

Very close in color to sapphire. It is distinguished by a light beige color on the tummy and a lighter, most often soft beige color on the back. The skin on the paws may be pinkish or bluish. Eyes - dark ruby ​​or color ripe cherries. Their best quality They gain fur by the age of five months. Older individuals may develop brownish tints, which reduces the cost of the skin. The color is well transmitted during intrabreed mating.

Straw nutria

This is not a separate breed of swamp beaver. Straw nutria - genetic mutation, obtained by crossing two standard nutrias. Animals are distinguished by lighter color, soft, thick and silky fur. When two straw-colored swamp beavers mate, the litter will produce only standard-colored puppies. It is most profitable to use straw breeders for crossing with any colored nutria: the cubs can turn out to be of a unique color or with a fixed straw color.

Nutria black

The black swamp beaver has a beautiful, rich, very deep and uniform color. There is one intrabreed type: black zonal. It is distinguished by a lighter color, often with a golden or silver tint, in the area of ​​the ears, on the tummy and sides. Black swamp beavers are very attractive in appearance, and their fur is highly valued. Crossing is possible both within the breed and with any white, lemon, beige or standard swamp beavers. With other colored breeds, the number of cubs in the litter will be no more than three.

Nutria pearl

Pearly swamp beavers are the result of crossing snow and lemon nutrias with pastel ones. Rare and very valuable color morph. The outer coat is light gray, sometimes almost white. The color of the down ranges from rich brown on the back to lemon or sand on the belly. At birth, all puppies have a darker color and acquire a pearl color by 6-7 months. With intrabreeding, the fertility of swamp beavers sharply decreases. To obtain a pearl color, it is recommended to cross with standard or pastel males. They are demanding to care for: a bathing area, a spacious walk and good ventilation of the winter room are required.

Nutria giants

Nutria breeds differ not only in color and fertility, but also in size. So the largest ones include:

• Black, sometimes called the Canadian giant,
• White Azerbaijani,
• Standard.

Representatives of these breeds, with good care and proper rearing, can reach a weight of 15 kg or more with a body length of 55 to 80 cm. Owners of giants very often do professional photos and videos of their pets and offer them for mating.

The remaining breeds are more modest in size and have an average weight of about 8 kg.

It is brown, but breeders have developed many colored breeds.

Raising animals with different fur is not only exciting, but also profitable.

Colored skins are in high demand on the market and are in demand in fashion studios.

The novice farmer will love the opportunity to learn how to cross breeds to produce offspring with a unique coat color.

IN natural conditions nutria prefer the shores of calm bodies of water, live in deep burrows, and feed on coastal vegetation and small fish. The external appearance resembles river beavers, but they have a smaller tail. The body of the rodent reaches 56 cm, and the tail – 40-50 cm.

Nutria quickly gets used to being kept in a household environment, although it is naturally afraid of any suspicious sound. Breeds of nutria have been bred, photos and descriptions of which will help you understand the animals suitable for breeding at home. The animals increase their weight up to 8 kg, and the meat is suitable for dietary nutrition. To raise livestock you do not need to buy expensive food, just stock up on grass, feed, carrots and potatoes.

Before breeding, you should familiarize yourself with the breeds, find out characteristic differences. Animals are divided into two varieties. In the standard species, the fur color is mostly brown, while in the colored species, the fur has different shades.

Standard breed nutria

The standard breed, in its external description, resembles its wild counterparts living in river backwaters. In households they fatten up to 6 kg, but there are cases of reaching 12 kg. The body length of the individual reaches 60 cm. The fur is colored brown, which can vary from the lightest to rich, almost red. The fur is dark at the base and becomes lighter towards the end.

Standard View Most often they are grown in subsidiary farms, due to the ease of reproduction and low requirements for food. There is only one drawback - if there is a deficiency of vitamin feed, the fur begins to fall off. In order for the nutria to feel good, ponds for swimming are equipped on the farm’s territory. The most profitable solution is to set up a farm near a river or lake and let the livestock splash around to their heart's content, although you should take care to install a reliable fence.

Colored species

The koipu is a swamp beaver with waterproof brown fur, but the domestic nutria comes in a variety of coat colors. A century ago, prices for animal skins soared that wild populations the coipu was almost completely destroyed. On farms in our country, nutria suffered from exposure low temperatures, therefore, they decided to keep the livestock in closed buildings to prevent deaths from frostbite.

Cage breeding of not only standard but also colored species has become widely popular. As a result of experiments, many color types of animals were obtained: smoky, cream, albino. Breeders have learned to produce skins of various shades, amazing with their softness and silkiness to the touch, high wear resistance and high-quality dressing.

All types of colored nutria are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to the conditions of their detention, are very amenable to crossing, and bear offspring, which, with proper care, quickly grow up and produce high-quality fur.

