Ferret Colouration
"A ferretry using appropriate selection and keeping scrupulous breeding documentation has greater chances to breed more coloured variations, but also to eliminate diseases, many of which have a genetic basis" (Grabolus et al; 2019)
While I disagree with some of the theories discussed in this article I do agree with this statement. As such we do spend a lot of time considering colours and markings. On this page we will mainly be discussing colours, my own understanding of the genetics involved (which is theory, but since we Do keep scrupulous breeding documentation I do have reasonable basis for this) and how markings present on different colours but in the future I might discuss my beliefs on markings genetics on here too, but then we're really going down the rabbit hole of genetics so that might just get confusing
Colour Development:
Ferrets colours change their whole lives, these are all pictures of the same jill at different points in her life. Notice that the colour and markings both change, as does the pigment on her nose
These kinds of changes can be seen and expected in all colours. Sables tend to have very minor changes unless they have roan markings or are heavy marked harlequins.
As a rule dilutes (silvers and lilacs) will become lighter as they age, they can become completely white or only have a few coloured hairs. All colours can move between similar colours and marking between seasons. For example silvers may look like black roans at times, champagnes may become cinnamon's for a few months, black self's can become black sables, pinto pandas can become pandas as markings move and become more or less visible. For this reason colour is usually simplified to base colour and a marking that their overall appearance derives from.
The ferret in the pictures is a Silver Mitt
Occasionally you will see a bit more i.e. black nosed silver, or blue silver, or masked silver but as you can see that may change in the future
Colour descriptions and examples
Undercoats may be white to yellowy orange depending on genetics and hormones. Both males and females can range, however males can reach darker colours due to the high amounts of oil an intact male can produce in the summer.
Noses; markings, range on noses but the colour of these markings will match the coat. A chocolate with a flesh coloured nose with a T mark would have a T that was chocolate for example
Eye colour; unless colour is specified colours vary. Known colours are black, grey, brown, dark amber, hazel, green, blue, burgundy, red/pink/ruby and bi-eyed (2 different coloured eyes)
Solid and Self; can happen in several colours and may be related to melanism. In particular they are similar to the melanism seen in birds which is a darker brown or black colouration but may still display the markings otherwise seen. By this logic the self results from a higher concentration of colour on the head and the solid from a loss of any normal markings (mask, eyebrows etc) for this reason I will not be separating black selfs from black sables, or chocolate solids from chocolate roans
Albino; white with red or ruby eyes. Can be anywhere between orange (in extreme cases) and white. Albino is a masking colour, the ferret may be any other colour but hidden by the albino genes. This can be described as a white paint or white mask over the “true” colour.
Sable; refers to the classic ferret colours, the wild colour. Over coat dark brown made of black and brown banding contrasting against the undercoat. Markings can vary, resulting in colour often being split by “light” and “dark”. Nose can be flesh coloured or a mix of dark brown and black, distinct from the chocolate brown skin shades. Also called Polecat in some circles as this is the default, wild colour. Black sable is classed as a sable at shows but I’m going to talk about it in blacks because I consider it genetically a black, especially since black self kits often grow up to be black sables.
Chocolate; chocolate coat ranging from the colour of bitter dark chocolate to that of a chocolate mousse. Nose colour can help differentiate from other colours being either flesh, a shade of chocolate or mixed. I believe there to be 2 different ways to get a chocolate genetically, a modified black and a modified sandy, but that’s speculation. Pictures 3 and 4 are the same choc roan ferret, please excuse her condition in the second, she was a very old lady and wouldn't be with us much longer.
