I heard that for producing Magpie, the Chinchilla must also carry "e", why is that? The "e" is already carried in the Japanese Harlie, won't that be enough?
'e' is the non-agouti tort or agouti orange/fawn/red recessive. 'e' is the most recessive of the five options on the 'E' gene, and is often called
non-extension, because the dark color doesn't extend down the hairshaft, it's all yellowish shades on the main body fiber. Harlequin e(j) is dominant to 'e'. Harlequin separates the dark and yellowish bands on the agouti hairshaft into patches on the skin.
e(j) e(j) and
e(j) e will both be harlequin, although
e(j) e(j) tends to have better color patterning.
The chinchilla will be full extension 'E', which is dominant over harlequin. So, if the chinchilla is
EE, it can only pass along a dominant full extension E, which means all the kits will be full extension, not harlequin. If it is
E e(j), there's a 50/50 chance the kits will get the harlequin gene from the chin. If the harlequin is
e(j) e(j), that means odds are half the kits could get harlie from each parent, and be harlequin.
NOTE: These are only odds, Lady Luck plays her own game, which means all the kits could be harlie, or none, or any number inbetween.
If the chin is
Ee, there's a 50/50 chance it will pass along the non-extension gene. If the harlie is
e(j) e, there's also a 50/50 chance non-extension will be passed along. So, half the kits could get dominant E full extension, a quarter of them harlie, and a quarter of them non-extension torts/oranges. Chinchilla plus non-extension is ermine, the steel eyed white. So there's a lot of things you could end up, depending on how the genes combine.
In reality, harlequin can happen in both agouti and non-agouti, and there is much debate on which is better. Which means that agouti colors are not a guarantee. Parents could both have non-agouti or tan genetics recessives as well. Harlie and chinchilla can come in other color combinations than black. Harlies can be black/orange, blue/fawn, chocolate/orange, lilac/fawn. Chinchilla can come in black (usually just called chinchilla), chocolate, blue (sometimes called squirrel), and lilac. So, you need to know what color of chin and harlie parents you have, and what colors are in their background.
Regular harlie carries full color C, which is dominant over chinchilla c(chd). Chestnut/castor agouti also has full color C, so depending on how the genes combine, castor is a good possibility. Or, if you have chocolate or dilute in the mix, the other agouti colors like chocolate agouti, lynx or opal are possible.
Chinchilla plus harlequin is a great way to get magpie, but other colors sure could pop up.