Golden look

In terms of dimensions, golden nutria repeat the standard. Attracts unusual color wool - a golden stripe runs along the back, which expands towards the abdomen, where it turns into a pale pink color. Many breeders prefer breeding this breed of nutria, because fur products are valued at higher prices on the market. Disadvantages include insufficient fertility - there are 3 babies in a litter. Even if you create comfortable conditions and fortify the diet, the female will not bring more puppies.

You can increase the number of offspring if you cross the golden and standard breeds, so you get up to five puppies.

Besides:

• Black look. Black iridescence on the skin gives the nutria a beautiful appearance, while the guard coat is black, and the undercoat has a dark gray tint. have another name - Canadian giants, and in terms of weight and fertility they are similar to the standard breed. When crossed with representatives of other breeds, half of the puppies are born with brown fur, and the other half with black fur. They are dominant over the golden breed.
• White look. The white Azerbaijani nutria has snow-white guard and downy hairs. The standard allows no more than 10% of spots near the tail or eyes. When crossed with other breeds, the female gives birth to five babies. White Italian nutria were brought to our country several decades ago. The animal's skin is white with a cream tint, the skin itself is pale pink.
• Pearly look. When crossing the lemon or snow breed with the pastel breed, pearl nutria are obtained. The hairline is dominated by light colors, and the guard hairs are light gray with a transition to white. The underfur on the back is brownish, but becomes lighter in the belly area. When breeding within the breed, fertility is lost, so it is best to crossbreed with a pastel breed - babies with pearl fur are guaranteed to be born. They produce viable offspring that are unpretentious to feeding and quickly gain weight on vitamin feed.
• Lemon look. Lemon representatives are similar to the golden breed, but have lighter fur. With patience, breeders get a unique color when crossing a beige or pearlescent breed with a golden one. Although they do not always achieve a satisfactory result, lemon fur puppies are rather the exception to the rule. The coloring is unusually beautiful, but is not suitable for industrial breeding.
• Snowy view. The starting material can be obtained by crossing a light golden male with a silver female. The efforts of the breeders are worth it - snow-white animals with a pinkish nose, paws and tail are born. When crossing within a breed, fertility noticeably decreases, so animals with different fur colors are looked for.
• Silver look. The hair on the back is silver or dark steel, with no brown shades at all. Rarely are representatives of the breed with a bluish tint of underfur, which are especially highly valued on the market. They are bred exclusively for quality skins. Fur looks very expensive and is used for sewing outerwear and accessories. When interbreeding, half of the litter has silver fur color, the rest are standard and white breed. When providing good care and proper feeding, they can reach a weight of 12 kg.
• Exotic brown look. Brown puppies were obtained from crossing a black and a golden species. Newborn babies have dark brown fur, but with age it lightens to a brown tint. It is advised to cross the breed with black nutria to obtain numerous offspring. As a result, the litter will consist of black and brown individuals.

The largest animals grow among representatives of standard, partly colored breeds. If you plan your diet correctly, you can feed an animal up to 10 kg. Skins with different fur colors are highly valued on the market, but the main mistake of beginners in farming is the lack of knowledge about the pattern of the appearance of colored puppies when crossing different breeds.

The success of the business depends only on predicting the expected color of the babies, as well as the fertility propensity of the breed.

Factors that give excellent growing performance

Breeders claim that it is not necessary to pursue the acquisition of representatives large breeds, it is enough to select animals from a healthy litter, provide them with care and proper feeding.

To achieve high performance growth should adhere to certain rules:

• Comfortable conditions for keeping livestock in winter. Very important for growing animals temperature regime indoors and, although the fur reliably protects from the cold, the tail and paws remain defenseless against frost. Nutria often die from frostbite, so care must be taken to insulate the cells.
• Strict compliance with requirements balanced nutrition. The feed must contain mineral supplements, vitamins and proteins. If it receives everything it needs for growth and development, it quickly gains weight.
• The presence of lighting helps good health livestock
• For water procedures bathtubs are prudently installed. Builds up faster when swimming muscle mass, which contributes to weight gain.

The livestock will remain in in full force, if you turn on the heating in the room in the winter. Adults' cages are insulated, and babies are moved to the heated part of the enclosure.

Feeding rules

There are no differences regarding feeding for all breeds. Nutria readily eat food intended for rabbits or sheep. There are several categories of food for quick weight gain:

• Green food. Tops of garden crops and mown meadow grass are fed. Jerusalem artichoke root is nutritious and has the same calorie content as potatoes.
• Roughage. In winter, straw and tree branches will help out. They are harvested and dried while the grass is setting buds to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins.
• Succulent crops. The category includes various vegetables and waste from preparing berry fruit drinks. Animals eat in large quantities , .
• Various feeds. Not only grain crops, but also granulated concentrated feeds are suitable for complementary feeding. On private farms, livestock are given steamed bran and are often fed oat or wheat grains.

Feeders are placed in enclosures for their own convenience, but it is worth noting that nutria transport this equipment at their discretion to another place. As a result, food is lost and the animal simply scatters it on the floor. Therefore, troughs attached to the wall serve as feeders. The animals will not be able to remove the device on their own, but the owner can always pick it up to wash off any remaining food.