sandy variety
extremely dark
young
elderly
Sandy; the blonds of the ferret world, can be split
Cinnamon; reddy tone of a sandy. Cinnamon is to ferrets what red is to humans. Colour can range in intensity. Nose can be flesh through to brick red
Champagne; sandys of cooler tone. Champagne can range from a straw blond to a dark taupe. Literally any sandy not a cinnamon. Nose flesh to russet to match coat intensity
NB. The distinction between cinnamon and champagne (and pale chocolate) can be down to the individual. Where do you put a russet ferret like Tawney, especially when she goes a more brown than red or taupe? For this reason, many breeders will use sandy for both champagne and cinnamon, so as not to mislead. I see cinnamon and champagne as similar to the yellow Labrador, which explains the colour connection to me. A yellow, cream and fox red lab are all yellow labs with different modifiers acting on them. This could also be a matter of xanthism vs erythism. The lack of other pigments than yellow in xanthism may also account for somes belief in albinism and sandy being linked
between colours
arguably verging on cinnamon
lilac; although easily not recognised unless seen for yourself lilac is very distinctive from other colours. This topcoat is a mix of individual sandy, chocolate and silver resulting in a lilac or burnished/ruddy silver colour overall. Nose pigment matches coat. It is very badly understood at present, but I believe to be an expression of silver, chocolate and possibly sandy in one animal, This is supported in our celestials litter. Some believe lilac to be diluted chocolate and silver diluted black, but as there was 2 chocolates in the celestials at least one of these statements is incorrect. It could even be that lilac is a silver that does not display axanthism (a lack of yellow colouration)
DEW; White coat with coloured eyes. This is any white ferret that is not albino. DEWs are formed by the white markings taking over the whole coat covering the colour they derived from. Marked DEWs, 3rd photo, have a patch or two of their derivative colour. Known derivatives of DEW are silver, sandy, lilac and black, though I would not rule out other colours. I would say there is also multiple ways to get a DEW, though I will focus on those that do not seem to involve ill health. An additive effect like Charlie rabbits and, of course, roan removing the base colour as an adult. These can be seen together in some animals, like Elliott who lost his markings, or alone, like Xzander who kept his markings until the end of his life. There’s some irregularities in this however so I believe there is multiple genes interacting that build to white coats in different ways. In any case it is a classic case of leucism, which is also what causes white markings
NB DEW and BEW are interchangeable, BEW being replaced with DEW as more people realised that their ferrets eyes were blue, brown or green not just black as was originally thought
Silver; Grey top coat. Can range from very dark grey to very pale shading (my preference being for a “blue” mid tone grey), with a wide range of solid colour to sparse coloured hairs, often depending on age. Although a silver may appear like a black roan at times in their life they are distinct at other times as a silvers grey hairs may range in tone but all a blacks individual coloured hair is always black, even if roaned to a silver appearance overall. A breeder can easily differentiate between black and dark silver when the colour originally comes through despite them being very similar when older because blacks show through the skin much sooner, usually at birth, but silvers colour is much more subtle and appears lighter (for example check out the Beetlejuice litter, Barbara and Beetlejuice have similar markings but one is black roan and one is dark silver). Some believe blacks and silvers to be derived from the same genes but modified. This is supported by silvers having black nose pigment more often than grey nose pigment and the resemblance of black roans and dark silvers
Black; can range from a deep raven black to a smutty black. Some may argue with me, but I would put black sable in blacks rather than sables from looking at my own ferrets. I consider a black sable very distinct from a dark sable when looking at colour not markings (NB they’d be in with the sables at a show, I’m talking genetics 😉 ). Nose pigment is always black or flesh tone, never grey or browns, mask is distinctly black not brown. Essentially no red melanin is obvious. Blacks range from black sable to self and solid, this can include any white markings, marking being necessary to cause any flesh colour on the nose.
Coloured; Any colour not separately classed. I tend to use coloured for ferrets who I know will (or may) change dramatically between colours, like my Eglantine who was a lovely sable, then a silver, then a chocolate, then an odd 3 different colours at once. Her daughter is also this colour. This class often covers emerging colours as well like lilac at a show, or colours that don’t fit any other category. Our Thomas was classed as coloured being a mix of black and mid brown hairs that made him look like a mix of sandy and sable, although the colour was definitely sable based like Eglantines. Coloured can also cover ferrets with markings if the markings cannot fit into any easy category.
these days some might put him in sable but colour was clearly between a sable and sandy
sable but looks to be a steely silver
sable based, patches of chocolate, sable and dark silver visable at once. Range cannot fit in any other class
Silver, DEW and lilac paired breeding is frowned upon when done by inexperienced breeders, or people who don't know about their lines. This is because in the past people have been breeding to attain Silvers and DEWs without thought to health. To get guaranteed kits in these colours they were inbred on purpose or, because keeping pedigrees is still a new idea in standard ferrets, they were bred to the same colour nearby and, hence accidentally inbred. As you can imagine this has led to some lines becoming very ill. One such condition that reared its head during this is Waardenburgh syndrome. The fact that this is only associated with silvers is frankly ridiculous because its just as likely to be in any colour, particularly if they're badger striped, pandas whose markings are derived from certain markings and blazes, which are ignored by the same people. This is because waardenburgh is a lateral line defect, though not nearly as dangerous as some similar defects. Not all ferrets with these markings are effected or even carriers, in fact the only ferret I have personally met with any symptoms was an albino and we have produced a silver badger who was waardenburgh free.
It is worth mentioning that although this condition is becoming more known it is most prevelant in lines found from ferret mills, particularly those in America.
The main symptom of this illness is deafness, so as a breeder and someone who works their ferrets I don't want it anywhere near my lines (jills who cannot hear their kits usually kill or abandon them, and I want my workers to come when I call) so I am psychotic about checking for signs such as head shape, expression and hearing ability on any ferret I breed, particularly these colours and markings, and any ferret I bring into the ferretry, as well as asking about it when I confirm they're healthy lines free from other health issues. I even spend time studying pictures of relatives of lines I bring in for these signs. As such I can say with complete confidence my lines are waardenburgh free and it is very doubtful that we will produce a kit with it. In order to confirm this and protect our lines better we have now began BAER testing
A note on Waardensburg