The Old Folks Home

[Arielle2]

lol, I need a silkie or two!! Incubator hatches this year have been a bust.

 

[getaclue]

Dh is not feeling well. He was running a low grade fever last night, but took Motrin, so it broke the fever. He was to go to the doctor this morning, but since he's not running fever, he won't go. The doctor's office told him not to take his next dose of Motrin, and wait, to see if he begins running fever again, and come in if he does. In the meantime, his work called, and he's not to go in tonight.

 

[Arielle2]

Dh is not feeling well. He was running a low grade fever last night, but took Motrin, so it broke the fever. He was to go to the doctor this morning, but since he's not running fever, he won't go. The doctor's office told him not to take his next dose of Motrin, and wait, to see if he begins running fever again, and come in if he does. In the meantime, his work called, and he's not to go in tonight.

My kids dont take a fever reducer if at all possible. A fever is the body's method of killing problem bacteria and viruses.

The doctor is interested in knowing if the Motrin is masking the fever. Definitely better he stay home ...a chance to recover from probably just a normal bug.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hadn't heard about the lethal gene in chickens. Knew about the lethal white in paint horses, though. (Pure white foals born to overo paints die because their colons don't work right. OLWS = overo lethal white syndrome.)

I understand Australian Shepherds have a lethal white syndrome, too.

There is also a thing in Merle dog breeds called “double Merle” where they can be born with severe birth defects... deaf, blind, etc. and I think some even die. This might be what you are thinking of with the Aussies? It happens when two Merle dogs are bred together which is why they say to never do it. It seems that one Merle to a solid color parent is fine. Although genetic testing can help because sometimes Merle is covered up by another color though that’s rarer. Anyway, I think it’s especially common in Aussies, Border Collies, and Great Danes. But it can happen to any Merle to Merle breeding I think.

 

[Arielle2]

hmmmm. Pointers have a similar defect. If the ears are white, rather than colored, the dog is likely to be deaf.

 

[ShrekDawg]

hmmmm. Pointers have a similar defect. If the ears are white, rather than colored, the dog is likely to be deaf.

Hmm interesting! Didn’t realize similar things existed in other breeds! Most of these double merle dogs are also born solid white which might be where the “lethal white” name comes in. Although they don’t always die I don’t think

 

[Bunnylady]

@Bunnylady, this is what I read on the seramabantam.com site:
9. The Serama carry a 'diluted' lethal gene from the Japanese Bantam Ancestry, causing 1% to 2 % of embryos to develop fully, but fail to hatch or the chick dies within 24 hours of hatching. The Incubation period for Serama eggs is 19-20 days. At the normal incubation temperature of most breeds of poultry. See Breeding Serama.

@microchick Yeah, I've seen that. I've also seen the rest of that post, a lot of which was lifted almost word-for-word from Jerry Schexnader's website (which doesn't include the bit about the lethal gene). Makes me wonder if the person who made that post actually digests anything they read, or merely regurgitates. If I may digress a bit, I've been into rabbits for over 30 years, and I've heard very experienced and respected rabbit breeders spout gobbledygook when they started into the subject of genetics - living demonstrations that enthusiasm doesn't always equal knowledge. Sometimes, enthusiastic people with little understanding just wind up repeating something that another person who didn't understand it said, and because they don't understand the subject well enough to correct the errors, like the Energizer bunny, the misinformation keeps going, and going . . . . Now, I don't claim to be an expert in the field of genetics, but I am pretty comfortable with the subject, so I know that 1 to 2% makes no sense as a genetic ratio, nor is it statistically significant. I don't know where the person who made that post came by that, but I doubt that anyone who really knows the subject matter would say it. Genes don't "dilute" - either you got 'em, or you don't- but they can mutate into other forms. If what this person was trying to say is that Seramas have a special, mutated form of the Creeper gene (or possibly one of the other homozygous lethal short-legged genes) that has no expression at all besides an occasional dead chick, that's the first time I've ever heard of it, and I'd love to know the (original) source of that information, since it seems that nobody else mentions it.

Hmm interesting! Didn’t realize similar things existed in other breeds! Most of these double merle dogs are also born solid white which might be where the “lethal white” name comes in. Although they don’t always die I don’t think

A lot of the genes that we think of as producing color can have other effects, too, particularly the ones that result in no color (white). The broken gene in rabbits, for example, while strictly speaking not lethal in the homozygous form, does produce an animal that has severe digestive issues which can dramatically shorten the life of the rabbit. White areas that are located around the ears are often associated with deafness in horses, and blue-eyed white cats are often deaf.

 

[pennyJo1960]

It is also whay most, not all white german shepards are deaf

 

[ShrekDawg]

A lot of the genes that we think of as producing color can have other effects, too, particularly the ones that result in no color (white). The broken gene in rabbits, for example, while strictly speaking not lethal in the homozygous form, does produce an animal that has severe digestive issues which can dramatically shorten the life of the rabbit. White areas that are located around the ears are often associated with deafness in horses, and blue-eyed white cats are often deaf.

It is also whay most, not all white german shepards are deaf

It does seem like the white ear thing produces deafness quite a lot. Or in this case full white. But I think I read sometimes it has to do with lack of pigment in the ear? But then that doesn’t make any sense because plenty of white dogs aren’t deaf so

Just seems like sometimes animals can be deaf in one ear or whatever and it’s usually the white ear not the colored one.

And that’s so sad about the rabbits. I had no idea.

 

[CapricornFarm]

@Bunnylady, this is what I read on the seramabantam.com site:
9. The Serama carry a 'diluted' lethal gene from the Japanese Bantam Ancestry, causing 1% to 2 % of embryos to develop fully, but fail to hatch or the chick dies within 24 hours of hatching. The Incubation period for Serama eggs is 19-20 days. At the normal incubation temperature of most breeds of poultry. See Breeding Serama.

I was thinking about getting some Serama's from an Amish construction worker we had hired but decided not to due to their susceptibility to Marek's disease. He told me I could have all the eggs I wanted. Naturally it was raining soup and all I have is a fork....and Marek's disease.

Interesting read!