L & P Himalayan Stud thought it might be interesting to show you the progression of himalayans from birth to (hopefully!) the show table. So here are two litters born early January of black and chocolate himis, as most of you know the babies are born as pink eyed white pigs, the beautiful dark markings appear as they grow! Fingers crossed we can capture a weekly update for you.

Chocolates:

Three chocolate babies 1 month old.

Now this is a very unusual litter.The one on the right is showing no pigmentation changes at all.The one in the center.is showing slight pigmentation to feet and smut.The one on the left is showing normal pigmentation coming to ears and all points.

This litter is going to be interesting to follow.

Blacks:

The two black babies 1 month old. Points are just begining to show.

Watching Himalayans grow.

The young ones are now two months old.

The blacks: Max and Pickle are really changing ,The shape of the smut is coming nicely, The ears have darkened well, feet are still covered in white hairs but are colouring well.

I am very pleased with their progress .

As for the chocolates: Twix has gone on to a new home as a pet as she did not show any pigmentation at all. Having looked through my records I have failed to find any logical reason for this.

Stanley is colouring up slowly but definitely progressing.

Twirl is doing very well ,smut shape coming along nicely , ears and feet showing good colour changes, she looks very promising.

  When showing or judging under 5 month old Black and Chocolate Himalayans certain points should be taken into consideration.

The smut shape and colour should have a nice broad base and coming up well between the eyes in a pear shape and have good contrast.

   At this age it is good to see some white hairs to the feet and if so this should not be penalised as long as the pads and under colour are showing the right colour as this is part of their development, some feet do not fully clear till 8/9 months old.

Another thing to check are the ears as all under 5 month old Himalayans will have white hairs, if there are no white hairs on the underside of the ear then the pig is older so should be judged as over age.

Next month I shall go into the standard even more hopefully with photos.

This is Pickle at 3 months she is developing just lovely. Her smut as good shape and colour, feet are a lovely colour.

This is Twirl, again developing just right, smut and feet colouring up lovely.

This is Max he is another pig that is colouring up just right, good shape smut and colour to smut and feet.

AWARD SCHEMES

Championship: A championship certificate will be granted to a member whos Himalayan cavy has won 5 first prizes in open shows advertised in Cavies magazine under three different judges. There must be at least 3 entries in each class, owned by at least two exhibitors. The judges are to be club or recognised panel judges. They may be judges of the NCC or any of the regional clubs. No more than two of the qualifying wins may be under 5 month old classes. The claim for the championship should be sent to the secretary, accompanied by a fee of £1.00 and a first class stamp, and including applicable prize cards. 

Certificates Of Merit: These are awarded at a Himalayan show & at any participation club show. These do not count towards the championship scheme. The certificates are added up and the member with the most certificates returned & verified at the end of the year receives a trophy, the competition runs from January to December. Certificates should be returned to Jane Betts.