----- Original Message -----
From: "Rebecca Allbritton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2000 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: inbreeding/ was right bend tail
> Dear all,
>
> Amazing. What Michelle wrote was pretty much what I was thinking, so I've
> left it. =) I'd also add that since it is difficult to introduce strange
> gerbils to each other, and it can be difficult to sex gerbils even if you
> don't want to produce babies, it's likely that these gerbils that she's
> producing will be bred with each other, which increases the likelihood of
> the trait turning up again.
No, these gerbils will not be bred with each other. The female that produced
these two kinked tailed gerbils is no longer breeding. She was separated
from her mate last October. All the pups she produced (total of 40, 30
surviving) are separated at five weeks of age, boys in one tank, girls in
another. To this day, I have not sexed any of them wrong.
>
> As someone preparing to work on creating a line of inbred gerbils (20
> generations of brother-sister matings, so that the genes are very
uniform),
> and who also wants to play with gerbil colors, I would like the stock I
> work with to be as healthy and "well bred" as possible. I hope that
> breeders I've gotten animals from have chosen their best stock to work
> with, but unfortunately I can't be sure of that, so I have to create my
own.
>
Now wait a minute, you tell me that I'm wrong for letting this kinked tail
male breed with an unrelated female, but you breed 20 generations of
brother-sister matings?? If I understand that correctly, you breed a brother
to a sister, then take a male and female from their litter and let them
breed, and you do this 20 times? Now when is inbreeding to much?? I thought
only four or five generations should be allowed. (I don't even do that.)
Ann-Marie
