Mutations Guide

[sweetrsue]

Normal Gray

The most common color for Cockatiels is the Gray. It is the color for all wild cockatiels. It is the basis for all the mutations that have come about through captive breeding. The wild type cockatiel is made up of Gray (melanin) as well as yellow and orange (lipochrome). The immature birds will share the markings of mature hens untill the first or second molt when males develop a yellow mask and solid gray wing and tail feathers.

immature gray

1280

Tail barring and wingspots

1281
shared by immature birds and mature hens

Mature Female

1282
females will have a gray suffusion on the face

Mature Male

1283
Males will have a bright yellow mask

Mature Male

1284
notice the solid gray under the tail

[sweetrsue]

Cinnamon

The Cinnamon has the same markings as the Wild Type Gray except that it's melanin is lighter which results in tan or brown replacing the gray. The hen will have the same suffusion of the body color through the face

Immature Cinnamon

1285

1286
this one is a older than the first but still has not developed the yellow mask of the mature male

Female Cinnamon

1287

Mature Male Cinnamon

1288

[sweetrsue]

Lutino

The Lutino Mutation lacks the melanin that makes a bird gray or tan. The result is a yellow bird that is usually paler on it's body than on it's head. It's difficult to visually sex the Lutino. The tail barring and wingspots are still present and can be seen under strong light but they are white against pale yellow. They have the orange cheek patches of the other types and most commonly have red eyes except in rare cases where blue eyes have been seen.

Immature Lutino

1289

Lutino Female

1290

Lutino Male

1291



1292
uncommon blue eyes

[sweetrsue]

White Face Gray

The White face like the Lutino only lacks one of the elements that makes up a wild type but in this case he lacks the lipochrome. the result is a bird with no yellow or orange. The same rules for markings still apply with the immature birds and females sharing the tail barring and wing spots. The White face male will develop a striking white face rather than the yellow mask of the wild type.

Immature White Face

1293
young male before aquiring his white mask


White Face Female

1294

1295

Mature White Face Male

1296

1297

[sweetrsue]

Pattern Varieties

Pied

While other mutations follow predictable pattern and common rules for their markings this mutation follows none of the rules. It is a non specific lack of melanin that can occur anywhere on it's body. It can be as varied as just a few light (pied) feathers. This is called a Light Pied. A normal Pied bird is ideally about 50% pied. The heavily Pied bird would have more than 50% light colored feathers. In the case of the clear pied fewer than 2% of it's normal coloring still exists. They are very difficult to sex visually as the markings that enable you to separate the boys from the girls are in most cases disrupted. Although there are a few that retain some of the wing
spots and tail barring

Light Pied

1305
just showing pied feathers on his head

Normal Pied
1306

1307
These two have a good 50/50 mix

Heavy Pied

1308
Just a few dark feathers remain

Clear Pied

1309
Almost no dark feathers remain

[sweetrsue]

Pearl

The Pearl is a mutation with a specific lack of melanin. This creates a feather pattern that has little variation in this group. The male when maturing will lose their pearling with few exceptions and look like a wild type Gray.

Close up of Pearls

1310
pattern of Gray Pearl

Immature Cinnamon Pearl

1311
pearl can be combined with any other mutation

Same young male losing it's pearling

1312

Mature Pearl Female

1313

Mature Pearl Male

1314

[sweetrsue]

Facial Variations

There are a few options also with face colors. They have a delicate and interesting appearance. I have a couple of them shown here.

Pastel

1315
Pastel Face Pied male

1316
Pastel Face Gray female

Yellow Cheek

1317
Yellow Cheek Pied shown with a normal Lutino

[sweetrsue]

Uncommon Mutations

There are a wide variety of mutations being developed all the time. I am showing only a few of the less common varieties here. There is the Emerald which seems to have a greenish cast to it's feathers. The Silver is much like the wild type Gray but is much lighter. The Fallow is much like Cinnamon but with a very pale tan and red eyes.

Normal Fallow

1318

White face Fallow Male

1319
Clearly showing the red eyes

Emerald

1320

Silver

1321

[sweetrsue]

Combination Mutations

There are almost endless possibilities when you start combining the mutations. Some of the results are surprising. Here again are just a few.

