The RVCC and the BCC have produced Guidance Notes for Breeders, Exhibitors and Judges for the most popular New and Emerging Varieties. The agreement of such Guidance Notes by the BCC is the first step towards possible Guide Standard status, once it has been established that sufficient numbers meeting the Guidance Notes are being exhibited.
Only varieties with recognised Guidance Notes may be shown in New and Emerging Variety classes. Other varieties or breed combinations or new colour variants may be shown in RVCC Assessment Classes.
The following Guidance Notes were agreed at BCC meetings.
Page updated January 2024.
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Updated 1st January 2024
The Belted is a smooth coated solid coloured (black) cavy with a belt of white circling the body just behind the shoulders and incorporating the front legs and feet. Younger exhibits may have a narrower belt.
The Belt should be of white colour circling the body just behind the shoulders and including the front legs and feet. It should be vertical (at right angles to the spine), even in width all round the body, and straight. The width of the belt should be between 3 and 5 cm. Steps, skewing and variations in width of the belt are to be penalised according to severity.
Body Colour should conform with ESCC Full Standards (with the obvious exception of PE or DE White), be even and with glossy sheen, carried well down to the skin. Differently coloured hairs found within the coloured or white areas are to be penalised according to quantity.
Differently coloured hairs found within the Black or White are to be penalised according to quantity.
The Belt Colour should be pure and clean, white. Eye colour should correspond to the ESCC recognised body colour.
The Head should be of good size, bold and broad, with a gently curving profile and muzzle to be of good width and rounded at the nostrils. Eyes should be large, bright and bold and set with good width between. Ears should be large and drooping, with lower rim parallel to the ground and set with good width between.
The Body should be short and cobby, thick-set with good width across the shoulders. It must be fit and of good substance, with plenty of firm flesh covering the shoulders; and the pig should have good size appropriate to age Coat should be soft, clean and groomed free of guard hairs.
Updated 1st January 2024
The Ridgeback is a smooth-coated cavy other than for a pronounced Ridge, which should be pronounced, unbroken, erect and straight, running down the spine from between the ears to the hips. The ridge should be up to approximately 2.5 cm (one inch) in height and be most pronounced at the shoulder, tapering towards the rear end. The ridge should be firm and erect when brushed with the palm of the hand.
Other than the ridge the Coat should be soft, short, clean and free from grease. It should have no coat faults or rosettes, although a small circular pattern at the back of a foot is not a fault.
The Head should be of good size, bold and broad, with a gently curving profile and muzzle to be of good width and rounded at the nostrils. Eyes should be large, bright and bold and set with good width between. Ears should be large and drooping, with lower rim parallel to the ground and set with good width between.
The Body should be short and cobby, thick-set with good width across the shoulders. It must be fit and of good substance, with plenty of firm flesh covering the shoulders; and the pig should have good size appropriate to age.
All characteristics are as for a Self cavy but with colour to be a rich, warm toffee, distinctly darker than the Self Beige. Eyes light ruby.
Promoted to New and Emerging Breed 1st January 2024
The Tweed is a smooth coated, chocolate-based cavy with a silvered appearance over its entire head and body, save for a mask over the nose. This is due to modifier gene that has a grizzling effect on chocolate pigment, producing lighter coloured hairs and a paler undercolour.
The basic top colour should be a rich, dark Chocolate (conforming as closely as possible to ESCC colours), with a significantly lighter undercolour that gives a tipped appearance to individual hairs. It should be evenly intermixed with further, lighter coloured hairs.
The silvering effect should be even over the entire head and body, including the belly, with no areas of shading apart from the mask.
The paler undercolour is less visible on the short hair on the nose and muzzle. Here, a darker mask should spread across the nose and finish at the height of the eyes, without touching the corners of the eyes.
Eyes should be dark (with a hint of ruby); pads should be chocolate and ears should be chocolate or Tweed (uneven pigment).
The Head should be large, bold and broad, with a gently curving profile and muzzle to be of good width and rounded at the nostrils. Eyes should be large, bright and bold and set with good width between. Ears should be large and drooping, with lower rim parallel to the ground and set with good width between.
The Body should be short and cobby, thick-set with good width across the shoulders. It must be fit and of good substance, with plenty of firm flesh covering the shoulders; and the pig should have good size appropriate to age Coat should be soft, clean and groomed free of guard hairs.
Promoted to New and Emerging Breed 1st January 2024
The Agouti Tweed is a smooth coated, chocolate agouti-based cavy with a silvered appearance over its entire head and body, save for a mask over the nose and a solid-coloured belly. This is due to modifier gene that has a grizzling effect on chocolate pigment, producing lighter coloured hairs and a paler undercolour.
The basic top colour should be Chocolate Agouti or Cream Agouti (conforming as closely as possible to NACC colours), with a significantly lighter undercolour that gives a tipped appearance to individual hairs. It should be evenly intermixed with further, lighter coloured hairs.
The silvering effect should be even over the entire head and body, including the belly, with no areas of shading apart from the mask.
The paler undercolour is less visible on the short hair on the nose and muzzle. Here, a darker mask should spread across the nose and finish at the height of the eyes, without touching the corners of the eyes.
Since this is an agouti cavy, the yellow pigment of its belly is not affected by the grizzling gene. The belly should not be silvered and should conform to the relevant NACC standard.
Eyes should be dark (with a hint of ruby); pads should be chocolate and ears should be chocolate or Tweed (uneven pigment).
The Head should be large, bold and broad, with a gently curving profile and muzzle to be of good width and rounded at the nostrils. Eyes should be large, bright and bold and set with good width between. Ears should be large and drooping, with lower rim parallel to the ground and set with good width between.
The Body should be short and cobby, thick-set with good width across the shoulders. It must be fit and of good substance, with plenty of firm flesh covering the shoulders; and the pig should have good size appropriate to age Coat should be soft, clean and groomed free of guard hairs.
Wash 2: Designed by Simon Neesam for the British Cavy Council © 2020