Mutation Combinations

Dark Pastel or Char Brown

The Char Brown is one of the more common mutation combinations involving the Charcoal, and is a combination of Homozygous Recessive Brouke Charcoal, Tower Beige and Gunning Black Velvet. The colour of this chinchilla is of a Brown Velvet, but with the veiling coverage spreading all over the animal, including it's belly fur. The Char Brown strongly resembles a matt Brown colour. The Char Brown is one of the combinations involving Charcoal, others being the Char Black and the Light Pastel...

 

Genetics of the Char Brown

The Charcoal, as has been stated, is a simple recessive Mutation, which only shows itself fully in the Homozygous state. A Heterozygous Charcoal, or a 'Charcoal Carrier' will resemble whatever the 'base' colouration the animal is which carries the single Charcoal gene. If this was a Standard, the chinchilla would look like a Standard, and if it were a Beige, then it would look like a Beige, and if it were a Brown Velvet, then it would look like a Brown Velvet, etc, etc.

If you wish to breed Char Browns, then the best method is to mate a Charcoal to a Brown Velvet. All kits from this mating will carry a single Charcoal gene, and will therefore be either Beiges, Brown Velvets or Standards, all carrying Charcoal. Once this mating has taken place, you have a selection of Charcoal carriers, some of which will be Beiges, some Brown Velvets, and some Standards. If you then mate these to Charcoal animals, there are four possible combinations.

The following matings would yield these results;

Mating Progeny
Char Brown x

Charcoal
  • 1/4 Char Browns
  • 1/4 Char Blacks
  • 1/4 Pastels
  • 1/4 Charcoals
Char Brown x

Standard
  • 1/4 Brown Velvet Charcoal carriers
  • 1/4 Black Velvet Charcoal carriers
  • 1/4 Beige Charcoal carriers
  • 1/4 Standard Charcoal carriers
Char Brown x

Standard Charcoal Carrier
  • 1/8 Char Browns
  • 1/8 Char Blacks
  • 1/8 Pastels
  • 1/8 Charcoals
  • 1/8 Brown velvet Charcoal carriers
  • 1/8 Black Charcoal carriers
  • 1/8 Beige Charcoal carriers
  • 1/8 Standard Charcoal carriers
Char Black x Beige Charcoal carrier As above
Pastel x Black Charcoal carrier As above
Charcoal x Brown Velvet Charcoal carrier As above

 

Breeding Char Browns

Char Browns are a complex mutation to breed, since they involve the Charcoal mutation which in itself is a recessive. It is imperative that when attempting to breed these mutations, that only the finest examples of Charcoal, Beige and Black Velvet are used, paying specific attention to the fur qualities, and the clarity of your chinchillas. The colour which the Brown Velvet adds to the Charcoal to become the Char Brown is not attractive if the clarity of colour is poor and if the animal is tinged or not blue (the blue hue which all chinchillas should have, if of high quality).

Char Browns possess the same problems as the Charcoals, namely that they have a tendency to be small, to have a soft fur type, and also to be off-colour or be brownish, rather than clear and blue. Again this does not have to be the case if the best Standards, Beiges and Black Velvets are used in their breeding lines, and only the best Charcoal carriers produced selected for breeding.

Char Browns generally are judged in separate classes at present, but with the onset of Tans appearing on UK show tables, they will be judged in the same class, called Self-Brown. The reason for this is that phenotypically (by looking) you cannot distinguish a Tan from a Pastel or a Char Brown easily.

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