The First Texel

 I watched and waited all week. I did half hourly checks, I made hubby check, I sent my daughter down to check. I watched and waited some more. On Thursday I gave in to temptation and went out for the day to finish the Christmas shopping. So of course mid-morning I get a phone call from hubby to say that my babies had finally arrived.

 This little sow is the first pedigree texel to be born in my stud. As yet she is un-named. She is coloured like her mother but has curls from her father.

 

 Her sibling, I believe is another sow. It can be a little tricky to tell at birth. This pup has a circle at the top (similar to a boar) but the 'Y' underneath makes me quite sure she is a sow. These photos all taken on my iphone clearly show how tricky it can be to capture a cavies true color. The below photograph is probably the truest representation.

 

She looks to me, to be a pink eyed cream. I have seen selfs this colour but she is the first long coat I've seen. She is also currently un-named. They are both very active and healthy, with nice bright eyes and big ears. Their faces are a little shorter than those of the last litter of born here. 

In terms of coat thickness, I have been told that pink eyed varieties in some lines lack the density of their dark eyed counterparts. It is something that I will have to evaluate as this pair grow. However as a newcomer, it is near impossible to know whether your cavies have great density without having the experience to know what you are comparing to. If you haven't felt a champion's coat, then you will have no idea of what you should be aiming for. This is where the importance of showing comes in to play. Judges are able to make the determinations that as a newcomer, you can't really make yourself.

When these were born, my hubby had rung me to say we had two texel's. I looked at them when I got home and noted they both had wavy coats. It wasn't till I had a good look at them both later that night when the kiddies were in bed and I had some quiet time for myself, that I could see the difference. In the above photo you can see the wave I am referring to, however the sheltie has smooth hair around her face and straight whiskers. Whereas the texel pup has little wavy curls even around her face and curly little whiskers. It is not unusual for shelties to have a wave in their coat at birth so you may need to look a little closer to know for sure what you have in a texel/sheltie litter.

 Meanwhile, Blazing Sun is growing out nicely and is still in coat. He is quite the chatterbox. He always wheeks the loudest and as a result seems to get the most cuddles.