Color????

[sweetie]

Hey I have a color question since I haven't yet grasped everything about genetics. What will I get if I breed a Nutmeg and a DEH???

I was thinking I would get 1/2 DEH and 1/2 Nutmeg. Of course that is if there are no recessives.

How did I do?

[queenofthenile]

It really depends on whether either carries recessives. If both Honeymunch and your new nutmeg don't carry any recessives at all, you will get 100% DEH.
(AA ee) Honeymunch X (aa ee) nutmeg
Your gametes will be Ae X ae all of the time:
so you will always get Aa ee (DEH)

Now if Honeymunch carries a, then you will get 50% DEH and 50% nutmeg. I think both of these scenarios would be fairly likely because your new gerb (nutmeg) is aa.
(Aa ee) Honeymunch X (aa ee) nutmeg
Your gametes will be Ae or ae X ae:
so you will get Aa ee (DEH) and aa ee (nutmeg)

Then of course the percentages will change more if either gerbil carries more recessives.

[sweetie]

Thanks .

I thought I got it. I guess it is the recessives that is giving me the issue. So then maybe I could pair up the offspring with another to get different colors than all DEH's. We will see what happens. They are now cozy with each other and it is sweet to see.

[queenofthenile]

You could wind up with several different colours, but even if you get all DEH, at least they are very pretty . Any time you breed without knowing the parents, it is a real guessing game.

[sweetie]

I guess that is the issue with me since I am not sure of any of thier parents other than the one I just got from Ashely.

Will I be able to eventually figure out the genetics when they have babies? Of course the only ones I am planning on breeding are Honeymunch and Bandit & Momma Bear and Squirt.

Since Momma Bear's and Squirts offspring will carry the colourpoint genes, I might breed the offsring with Sweetie.
Of course I need to figure out how to control the breeding with out spliting the pairs and after the first litter if I want to breed!!

Thanks for the help Queenie! I really appreciate it.

[queenofthenile]

You will eventually be able to figure out *some* of the genetics. You will find out whether Honeymunch is Aa for sure. You may also find out if Momma Bear is gg, and whether they carry other recessives.

Here's an example of where you wouldn't be able to find out the recessives.

Say you are breeding two agoutis, one is AA and the other is Aa. Every time you breed you wind up with agouti (some AA and some Aa). So you wouldn't be able to tell that one of the parents is Aa.

[sweetie]

I guess that I would be able to tell some of the recessives on the one's that I breed. I imagine that if Bear had any recessives, I would figure it out with her pups. Also since Ashely bred her lines Siamese, Burmese, and Spotteds, there will be no recessives on her/Squirts side. Then, I am only going to breed Honeymunch (DEH) and Bandit (nutmeg) so if there are recessive's it would be obvious in thier pups also correct?

I will not breed the "original 4" since they may 1) produce mostly agouti 2) I do not know the recessives 3) would only be able to handle 2 breeding pair at a time 4) do not want to separate "clanned" gerbils.

I think that Honeymunch and Bandit will not produce pups until after Christmas since they mostly regulate themselves up to 6 months even though they are active at 12 weeks. I believe that Bear and Squirt probably won't produce pups until mid February.

I will post pictures of the new ones hopefully soon!! I have a lot of pictures to post . If only there were 48 hours in the day.

[queenofthenile]

I can't wait ;D.