A Mystery...

[Marsheliah]

Alright. I must know. This has just plain stoked my curiosity. So, here we go.

The hen, Stardust, is a Cobalt Blue Opaline Hen, that I think may have a violet factor.

The cock, Ollie, is just a Normal Green Cock.

The baby, Pickles, is a Dilute Green that I believe is a Cock.

Where did this color come from? Neither of the parents are dilutes. I knew I could get anything, but still, this surprised me.

I am trying to learn genetics, but I'm hopeless! Help!

[A-n-M]

I was surprised also when I saw what mutation Pickles was.
It's amazing too. Pickles is adorable even if he looks nothing like his parents. :p

I'm not that great with genetics, so I'm excited to see what others say.

[Marsheliah]

No offense to Ollie and Star, but I think he's even cuter! :P I hope I can get some answers. I wonder if it is likely to get dilutes in future clutches. Hmmmmmm. Whatever happens, I'm happy. ^^

[Kerry C]

The hen, Stardust, is a Cobalt Blue Opaline Hen, that I think may have a violet factor.

The cock, Ollie, is just a Normal Green Cock.

The baby, Pickles, is a Dilute Green that I believe is a Cock.

Where did this color come from? Neither of the parents are dilutes. I knew I could get anything, but still, this surprised me. Help!


If your cobalt has a violet sheen it is really a sky violet.

Green is a dominant color, that is why your offspring is green.

To get the dilute both parents have to be split for this recessive trait.

Opaline is a sex linked mutation. That means this cock bird will be split for opaline. He is split for blue.

Another thing when breeding American budgies they have everything including the kitchen sink tossed into their genetic mutations. So regardless of how careful you are when pairing up birds you will never be 100% certain of what will pop out.

If you want consistency of what you will get when breeding you should look to breeding English Budgies. Purchase them from exhibition breeders. These people keep pedigrees on their birds and it is quite possible to go back for many, many generations and see what colors and mutations were introduced into the lines. You will also see where all the blood lines come from using the breeder codes that are recorded on each leg band.

[Marsheliah]

Eh, I was just curious. So, they both have the reccesive gene. Hmmmmm. Also, if I breed this baby to a blue hen someday, I might get blues? And I'm not breeding for color, just curiousity. Right now, I'm just a kid obsessed with birds and hopes of breeding bigger birds in the future.

[pal0m1n0]

Then again, some of us like surprises. :) I wouldn't be able to tell mine apart quicky if they weren't all so different, even so I get a couple confused. :)

[Marsheliah]

I do like surprises. ^^ I'm having trouble typing. Pickles, the first ever budgie in the living room, is crawling all over my laptop and the sofa. He's a nutjob of a chick. I'm quite glad I bred them.

[Kerry C]

I'm not breeding for color, just curiousity. Right now, I'm just a kid obsessed with birds and hopes of breeding bigger birds in the future.

Well, OK, so you are a kid and you enjoy breeding the birds. A lot of kids are taking this one step further and breed English budgies for exhibition. Did you know that many bird shows give scholarship awards for collage to the best Junior winners? There are kids taking advantage of this. Every little bit helps! :budgie:

Some kids even get their folks involved in the hobby. The only problem some face is getting their birds back after collage. ;)

Kerry

[Marsheliah]

Lol. I am pretty obsessed. I've got my little chick crawling all over me. I hope to raise bigger birds, or maybe even just English Budgies, as a hobby someday. Maybe I should look into that though...