Lutino Pearl

1322
Darker yellow pearling against a pale yellow body

White Face Pearl Pied

1323

White Face Combinations

1324
Cinnamon Whiteface, Cinnamon Whiteface Pearl and Cinnamon Whiteface Pied

Lutino Whiteface

1330
Combining genes from a bird with no gray with a bird with no yellow or orange can produce an all white bird

A Variety

1331
As you can see there are a wide variety of colors and patterns that can make every bird unique

[crazy4tiels88]

Thanks sue for posting Popeye as I thought he was a heavy pied but I guess he's a clear pied, Also Graystar my pearl!!

[sweetrsue]

Thank You for posting the pics! They were perfect examples!

[McSpizzy]

wow, i must have a really uncommon mix. He has a white body, gray wings, a gray ring around his neck, and BLACK EYES! I talked to a breeder once about him, she said that was a very rare bird.:D I feel special.

[allen]

if you post some pics we may be able to id your tiel

[sweetrsue]

He sounds like a Whiteface Pied. Pied can vary greatly in the amount of light feathers. Here's one of mine.
1365

[superluvrgurl]

Nice Job Sue! The new guide is much better than the old one with all the deleted photobucket "filler images" lol

[sweetrsue]

I just noticed that the same thing has happened to the embryonic development of the egg.

[allen]

if i,m right i saved that on my computer

[sweetrsue]

I found that info again when atvchick said she was searching for it. The pictures appear to be of very high quality and good size too...are you making a suggestion Allen?

[moondust]

i'm a little cofused and mine is so young i can't tell what kind it is. can you tell?

[allen]

i believe he is a wf heavy pied

[Cheryl]

It looks like a white faced cinnamon pied (possibly pearl? as well).

[sweetrsue]

I don't see Pearl. I do however see White face Cinnamon Pied.

[moondust]

so which is he?... im so new to this im getting confused...lol!!!...and is he rare?... i acually never see a cockatiel like him but then again i live in a small town so...yeah. thanx!

[sweetrsue]

If you don't see the lacewing (Pearl) pattern which I don't it's either a Whiteface innamon Pied or a Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl pied that is a mature male. They lose those markings as they mature. I wouldn't call this mutation particularly rare. Not as common as some but not hard to come by.

[Cheryl]

I think I see a little bit of pattern in there. There seems to be a very small amount. I could be very wrong though. One of my males has that and he had females pearl chicks. He wouldn't of had them if he was split to pearl. He has a small amount of pattern... I honestly used to think he was just pied. He was that way since he was a chick.
Those colors used to be rare but they are starting to become much more common. Their prices are dropping dramatically.

[atvchick95]

I have a white face pearl male and the only thing that tipped me off that he was pearl is because he has very light white marks on his wings looks like some one took a air brush to him and just sprayed real light here and there and my other one and all the ones i've seen on line didn't have that they were uniform grey no white spots

I put him with a Cinnamon Pearl All babies both clutches were Pearls, they had Normal Pearls, cinnamon Pearls A White Face Cinnamon Pearl and a White Face Pearl

I found out he wasn't jut a white face pearl but split to cinnamon and his mate was split to White face oh and one of them is split for pied because thier only Pearl Male is split to pied I think its the Mom though she has different colored toe nails (which i read is one sign a tiel is split to pied)

[sweetrsue]

Cheryl even a male that is split to pearl will produce pearl female offspring. About 50% statistically.

[Aly]

Very nice and thank you so much for doing this! I am sure it'll come in helpfull! Thanks for adding my babies toO!

[sweetrsue]

I was glad to have the pictures! Thank you Aly.

[Cheryl]

*shrugs* (very late reply sorry). I did the whole genetic calculator thing online and when I put him as a pearl split I got no pearl offspring. Maybe it isn't that accurate. They all showed up as pied. Although I just played with it and had him split to just pearl and what you said was correct. Probably the fact that no pearls show up when I just have him as a split has to somehow have to do with him being split to lutino and cinnamon. The female was a pied cinnamon split to white face. I feel somewhat foolish giving out wrong info. Sorry about that.:blush: Genetics aren't my strong point.

