Mutation Monday- Late again, you guys can fire me at any point lmao
The gunning black velvet appeared on Robert Gunning’s ranch in Washington state on 1960. This simple dominant mutation can co-exist with other mutations affecting their appearance, commonly noted as TOV (touch of velvet) with these combinations. The black velvet genes cause the veiling on a standard gray to be darker and thicker across the back/head to become black; but still keeping the bright white belly. Black velvets are noted to typically have a shorter and a more dense fur type, which can improve on some mutes. Certain lines are seen to have more rounded heads/shorter noses as well.
Black velvets are thought to be slower breeders, but this is not always so. I have personally found that tov females are slower than tov males, but that may be different for other breeders. A black velvet should never be crossed with another black velvet or any form of tov to another tov gene. This is considered another lethal pairing, see the lethal explanation under Wilson white.
Common faults with black velvets include a red hue, off white belly, over veiling (no gradient on the side) and monkey face (uneven or incomplete veiling).
Black velvet is not to be confused with black pearl, which is a recessive gene. Black pearls should be completely black all the way to their white belly, little to no gradient on the side. Black pearl can also co-exist with other mutations.
Share a picture of your black velvet or TOV mutation!
The gunning black velvet appeared on Robert Gunning’s ranch in Washington state on 1960. This simple dominant mutation can co-exist with other mutations affecting their appearance, commonly noted as TOV (touch of velvet) with these combinations. The black velvet genes cause the veiling on a standard gray to be darker and thicker across the back/head to become black; but still keeping the bright white belly. Black velvets are noted to typically have a shorter and a more dense fur type, which can improve on some mutes. Certain lines are seen to have more rounded heads/shorter noses as well.
Black velvets are thought to be slower breeders, but this is not always so. I have personally found that tov females are slower than tov males, but that may be different for other breeders. A black velvet should never be crossed with another black velvet or any form of tov to another tov gene. This is considered another lethal pairing, see the lethal explanation under Wilson white.
Common faults with black velvets include a red hue, off white belly, over veiling (no gradient on the side) and monkey face (uneven or incomplete veiling).
Black velvet is not to be confused with black pearl, which is a recessive gene. Black pearls should be completely black all the way to their white belly, little to no gradient on the side. Black pearl can also co-exist with other mutations.
Share a picture of your black velvet or TOV mutation!