ChickenMama76
In the Brooder
- May 9, 2020
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We have 3! Help! Having the hardest time trying to teach them to leave our chicks alone (they are enclosed in a run/coop). Any tips?? We've had the chicks 6 weeks now.
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I thought double merle was a lethal gene. Enlighten me.Long line and teach them to work. A stock stick helps. That said, not all are cut out for it. My youngest aussie hit overarousal easily, so I need to get her on larger stock to put her head on. Also had an aussie/bc foster who I wouldn't trust with any stock animal, he wasn't bred well at all and had impairments (double merle).
Good luck with that. Bottom line is that your dogs will never be trustworthy around chickens.We have 3! Help! Having the hardest time trying to teach them to leave our chicks alone (they are enclosed in a run/coop). Any tips?? We've had the chicks 6 weeks now.
Double Merle is usually lethal, as it leads to incomplete development of eyes, ears and intestine. They can live, if they have an anus, even though they're likely blind and/or deaf, possibly with small or no eyes and intestinal trouble. Which is why most breeders do the kind thing and put them down at birth. And yes, good, careful breeders can have them. Accidents happen and also genetic merles may have very, very little visual merle.I thought double merle was a lethal gene. Enlighten me.
Ignorant? Double merle was listed in my genetics textbook as being a lethal gene.It is not lethal, that's a super common misnomer of the ignorant. They can however have health issues, the most common being sight and hearing impairment. The merle gene though is complex, with multiple SILV insertions and multiple lengths that dictate presentation and risk. The only way to know for sure what is happening is to do genetic color tests, especially since cryptic and low length may not show any visible merling, as well as certain colors covering them (sable and ee most notably).