Originally Posted by goodman_hunter
Originally Posted by Stikman
Originally Posted by BhamFred
to me personally, an albino or piebald is too beautiful and rare just to kill it, I'd rather look at it.


Piebald and albinos are totally different. Piebald is a genetic mutation were other abnormalities also occur. Albinism is a complete lack of pigment with no evidence of abnormal growth occurring although many lack the eyesight of a normal deer. Unlike piebald deer, these deer are normal except for lacking the gene(s) for color. True albinos have pink eyes and white hooves whereas white deer are just that a "white deer" having normal eyes, nose, and hooves.

Also Dr B quite a few years back along the big creek to our south we kill 1 buck that didn't have any white whatsoever! His underside looked like a normal brown coat and the rest of the coat was almost black! I'll look through my albums and find the old Polaroid picture.


thats not exactly accurate, both are genetic and are very similar. So similar that in dogs it usually takes genetic testing to determine which one it is. Also albinos have more problems than just eyesight, some are born deaf, they have skin problems, not to mention other problems such as such as depressed immune systems, kidney failure, liver failure, anemia and neurological disorders.



Albino: Among the questions most often asked are "What causes some deer to be albinos?" "How common are they?" "Are they protected?" and "Can they reproduce?" Albinism is a recessive trait found in mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and even plants. These plants and animals do not have the gene for normal coloration and do not produce the enzyme responsible for skin, hair and tissue coloration. Albinism is the total absence of body pigment. The eyes of an albino are pink, because blood vessels behind the lenses show through the unpigmented irises. As you might guess, albinism is not a desirable trait for either predators or prey species. Being totally white year-round makes concealment difficult. Also, many albinos have poor eyesight. In the game of life, where survival of the fittest is the rule, albinos have a strike against them from the start. Perhaps that is why albinos are rare.Because albinism is a recessive trait, both parents must carry the gene before it can occur in their offspring. An albino deer bred to another albino would have only albinos. An albino bred to a normal deer with no recessive genes for albinism would produce all normally pigmented deer. Offspring from this cross would carry the recessive gene for albinism but would be normally colored. When carriers of albinism breed there is a one-in-four chance they will produce an albino fawn. Recessive genetic traits typically become less common unless they confer a survival advantage or are artificially enhanced through selective breeding. Based on hunter reports, about one deer in 30,000 is an albino. Not all white deer are true albinos. Some white whitetails have normally pigmented noses, eyes and hooves. This is a genetic mutation for hair color but not other pigments. This genetic mutation is a result calle piebald. Piebald deer have patches of white hair but are otherwise normally colored. Piebalds are thought to be more common than albinos. Depending on what part of the country you are from these deer are sometimes referred to as pintos and come in various amounts of white and brown. Unlike Albinism, piebalds with their genetic mutation suffer from a long list of other abnormalities of the skeleton to organ failure.

This was taken directly from North American Whitetail.
I'm no expert in deer but I do read a lot about them!