Just when you think you have about seen it all with rabbits, they show you something new. Zinfandel's kindle has been one of those experiences. It took some time to track down exactly what was going on, because it is rare to happen but not unknown to at the same time, but I finally found my answer.
When I first looked in the nest box I found a couple, one worse than the other with this pinkish skin with dark areas on the heads. At first I thought they might be torts! And while I do have a desire to help with the Alaska Red Fox project (another breed that Walter Garland was developing after his Silver Fox), I have absolutely no space or desire to take on that project presently.
However, when their fur began to grow in, it was black...well, sort of. The color was off but certainly not tort. All the fur was tipped with white more like a steel chinchilla would be, but they were not steels either (besides the fact that they just should not be) because the coats were too uneven. I would almost say it was like a snowball in reverse.
I asked around and was told that this can happen when the kits are over silvered. Well, as the fur got longer, it did look more like silvering, but not really either.
Finally, I got an answer that made sense:
FEVER COAT!
I never had one before and never had even heard of it before, but I should have not been surprised because rabbits have this tendency to bring the “never before” into my life. However, this is not just a Silver Fox thing nor even just a rabbit thing. A fever coat has nothing to do with silvering and apparently nothing to do with genetics either. It is a lack of pigmentation in the skin and first coats of animals that will grow out or, as we rabbit breeders say, molt out.
Why it is called a fever coat is possibly because some have related it to the mother being sick or overheated while pregnant, but others feel it has more to do with stress. Zinfandel was not sick and was in great condition, but I can accept that she was stressed as it was a hot summer and she previously had two false pregnancies—that poor girl wanted to have babies so badly. This time she actually was pregnant and I was palpating her daily to be sure she was not overly warm and the babies were still moving and alive, so we both where overly anxious! Regardless, the kits will be normal black when they finally molt their first coat. In the meantime, I can just enjoy their differences!
