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Donkey color genetics

I found some interesting things about Donkey color genetics, and since this is [b]Equine[/b] color, I figured I would share.First off in Donkies, "points" are the muzzle,rings around eyes,belly and upper legs and the "trim" is the mane, tail and ear rims. Basically Donkies have a black or red base, the same as horses and it can be modified by Dun, Agouti,Ivory, and Roan.They can also have spotting which is generally horizontal in orientation but can cross the back similar to tobiano in horses. Also spotting can look similar to appaloosa spotting with spots within white patches.Spotting in donkies is heterozygous only, homozygocity(?) is lethal and results in death. Donkies also can have Pangare, which is dominant in donkies. Ivory I thought was rather interesting as it is recessive and is similar to double dilutes in horses, as ivory donkies have blue eyes, light cream diluted base coat and pink skin. All of this left me thinking about mule and hinny color genetics, since I was always told, when crossbreeding, color goes out the window and can be totally random. Personally, I think some of the shared colors can 'match up' genetically, which is why most mules I've seen are bay,sorrel or black.I also think that only homozygote or dominant colors that do not match up between will show, such as champagne, or appaloosa. So yea, this is my crazy theory with no basis behind it other than my own thoughts, but enjoy the other part! Also input anything that I've screwed up on, or that is different.

Daylene Alford Mon, 02/16/2009 - 17:27

Do we have any members who have a good understanding of donkey genetics? We could add some pages for them.

CMhorses Sun, 03/08/2009 - 00:19

[quote="greasedweasel"]Probably a silly question but is there "grey" in donkeys?[/quote]
I honestly can't remember if there is grey in donkeys but I do know there is roan, which in donkeys can look similar to grey (and by grey I assume you mean the greying gene)

Wow I never knew zebras had a type of ivory like gene...thats amazing. I am thinking that there may be different types of this dilution gene in the zebras, some pictures they were white with the tan stripes and some were a light reddish color with darker stripes.
I counted 9 of the 'ivory' zebras in this picture...I'm guessing the gene is a double recessive and that [i]most[/i] zebras are homozygous for well, non ivory.
http://africa.updmedia.com/kenya/big/wh…