# poor abyssinians or just a "rex thing" ?



## pyrodarknessanny (Jan 25, 2019)

some back ground first . so in Australia we technically DONT have Abys

I say technically as I have personally seen it pop up in my original lines from 2015.

how ever it seamed to be non reproducible and the individuals that did pop up were amazing and quite varied in the number and placement of the rosettes.










some of the original Abys that popped up spontaneously in my 2015 line.

I don't have any stock left from that original blood line and am now working with entirely new stock 
but I have noticed something odd.

some of my rex kits develop a very distinctive ridge about half way down the back. 
not all of my rex and texel mice have this tho. 








since this litter the ridges have become more pronounced in the litters that have them









unfortunatly this particular female passed away but I do have several mice still who are closely related to her. 
the ridge is quite distinctive here but I fell the rex is working against it if it is indeed aby at all.

and in some individuals it is more prominent than others .
a breeder friend suggested that it could be another Aby mutation , but as it is happening only on rex mice its difficult to know 
and as of yet I have been unsuccessful in replicating this ridge in standard coat mice.

now the thing that I am having difficulty researching is the variability and consistency of the Aby gene .

from what I have seen in my originals the placement of the rosettes was quite random .
how ever almost every search I do for Abys turns up mice that only have the 2 hip rosettes.

if any one is breeding Abys can you please help me work out whats happening here.
dose any one have rex abys? please post photos!

from my understanding Aby is a modifier dependant recessive. 
in that , its quality is affected by more than just the Aby gene, so if you lack the modifier genes the expression of the rosettes is poor.

help any one?


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Here in uk we have both Abby and Rex. Abby are definitely capable of more than a rosette on each side of the rump, I've seen some with more rosettes along the body. These don't just appear though, it takes years of selection. 
With regard to your Rex, they might be Abby, only you can know, but having bred Rex for nearly ten years, can confirm that they do tend towards a line along the top, or a seam as it were. Needs to be bred against to produce good Rex mice.


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

Sorry, I have no experience in the variation.


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