New Zealand Plumes

New Zealand Plumes have been a Pedigree breed since the 1970's and are one of the breeds for the NZ Unique Cavy Club as it is exclusive and rare to our country.

So what is a New Zealand Plume? NZ Plumes are a Roughcoat Pedigree breed consisting of a ridge that starts behind the head and running along the top of the back of the cavy about half an inch high aiming to form a high arched beautiful rooster tail that is lifted up by two rump rosettes.  We feel this breed is a breed you need to persevere with using selective breeding.  In the history of the breed it mentions the breed basics could have come from an English Peruvian to a Abyssinian pairing.  If you put an English Peruvian with a Abyssinian you will end up with a funny looking pet quality longhair or Roughcoat with lots of rosettes.  With NZ Plume genes, it takes time narrowing down the genetics.  This involves selective breeding which means breeding animals that are closely related genetically and this is done to isolate genes and bring out the desirable traits.  The desirable traits being a well raised ridge and a high arched tail that is more than a few hairs.  This breed is no more complicated than most breeds and after several generations most of our purebred offspring are showable.  We really have to add that New Zealand Plumes look nothing like either a Peruvian or an Abyssinian,NZ Plumes is a pedigree breed in its own right and  we are very thankful to Independent Cavy Clubs for their ongoing support.

Lastly, they are a lovely breed with a great temperament and marvellous characters. They are easy to tame, and good with show boards.  New Zealand Plumes are our favourite breed and we love that we work hard on a breed that is exclusive to our country.

To read more about New Zealand Plumes and other Unique breeds please visit NZ Unique Cavies

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