Rebecca Allbritton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>At 02:33 PM 4/8/00 +0100, you wrote:
>>Steven Horvath wrote:
>>
>>"I just thought that it was really neat to hear about the gerbil who was
>>born with no tail..."
>>
>>What is there that could be "neat" about any animal born with deformities?
>>If we ever had a Gerbil born in this fashion we would regard it as a tragedy
>>and do everything we could to give this Gerbil a good quality life...
>
>Well, it's neat in that we can learn a lot from mutations.
I think there is a clear difference between the study of mutation to
discover the genetic pathways that lead to normal development, and the
keeping of animals that are seriously afflicted by an undesirable trait
simply because the owner thinks it is "special".
>
>That's actually the reason I've been looking for homes for many of my gerbs
>(siamese & agouti): I am concentrating on schimmels and these dark spotted
>doves. I am sure the mosaicism can be inherited (it is in dogs) - it's just
>a matter of getting it in offspring, which may take awhile. Elizabeth's
>recent post saying that my Dark Pied Dove has a DPD in his ancestry gives
>me hope, though. =)
Our experience was that there was a clear pattern of inheritance. All
animals with these dark patches could be traced back to an animal with
the trait. But breeding success in these animals was poor and many of
the animals did not thrive.
Although it may have been "neat" to prove this was a case of mosaicism,
the effort necessary to continue to breed these animals, and the poor
prospects for many that were born, made us stop.
--
Julian
************************************************************************
* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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