The Rise of the Rooster Tail: NZ Plume History
The Genetic Foundation
In the 1950s, a breeder migrated from England to New Zealand, bringing her English Peruvian and Abyssinian guinea pigs with her. Because there were no cavy shows or formal clubs at the time, she mixed-mated her cavies and sold the offspring as pets in Wellington. Years later, local enthusiast Christa Krey discovered these unique lines while searching for a pet for her son. Fascinated by the long-haired cavies featuring dense coats and unique rosette formations, Christa acquired several to establish her own dedicated breeding program.
The Historic 1976 Meeting
When the inaugural meeting to form a national cavy club was held in Wellington in January 1976, over 70 passionate people attended with their animals. The vast majority of these guinea pigs were the original foundational types of the New Zealand Plume and New Zealand Peruvian.
Many of these early enthusiasts wanted to actively exhibit their animals, but English pedigree imports were incredibly rare at that stage. To solve this, the committee of what is now named the New Zealand Cavy Club drew up formal pedigree show standards for both the New Zealand Plume and the New Zealand Peruvian.
Launching the Cavy Fancy
These new guidelines gave members a clear, uniform standard to work toward to produce high-quality, showable pedigree lines. By filling a massive operational need, these two distinct Kiwi breeds officially launched the foundation of the New Zealand cavy fancy.
Our two original, unique heritage breeds are now celebrating their monumental 50-year milestone, and we invite you to join us in honoring this incredible history. While these vulnerable lines have faced challenging times, even in recent years, our resilient New Zealand breeds continue to succeed and grace the show bench.
