Link? I have done some reading after catching that one on camera and it appears that it is a recessive trait that can randomly show itself if both the buck and doe carry the gene, but even if they both carry it it is rare for it to happen. That leads me to believe it is random maybe I’m wrong.
That is correct. It is a recessive trait that must (obviously) be carried by both parents to manifest. Hence... inbreeding increases it's chances. If you've done research, you know they also tend to have specific physical deformities that make a long healthy life at best difficult and often impossible and they often die prematurely. Just shoot them and get them out of the gene pool.
Yep I see your point. A lot of them die shortly after birth due to the genes that alter color are also associated with other bodily systems ie. Short/crooked legs or crooked spine or overall dwarfism. A good number live normal lives though and the condition is less than 2 percent of birthed fawns so that leads me to believe if I let her walk it is really not that big of an issue to the overall population. Does that make sense?
It's not a huge deal either way. But it is one of the only visibly genetic abnormalities (including 'bad' antlers which is very rarely a definitive trait) that is a definite detriment to their health. No reason to risk them reproducing or taking resources from otherwise healthy deer. Given how much they stand out, I'm sure they get hassled by predators more and that's not the best way to go either.
