Disney
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Always wanting to learn something new about genes, i'm slowly trying to deal with modifier genes.
The vienna gene is a good example for this subject, and as a breeder of vienna marked rabbits, i can talk about this gene and share my humble knowledge of it.
The thing with this gene is that i'm struggling with getting kits with fully blue eyes and moreover the percentage of white markings on a rabbit. I would like to have a kit popup with atleast 50% white expression, who are funky looking.
After many litters, i still haven't got one. I usually get the ones with 5% to 20% white.
This evidently has to do with modifier genes who determine the amount of white on a VM.
So far i figured out that if you breed a VM to a VM, that it adds up and you get kits who likely have an even or more amount of white than the parents do.
Breeding a vm to a solid out of solid lines, the solid kills the modifiers and you get kits with very little markings. Often limited to a small blaze on the forhead, a white snip on the nose, white toe's and a white spot on the chest, these combined or maybe just 1 of all.
The gene expression always starts in the front, at the toes, chest, nose and forehead.
The more percentage of white it gets, the more wider it expresses until it shows a "dutch" like head. Next it spreads to the shoulder area but strangely it starts with 1 shoulder and leaves the other still colored.
It doesn't fill out the shoulders simultaneously from both sides, but starts out with one and then goes to the other side when the first is finished.
When both shoulders are done, the white line on the rear spreads further to the back.
When it reaches the middle, it is dutch marked.
Now it gets to the funky stage, it doesn't continue in the same dutch pattern but it adds random splotches on the colored hind part to fill out with more white.
The white fills out more and reaches the hind/hips, which is the final destination.
So it tends to work in different stages and the process is very interesting to me.
Ofcourse this is my personal idea and view of this gene. Other may think differently.
A personal example.
My bew doe (opal underneath) comes out of the VM's who both have a generous amount of white and they produced kits with the same pattern as them.
Bred my bew to a rew out of broken lines, none of the 10 kits had blue eyes and none had the markings of the bew's parents. Some had only a snip on the head, other had a small blaze and 1 white shoulder, the other side was colored.
None got both shoulders white or even close to a dutch marking, and no blue eyes.
Bred her to a black tort with clear blue eyes.
One side of the face is white, the other colored. One shoulder white and the other colored. Also a white tip on one ear.
Got 4 VM's and 1 bew. So 3 VM's have blue eyes on both sides.
The black vm has one eye blue and the other brown with a blue snip.
Oh and their markings? Every kit in this litter had more vienna modifiers than any kit from the previous litters, which was a intersting discovery for me.
1. opal, big blaze, white chest, white paws, right shoulder white.
2. opal, big blaze, white chest, 1 white paw, right shoulder white and white tip on the ear.
3. chestnut, big blaze, half white chest, 1 white feet, right shoulder white, left shoulder little white patch.
4. black, big blaze, half white chest, 1 white feet, right shoulder white, left shoulder little white patch.
Notice the 2 blues have a different expression than the chestnut and black.
Almost like 2 different pairs of patterning, based on their color.
This litter was very interesting and surprising to me.
I have this chart in my mind and i like to order them based on the amount of white they have.
5% expresion on feet / chest / nose / forhead
10% expression extends to 1 shoulder
25% expression extended to both shoulders
50% the white band on the back extends to the middle (dutch marking)
75% fills out the colored hind with white patches and works further to the back
I have bred a sable point doe with 50% white to a lilac dwarf buck out of clean lines.
7 kits, all black with 5% white.
It was hard to believe she didn't produce any with her marking.
The buck obviously killed her vienna modifiers and broke the 50% down to 5%.
Here is that litter
Will also post pics of the Bew doe's litters later.
The vienna gene is a good example for this subject, and as a breeder of vienna marked rabbits, i can talk about this gene and share my humble knowledge of it.
The thing with this gene is that i'm struggling with getting kits with fully blue eyes and moreover the percentage of white markings on a rabbit. I would like to have a kit popup with atleast 50% white expression, who are funky looking.
After many litters, i still haven't got one. I usually get the ones with 5% to 20% white.
This evidently has to do with modifier genes who determine the amount of white on a VM.
So far i figured out that if you breed a VM to a VM, that it adds up and you get kits who likely have an even or more amount of white than the parents do.
Breeding a vm to a solid out of solid lines, the solid kills the modifiers and you get kits with very little markings. Often limited to a small blaze on the forhead, a white snip on the nose, white toe's and a white spot on the chest, these combined or maybe just 1 of all.
The gene expression always starts in the front, at the toes, chest, nose and forehead.
The more percentage of white it gets, the more wider it expresses until it shows a "dutch" like head. Next it spreads to the shoulder area but strangely it starts with 1 shoulder and leaves the other still colored.
It doesn't fill out the shoulders simultaneously from both sides, but starts out with one and then goes to the other side when the first is finished.
When both shoulders are done, the white line on the rear spreads further to the back.
When it reaches the middle, it is dutch marked.
Now it gets to the funky stage, it doesn't continue in the same dutch pattern but it adds random splotches on the colored hind part to fill out with more white.
The white fills out more and reaches the hind/hips, which is the final destination.
So it tends to work in different stages and the process is very interesting to me.
Ofcourse this is my personal idea and view of this gene. Other may think differently.
A personal example.
My bew doe (opal underneath) comes out of the VM's who both have a generous amount of white and they produced kits with the same pattern as them.
Bred my bew to a rew out of broken lines, none of the 10 kits had blue eyes and none had the markings of the bew's parents. Some had only a snip on the head, other had a small blaze and 1 white shoulder, the other side was colored.
None got both shoulders white or even close to a dutch marking, and no blue eyes.
Bred her to a black tort with clear blue eyes.
One side of the face is white, the other colored. One shoulder white and the other colored. Also a white tip on one ear.
Got 4 VM's and 1 bew. So 3 VM's have blue eyes on both sides.
The black vm has one eye blue and the other brown with a blue snip.
Oh and their markings? Every kit in this litter had more vienna modifiers than any kit from the previous litters, which was a intersting discovery for me.
1. opal, big blaze, white chest, white paws, right shoulder white.
2. opal, big blaze, white chest, 1 white paw, right shoulder white and white tip on the ear.
3. chestnut, big blaze, half white chest, 1 white feet, right shoulder white, left shoulder little white patch.
4. black, big blaze, half white chest, 1 white feet, right shoulder white, left shoulder little white patch.
Notice the 2 blues have a different expression than the chestnut and black.
Almost like 2 different pairs of patterning, based on their color.
This litter was very interesting and surprising to me.
I have this chart in my mind and i like to order them based on the amount of white they have.
5% expresion on feet / chest / nose / forhead
10% expression extends to 1 shoulder
25% expression extended to both shoulders
50% the white band on the back extends to the middle (dutch marking)
75% fills out the colored hind with white patches and works further to the back
I have bred a sable point doe with 50% white to a lilac dwarf buck out of clean lines.
7 kits, all black with 5% white.
It was hard to believe she didn't produce any with her marking.
The buck obviously killed her vienna modifiers and broke the 50% down to 5%.
Here is that litter
Will also post pics of the Bew doe's litters later.
