What is compatible with silver grey?

[Mollz]

Me and mum have been thinking about a secon line for a while now (possibly her line), and I really love Greys and, after seeing pictures today, think that Silver Grey might be the way to go.

Now my question is, what could I breed with one?

I have been reading a bit and found out the Ivory is a mix of Grey with cream, so if I mated A Silver Grey carrying Cream with a Cream, would I get Ivories? What else would I get?

Is there anything else I can mate with Silver Grey that will be compatible (e.g. not produce goldens)?

On that note, I/Mum may be on the look out for a nice show Silver Grey boy :D

I haven't looked at Agouti genetics at all yet, so will appreciate your help! Thanks.

[Matty Day]

Well mollz I am also looking into all the standard colours and varieties try the midland hamster clubs site very helpful my aim over the next to years before I start my next line is to learn as much as i can about the other non cream colours I like and then deciding if I am going to have a totally separate line of a different colour or having a mingle of cream and cream compatible colours I have got until 2010 to choose though so I want to see examples of each colour and learn how there judged.

[Mollz]

Well, we are considering: Silver Grey, Black and Cinnamon.
Which one would anybody recommend (particularly people who have bred these colours)?
I like the idea of black and silve grey particulalrly as I LOVE black and you can mate it with quite a few things (and make lovely tortoiseshells) but I do like silver greys too - so it is reall out of these two....

[Spuds Mum]

well I love silver greys too Molly, although I do like all greys!

The only thing that I would worry about with silver greys (and this is only a personal thing for me, cause I dont understand it) is this LBJ (little brown job) thing that has been spoken about on the forum that comes out of silver grey lines. Im going to ask Andrew Bryan all about it next time I get chance!

I think though, if you mated a cream to a pure silver grey you would get silver grey carrying cream first time round, as silver grey is a dominant gene. You would have to mate a silver grey carrying cream to a cream to get ivories (I think)

I believe my sable roan princess is actually a silver sable roan (though you cant tell from looking at her) but her daughter, a sable was identified as probably being a silver sable (and so non-standard really) due to her silver grey rather than cream undercoat, so this is something you would need to bear in mind if you were thinking about crossing your two lines - but Im sure sue will tell me Im totally wrong and make sense of it all! :wink:

[Bourne Valley Hams]

Don't ask me I don't understand genetics!! :lol:

I don't think Andrew understands the LBJs himself - they just appeared! I have never had them come up in any silver litters except those descended from his line - most odd.

If anyone wants one of these weird LBJs I have some in a 2 week old litter!

[Mollz]

Yes, there is an awful lot to consider. I'm not sure what I want at the moment - so I don't plan on making any decisions quickly (I hate making rash decisions). I know exactly where I am with creams; what to expect in litters, how the genetics work etc. and I don't know whether I want to venture out of this comfort zone yet.
It may just be a case of sticking with creams - maybe introducing a cinnamon to one of my RECs at some point, and just having both types of creams and sables. That will only work if I can stop loving other colours so much though...
I'm just glad that I do have failry good self resraint, if I didn't we'd have 10 hamsters in all the different colours by now!

[Mollz]

Don't ask me I don't understand genetics!! :lol:

I don't think Andrew understands the LBJs himself - they just appeared! I have never had them come up in any silver litters except those descended from his line - most odd.

If anyone wants one of these weird LBJs I have some in a 2 week old litter!

Could you post a picture of them for those of us who haven't seen them yet Sue - I wonder why they just pop out!

[Spuds Mum]

I don't think Andrew understands the LBJs himself - they just appeared! I have never had them come up in any silver litters except those descended from his line - most odd.


Oh really? sorry, I thought reading the posts on here about them that it was a general thing, not Andrew's mutant ninja hamsters! :wink:

So if you got two Sgs from unrelated sources you could establish a Sg line without the chances of LBJs cropping up (I know there wouldnt be any guarantees, but in normal course of things I mean)
Oh in that case Mollz mum (and Mollz) Id say go Sg :D

What do you get if you breed a LBJ sue - do you get silver greys out? or LBJs?

[Bourne Valley Hams]

Your wish is my command!! :lol:
Not the current litter but an earlier one. Mum of that litter (in with them) is an LBJ. See how they become more chocolatey with maturity.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/harriscarter/esme.jpg

[Mollz]

Oooh, LBJs are pretty :D
Shame they are so peculiar really and obviously non-standard as they are very nice!

[Spuds Mum]

Oh they are sweet (like chocolate lol)

and you answered my question while posting at the same time Sue :D so they will produce silver greys but also LBJs as well.
How bizarre.

I have to say though, looking at those Sg pups - I need one! Maybe a thought for the future :D

[Bourne Valley Hams]

I think they are great - you get a nice mix of colours in the litters. With this line you nearly always get all 3 colours, LBJ, white and silver in the litter. Don't ask me how it works though!!

[Mollz]

I have to say though, looking at those Sg pups - I need one! Maybe a thought for the future :D
I know - don't show mum! I'll have to ban her from this bit for a while :wink:

[Spuds Mum]

I wonder then why, if my Princess is a silver sable roan, and Sg is dominant, why we have never had Sg pups in the litters, just mink, and sable roans. Would her being UU have something to do with it? Or maybe she isnt silver sable, in which case why is her sable daughter s undercoat so silvery? sorry = I dont expect anyone can answer really - Im just musing.


and why do you get whites out Sue???
are they flesh eared or dark eared and eyed?

Sorry, dont have to answer, I again am just musing, I am fascinated though :roll:

[Bourne Valley Hams]

and why do you get whites out Sue???
are they flesh eared or dark eared and eyed?



Don't know why!!! Always black eyed, sometimes dark eared too but often fairly light ears greying towards the tips.

[Spuds Mum]

Thanks Sue for your patience - just feel sorry for my poor mother when I was a girl - I think every other word out of my mouth was why?! :oops: :D

I am now finding Sgs and LBJs less scary and more interesting since seeing them!

[Basia]

Looking at the sg pups I can see why you describe the P@H ones like my Sid as 'P@H specials' .
That is a really interesting litter and I like the LBJ, they look very pretty like chocolate.

[Mollz]

Thanks for all of your help everybody.

I have decided to not venture into this for a while, and stick to my creams/sables/roans (how long do we think this will last?).
But I may treat myself to a new cream baby after making this decision :D

[nooboo]

of cause with black cinnie and sg you too can have a line of silver doves!
they are all nice colours that can create a wide range of colours by getting in other stock ocasionally

only issue would be silver greys tend to only be good showers when they are SgSg...het silver greys brown so much! and blacks also tend to have a shorter show life, though i know sheryl has some stunning blacks who are still really black even though they are older....

maybe best to pick the ones that gives you the best combinations with other lines you intend, decide if you want a hamstery of all orangy* things or a wide colour range from a few colours

*my technical term to all colours of a yellowish to an orangy ish colour :P see i wanted all greyish things, but like having my occasional orangy thing in the form of the odd golden or cinnie ;

[Bunsey]

see i like orangy and also greyish, so having good creams and sables is a good choice for me with the odd cinnamon and black.

[Moosley]

I know all our LBJs came out of a huge female Silver Grey (Echo) that we got from Morag aka Babyboos, we also got Echos brother who was a Silver Sable.