Harley Test Litter
Dam: Pearl Berkshire Silken Dumbo - het for Marten, Russian Blue, and Harley.
Sire: Pointed Russian Blue Marten Silken Dumbo - het Harley.
Litter Size: 9 (6 bucks and 3 does)
Aims:
The primary aim for this litter was as a test breed to see if the buck carried Harley. The specific line I have been working with exhibits a slightly longer hair shaft in rats that are genetically Ll, or "carriers" of the gene. They possess one copy of Harley.
From a litter of 12 (5 bucks and 7 does) only one buck (the one used for this pairing) and 3 does exhibited the slightly longer coat. However, all 4 rats were also Silken which attributed slightly to the length of the hair.
That being said, I feel they were still noticeably longer haired than their siblings.
Results:
Out of 9 kits, 2 are visually Harley (possess two copies of the Harley gene). This proves that the buck does in fact carry the gene and there seems to be a direct correlation between the slightly longer hair shaft and carriers of the gene.
The two kits that are visual Harley are a buck and a doe and will be held back to continue the line and monitor for health problems.
Unfortunately, there are a few kits I have no idea of the variety and can only guess. As this line originated from mainland Europe and is said to carry many different genes, it's quite hard to know the exact genotype of every kit. I will update this as they grow and develop.
Bucks:
- Black Berkshire Silken
- ?? Marten
- Champagne
- ?? Mink Champagne? Siamese?
- Red Eyed Mink Marten Varieberk
- Red Eyed Mink Marten Harley
Does:
- Champagne
- Black Berkshire Silken
- Russian Blue Agouti Mismarked Harley
