Question on Showing Ebonies

Vyxxin · Jan 12, 2012

SO, I'm no newbie to showing...or show prep...BUT...it's my first time showing ebs this year. That said, I've got two prospects that will be a bit young/small to show but I want judges comments just the same. They're full siblings, same litter. The male is the worst of the two quality wise, I know this. The female...is the better quality BUT (and here's my problem and question) her jerk brother beat the crap out of her as a kit.

SO, as some of you know about ebonies...she's got speckled white scar fur growing all over. The question is this...should I pluck it (there's a good amount) or will it grow out in time or? It takes away from her appearance and "eye appeal" as the judges say and I'm really wanting to show her SO...thoughts? Tips for showing ebonies?

ChinchillasByDesign · Jan 12, 2012

Just the same with any other animal you want strong fur, good color (no red), and good confirmation and size (especially in the female). As far as the white specs go, I personally would not pluck them. More than likely an experienced judge will know what it is, however since they are judging based on the pelt she will most likely not be given a top award. We recently showed a standard male with the same issue, alot of scar tissue, the judge really liked this male but could not give him a first place because the pelt is what it is. Now, you can take all the other notes and if they are good than there is no reason not to use her in breeding, for as we know, the scar tissue is not going to be passed to her kits

Good luck!

mark miller · Jan 12, 2012

Depending on the amount of white tufts of fur showing and the fur strength of the animal is what I always base the decision to pluck white scar fur out or not. If it is just a few spots and you're able to pluck only the white scar tufts of fur and the fur is dense and strong enough to not leave a hole or the appearance of fur missing, then I would remove it if possible. Usually, I'll select a spot with scar tufts showing, that's not right in the middle of the animals back, and pluck it. Then run a comb through that spot and see if the fur covers or if it appears open with the appearance of fur missing. Then you will know by the fur strength of the animal if you can pluck the rest or best to just leave them alone. Chin shows are beauty contests. Any oddity that attracts a judges attention will deter from that animals overall appearance. Most judges would recognize it as scarred fur and though it shouldn't alone keep a animal from receiving a 1st place, it will affect the animals chance to proceed any further in the show. I've done both in the past, plucked scar fur and left scarred fur in. It really just depends on the judge and how strongly he decides that the scarred fur affects the animals overall appearance that day at the show. If you are able to remove scarred fur and have it be un-noticeable that is best for showing, but depending on amount of scarred fur and animals overall fur strength it is not always possible to do that.

Vyxxin · Jan 12, 2012

Thank you both, thats about what I thought as far as show table advancement. Thanks Mark for the specific tips on plucking. Here's a question, if I pluck (which I'm heavily considering) should I do it well in advance of the show or will the "new growth" also be white? Likewise, should I just pluck right before show?

I'm asking this question NOW in advance of an April show. I may show neither of the ebonies, though I'd like to get opinions on quality regarding the female especially...quality of both tells me more about the pair that produced them. HOWEVER, they're slowing growing (go figure) and I really don't want them laughed off the table (and tarnish my reputation) so I may just take them and get judges comments after the show on them. Hmmm...decisions decisions!

mark miller · Jan 12, 2012

If you pluck out the white fur tufts, you're not doing so in hope that they will grow back black again, you're doing it only to make the ebony look uniformly black all over as it normally should. Probably closer to show time is best because usually the re-growth of fur will come back white again if it comes back at all. Sometimes the amount of scarred fur is too much and it is best to just leave it alone. You can make the animal look even worse if you make a bunch of noticable holes in the coat where fur is missing. You only want to do it if it is un-noticable where you plucked the scarred fur from.

mishalaa · Jan 12, 2012

I agree with Mark. I've actually heard Dave Woods comment once about an ebony female that had white fur from scaring, that it would show better if the groomer just plucked those hairs before the show.

They will not grow in black, they will remain white when it grows back.