I attached a picture of kisses, the male I am talking about. He looks like a pied except for a few little white blotches. He has always been like that though. I know because I finished hand feeding him. He never "lost" any pearls. It somewhat baffles me. Someone convinced me that he definitely was a pied, but I tried playing with the genetics and it didn't really seem that possible

[atvchick95]

I just did the Genetic calculator and got pearls in the females
which is how it should be if the mom isn't pearl - to get pearls in both males an females both mom and dad need to have the pearl gene

not sure if i read your post right, but I put him as a Pied Split to Pearl, Cinnamon and Lutino and the female just as a Cinnamon pied split to white face

if thats right here is what I got


Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Split To {X2: Cinnamon Lutino Pearl}

male offspring:
25% Pied Split To Whiteface {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl}
25% Pied Split To {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Cinnamon Split To {X1: Lutino Pearl}

female offspring:
25% Pied Split To Whiteface
25% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface
25% Pied
25% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl


I also did it as him just a Pied split to pearl - mother still Cinnamon pied split to white face


Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Split To {X2: Pearl}

male offspring:
25% Pied Split To Whiteface {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Split To Whiteface {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Split To {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Split To {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}

female offspring:
25% Pied Split To Whiteface
25% Pied Pearl Split To Whiteface
25% Pied
25% Pied Pearl



And I also did him as a Pearl Pied - same female


Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Pearl

male offspring:
50% Pied Split To Whiteface {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
50% Pied Split To {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}

female offspring:
50% Pied Pearl Split To Whiteface
50% Pied Pearl




Sorry I like playing with the tiel genetic calculator it is one i can use and understand Unlike the one for budgie parakeets lol

[Cheryl]

I'm not sure if this is response to mine. The male is actually a whiteface pearl pied split to lutino and cinnamon. The female is a cinnamon pied split to whiteface (supposedly).
Their resulting chicks were:
A female lutino pearl
A female lutino whiteface
A female cinnamon pearl pied
A female cinnamon pearl pied (supposedly might be a a fallow now because she has red eyes)

A male pied
A male whiteface pied


I figured out their genetics backwards from the chicks they had. I'm probably very wrong since one of the girls may not be cinnamon after all. If you would like to play around with the calculator and try to find a perfect match that would be awesome haha. I got tired after doing it for a while. I felt accomplished when I thought I found the perfect match.

The mother's phenotype is a cinnamon pied and the father's phenotype is a whiteface pearl? pied.

[atvchick95]

I'm not sure if this is response to mine. The male is actually a whiteface pearl pied split to lutino and cinnamon. The female is a cinnamon pied split to whiteface (supposedly).
Their resulting chicks were:
A female lutino pearl
A female lutino whiteface
A female cinnamon pearl pied
A female cinnamon pearl pied (supposedly might be a a fallow now because she has red eyes)

A male pied
A male whiteface pied


I figured out their genetics backwards from the chicks they had. I'm probably very wrong since one of the girls may not be cinnamon after all. If you would like to play around with the calculator and try to find a perfect match that would be awesome haha. I got tired after doing it for a while. I felt accomplished when I thought I found the perfect match.

The mother's phenotype is a cinnamon pied and the father's phenotype is a whiteface pearl? pied.

oops sorry about that left off the white face , my computer lags when i go to it so there are times i click one thing and it goes to some where else lol

but i'll be more then happy to play around with it :) I do it on my birds alot, but then I end up needing mutations I don't have to get what I want Lol

[atvchick95]

ok here is my 1st go at it, in order to get visual fallows BOTH parents must carry the gene

so here is the outcome on that one


Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Fallow Whiteface
Father:Pied Whiteface Pearl Split To Fallow {X2: Cinnamon Lutino}

male offspring:
6% Fallow Pied Whiteface Split To {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
6% Fallow Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Split To {X1: Lutino Pearl}
6% Fallow Pied Split To Whiteface {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
6% Fallow Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl}
6% Pied Whiteface Split To {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
6% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Split To {X1: Lutino Pearl}
6% Pied Split To Whiteface {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
6% Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl}
13% Pied Whiteface Split To Fallow {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
13% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Split To Fallow {X1: Lutino Pearl}
13% Pied Split To Fallow Whiteface {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
13% Pied Cinnamon Split To Fallow Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl}

female offspring:
6% Fallow Pied Whiteface Pearl
6% Fallow Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Lutino Pearl
6% Fallow Pied Pearl Split To Whiteface
6% Fallow Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface
6% Pied Whiteface Pearl
6% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Lutino Pearl
6% Pied Pearl Split To Whiteface
6% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface
13% Pied Whiteface Pearl Split To Fallow
13% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Fallow
13% Pied Pearl Split To Fallow Whiteface
13% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Fallow Whiteface


