That is a tremendous post! A whole lot of information that's for sure, to try to digest. This points out something I have been trying to express for years. Genetics are (or is it "is) not simple. Period. Most people want their genetics to be either, simple recessive, dominant or co-dominant. This is not the reality though is it? It's a lot like setting a two year old on the floor with one of those boards that have three holes in it. A round hole, a square hole and a triangular hole. Then give the little fella a parallelogram and watch him be frustrated trying to fit it into one of those holes. It just can't be done. Genetics of many things are far more complicated and intricate than we would like them to be. It's just real life. For instance; Some Jungles are prone to have really aberrant babies. Some still produce Jungles all right, but not nearly so crazy patterned offspring. Diluted or leaky gene? In genetics, there is no such thing. A gene or allele on a gene either says yes or no. It is on or off. Whatever causes something that is presumed to be diluting or making the gene "leaky" is a separate gene. Other genetic factors influence how a genetic characteristic is expressed. Another example are Pastel Hypos or Pastel Albinos. The extra beautiful color is not attached to the Albino gene but it certainly influences how exactly that Albino gene is fully expressed. That same as some animals, when bred to a Motley, will produce those perfect connected Motleys everyone wants so bad while other breedings do not. They are still Motleys but other characteristics have an impact upon how the Motley trait is expressed.

I certainly have not digested the Type II Anery dilemma at all. The misinformation that has been out regarding them is abundant though. That much I do know. It's great fun trying to get a handle on this stuff. Figuring stuff out and sharing that with others is one of the most rewarding parts of being a little mad scientist. Breed this to that and see what you get. It's nice to be able to do more and more of that with some level of predictability. Also, I think just about everything we see is genetic. Figuring out how and why it works like it does is the challenge. A challenge that in some cases may not ever be completely understood. So we go on and try to get a better handle on things. It is part of what makes the whole thing such great fun. Thanks for the really long post Amanda!

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