Chin factor?

[Cattle Cait]

Okay, so I have Magpie Harlequins already and would like to add American Chinchillas. I want to get a couple of does that I could cross to my Harlies or Chins to improve body type and carcass quality without completely screwing up the Chin and Magpie colors. I've heard that the Californian color is connected to the Chin color somehow, so would I lose the color if I bred them in?

Also, I one bred a Black Magpie Harlequin doe to a REW New Zealand buck with black in his background (to improve meatiness), and got Chinchilla babies. Wouldn't that mean that Magpie somehow carries Chin possibilities too? And thus making the Californian color safe to cross in?

Please don't use the letters like A_bb_E or whatever in your answer, because for me its like reading German and I get nothing out of it. Just a simple "Yes, it should be fine." or "Don't do it." but if it's no don't do it, what color could I use?

Thanks!

 

[eco2pia]

I am not an expert. But I think the gene for chin is not directly related to the gene for harle markings. However, since a AmChin isn't carring the gene for harles either, the main problem I see is that your first generation cross may have harle carriers, but no harles, and you won't know which to cross back to the harles to find it...

I think that is the problem any time you cross in something that is not a harle though.

The gene for chin is related to the gene for rew and full color, if you had a chin gene crop up I think you could get a harle with chin colored markings....probably not what you want, but you could see it and cull it. But your future generations would carry chin genes and that would take generations to get back out, if it is important to you.

 

[Cattle Cait]

Oh, sorry, I forgot to clarify.

I don't want to cross the AmChins with the Harlies. I would be getting a couple of Cal does and using AmChin and Harlie bucks on them, as seperate projects.

 

[eco2pia]

Oh! that sounds like a much, much, better plan! You might get some chestnuts(I mean brown agouti) in the first gen with the chins, but if you cull them you should be able to get rid of that pretty quickly.

I know less about the harles...

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

First.. Magpies are Japanese harlies WITH the chin gene! Chin suppresses all tan/red so instead of black and red you get black and white. Californians do carry a chin gene and are the last rung on the ladder before rew. They can be agouti or self as well. Rew can hide anything.So breeding any of these together would be fine. Chin will show up when the agouti gene is present, not in the selfs ,though it may still be carried. Frosty is basically a red rabbit with the chine modifier; so for every normal colour there is the "chin" counterpart! ie tort would be sable point if the chin gene is present.

 

[eco2pia]

Oh! yay for real help! I knew there was a chin gene at work in the magpies, but thought it was a different one? guess not!

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I forgot to add eco2pia, that you are right, the chin gene is separate from what makes the harlie pattern. Harlie pattern is caused by the ej gene, it is also referred to as the japanese gene. Although I have absolutely no idea why the gene is called as such!! lol

 

[Cattle Cait]

So, I'm not crazy? It might work? Yippee! Looks like I'll be getting a couple of Cal does. :clap:

Now for the important question, are Cals pretty good mamas? I don't want to get a buck, I don't want to use AmChin does to carry crossbred babies when they could be carrying purebreds.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

SOME of teheCAL/NZ crosses Ihad were good mommas, others weren't. Looks to me like they are about the same as the pure NZ.
A friend of mine who used to raise rabbits purely for meat and pelt told me for those purposes, Stay away from Show NZ stock. It seems the show bred animals they had negatively impacted the production of the rabbitry. Now her families rabbits- the pelts were sold to Hopi Indians for kachina(sp?)<br /><br />__________ Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:16 am __________<br /><br />