I'm trying to get it to where it shows me the chicks you've already had

but also remember these percentages are gathered from 100 babies - So just because its on there doesn't mean you'll get it every time , I didn't know my bart was split to Lutino until their 2nd clutch :)

and i'll add to this when i get another one figured out lol

[atvchick95]

I'm having a hard time matching the babies you got to the parents lol

on this one I left Fallow out all together and still can't get just a Plain Lutino Pearl or White Face Lutino females i keep coming up with Cinnamon in their mutations along with pied

but here's this one


Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Whiteface Split To {X2: Cinnamon Lutino Pearl}

male offspring:
25% Pied Whiteface Split To {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Split To {X1: Lutino Pearl}
25% Pied Split To Whiteface {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl}

female offspring:
25% Pied Whiteface
25% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Lutino Pearl
25% Pied Split To Whiteface
25% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface


is it possiable your lutinos are also cinnamon just can't tell it?

I know you can't tell a pied lutino from a normal lutino

[Cheryl]

I wonder if the
6% Pied Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface
13% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Lutino Pearl Split To Fallow

will have just a phenotype of lutino pearl or whiteface lutino. If it is so, then you may be correct.

We need experts here!
I think the only feasible way to solve this problem is to do a bunch of test crosses.. but then again, that isn't even feasible.. that is nearly impossible to do. Even if it was, it would probably cause a lot of emotional distress on the birds.

[ChocoNoir]

But I can't differentiate between a mature female normal gray cockateil and an immature normal gray here.
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1282&d=1230690246
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1280&thumb=1&d=1230690226

...and how different does a mature pearl male look from a mature male normal gray?
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1314&thumb=1&d=1230745810
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1283&thumb=1&d=1230690255

Sorry for such funny questions. It's kind of confusing for me.:blush:

[atvchick95]

But I can't differentiate between a mature female normal gray cockateil and an immature normal gray here.
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1282&d=1230690246
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1280&thumb=1&d=1230690226

...and how different does a mature pearl male look from a mature male normal gray?
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1314&thumb=1&d=1230745810
http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1283&thumb=1&d=1230690255

Sorry for such funny questions. It's kind of confusing for me.:blush:



I can't see the entire tail of the 1st one, but the 2nd one Id say is the young one it still has a short tail.

as for Mature Pearl and Mature grey - They will look identical if the pearl was Normal Pearl and not like a cinnamon pearl because then he'd look like a normal cinnamon

if your not 100% sure you have a pearl male, (like it was bought at the pet shop after it lost the pearlings) the only other way to find out is from breeding it.

[tielfan]

The male is actually a whiteface pearl pied split to lutino and cinnamon. The female is a cinnamon pied split to whiteface (supposedly).
Their resulting chicks were:
A female lutino pearl
A female lutino whiteface
A female cinnamon pearl pied
A female cinnamon pearl pied (supposedly might be a a fallow now because she has red eyes)

A male pied
A male whiteface pied

Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Whiteface Split To {X2: Cinnamon Lutino Pearl}

Problem in the calculation! Based on the actual chicks born, the father must have his cinnamon and lutino genes on separate chromosomes. The earlier calculation had them on the same X.

Here's what I get when I split them onto two X's:

Mother:Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface
Father:Pied Whiteface Pearl Split To {X1: Cinnamon} {X2: Lutino}

male offspring:
25% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Split To {X1: Pearl}
25% Pied Whiteface Split To {X1: Lutino Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}
25% Pied Cinnamon Split To Whiteface {X1: Pearl}
25% Pied Split To Whiteface {X1: Lutino Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon}

female offspring:
25% Pied Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl
25% Pied Whiteface Lutino Pearl
25% Pied Cinnamon Pearl Split To Whiteface
25% Pied Lutino Pearl Split To Whiteface

You'll notice that ALL the chicks are pied, but this color scheme is basically invisible on lutinos.

[tielfan]

P.S. on the red-eyed cinnamon chick: it's my understanding that plum-colored eyes are standard for cinnamon, but there are individual variations in the color. Some chicks look more dark/normal and others look more red.

[sweetrsue]

It is not possible to tell the difference between immature males and mature females. The length of the tail can tell you if a bird is very young but usually their tails get to be adult length pretty quickly. As for mature male Pearls and mature Normal gray males. Usually it's not possible to tell those apart either. Some mature male Pearls keep some or even most of their pearling but that in very uncommon. Some people say they can see a light dusting of lighter color on the wings of mature Pearl males but I have normal grays that have that so I wouldn't count on that.

[Cheryl]

P.S. on the red-eyed cinnamon chick: it's my understanding that plum-colored eyes are standard for cinnamon, but there are individual variations in the color. Some chicks look more dark/normal and others look more red.

Her eyes seemed to have darkened a bit, but here is a picture from when she was a chick.
http://www.geocities.com/theallamericantiels/zx.JPG
Here is one as a fledgling. Still pretty red.
http://www.geocities.com/theallamericantiels/zzzzxxxx.JPG

After looking at these her feathers definitely look a lot lighter than her younger sister's.

[tielfan]

After looking at these her feathers definitely look a lot lighter than her younger sister's.

I don't know a lot about cinnamon. But the gene modifies melanin, and I would guess that the birds with reddish eyes have a stronger modification than the ones with darker eyes. Presumably the amount of melanin modification would have an effect on feather color too. I hope there's someone here who knows more about it and can explain it to us!

If I remember correctly, the more red-looking eyes tend to darken as the bird gets older.

I had the opposite problem when Buster and Shodu started producing cinnamon chicks. It looked to me like their eyes were the same color as their normal grey siblings and I didn't know they were different until their feathers came in. But I wasn't expecting cinnamon chicks, and if I'd been looking for a difference it's possible that I might have been able to see it.

[atvchick95]

Her eyes seemed to have darkened a bit, but here is a picture from when she was a chick.
http://www.geocities.com/theallamericantiels/zx.JPG
Here is one as a fledgling. Still pretty red.
http://www.geocities.com/theallamericantiels/zzzzxxxx.JPG

After looking at these her feathers definitely look a lot lighter than her younger sister's.



hmm that doesn't look cinnamon at all I have 4 2 adults 2 young and none have red eyes, never have not even Plum they've always had dark eyes (at least my young ones i can vouch for dark eyes, I got the adults when they were adults)
This is pooh when he was a wee baby just a little over 3 weeks old

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/RednecksDoItBest/My%20Birds/Cockatiel%20Pictures/Sun%20Dance%20And%20Goldie%20Breeding%20Journal/Goldieandsundancesbaby2ndclutchcinn.jpg

Here is one of my 1st cinnamon pearls when she was just a baby

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/RednecksDoItBest/My%20Birds/Cockatiel%20Pictures/Sun%20Dance%20And%20Goldie%20Breeding%20Journal/baby4.jpg

and here is that same one as above at almost 8 months old

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/RednecksDoItBest/My%20Birds/Cockatiel%20Pictures/CinnamonPearlCockatielforsale.jpg

All those pics were taken with flash and still no red eyes or plum eyes they've always had dark eyes.


Yours is defiantly a pearl but to me it looks more silver then it does Cinnamon and Recessive silvers have red eyes

I couldn't find a Silver Pearl but I just wanted to show the color of a silver against your pearl baby

http://www.cockatielsplusparrots.com/sitebuilder/images/Sandra-Trottier-SilverHen-DSCN6777-450x600.jpg

[sweetrsue]

It really looks like Fallow Pearl to me!1626
This one is paler but the can vary quite a bit.

[atvchick95]

It really looks like Fallow Pearl to me!1626
This one is paler but the can vary quite a bit.


ooh that does match pretty good when i hear fallow i keep thinking of the White Face Fallow where their markings are brown , keep forgetting normal fallow isn't like that :blush:

[sweetrsue]

I found a couple other pics!
1628 Another Fallow Pearl

1629 A Normal Fallow for color comparison

[Cheryl]

I found a couple other pics!
1628 Another Fallow Pearl

1629 A Normal Fallow for color comparison

Thank you sweetrsue! I'm one step closer to discovering their heredity. I'm glad you caught that. :D

[WonderBird]

Hey Sue, thanks for the different mutations. I was looking at the "Pearl" section and noticed that the last picture you posted, "Mature Male Pearl" looks a lot like the normal grey. What is the difference between the two?

[sweetrsue]

Sadly there is none. Male Pearls lose their pearls as they mature. A normal Pearl male will look identical to a normal gray when they are fully feathered out in their mature feathers. Usually after their second molt at 12 months or so. However there are few cases of males that keep some and even rarer of males that keep all of their pearls. On the plus side. They will pass the pearl gene on to their Daughters Visually. All the baby girls will be Pearls. All the baby boys will be split for Pearl but won't look like a Pearl unless their Mother is also a Pearl.

[WonderBird]

So, there will be no way of telling the two apart visually? ahaha just a random thought, I could actually have a pearl male at home with me right now and not even know it? wow this is so interesting. ahaha. I read somewhere though that behind the crest there should be a small streak of yellow is it is a pearl. is that true? in any case, just something I was wondering about.

[sweetrsue]

No that would actually be a Pied trait. But Yes! You could have a Pearl male and not know it 'till you breed him. Actually males can carry all kinds of genes you can't see. They can be split for Cinnamon and Lutino too and produce baby girls of that mutation with a normal gray mate.

[WonderBird]

ahh, how interesting! What about the female? Would the outcomes of the babies depend on the female then? I've always thought it was all on the males.

[sweetrsue]

It is mostly on the males in a sense. Males can carry all kinds of genes and pass them onto their Daughters. They only way to get males of those mutations is to breed the male with the gene to a female who IS that mutation. For example a Cinnamon male will produce all Cinnamon female offspring regardless of what kind of mate he has. The males from that kind of pairing would be split for Cinnamon but look like normal grays in most cases. to get males he would have to be bred with a Cinnamon hen. The exceptions to that rule are recessive mutations like White face and Pied. Those genes are passed to both sexes equally but require both parents to carry the gene to produce any offspring of that type. For example a white face bred to a normal bird will produce all normal birds that are split for white face

[WonderBird]

Ahh.. I see, that's pretty interesting. Thanks for clearing things up for me!~

[4LovelyTiels]

i read every single post! I love this thread! Where can I find a mutation calculator thingy?

[sweetrsue]

http://www.kirstenmunson.com/cockatiels/blue.html this is it!

[4LovelyTiels]

Thanks!! Okay, I did this for fun, but too, because they seem like they wanna mate with each other. Cooper and Bilbo (yes, I learned recently Bilbo is a female).



Mother:Pied Pearl
Father:Pied Split To {X1: Lutino}

male offspring:
50% Pied Split To {X1: Lutino} {X2: Pearl}
50% Pied Split To {X2: Pearl}

female offspring:
50% Pied Lutino
50% Pied

[frodo]

I have a quick question. I once had a friend who recieved an interesting cockatiel for her birthday. It started out with pearl blue-ish feathers, not the gray in the pictures, but then at maturity, it was revealed to be a normal colored male. Why did he start out with those color feathers? Do a lot of cockatiels do that?

[Aly]

Normal grey's start out with the pearls in their tail, etc -only females keep them once they have their first molt. Sound's like your friend had a normal gray male. Oh, and the bluish looking feathers is also normal. Baby's feathers were very dark and had a blue tint in the light since they were so dark (except the pearls). Once they grow, I belive they start producing more powder on their feathers and become lighter in color a bit. Atleast that's how it went with Baby.

[Cannuck2007]

Normal grey's start out with the pearls in their tail, etc -only females keep them once they have their first molt. Sound's like your friend had a normal gray male. Oh, and the bluish looking feathers is also normal. Baby's feathers were very dark and had a blue tint in the light since they were so dark (except the pearls). Once they grow, I belive they start producing more powder on their feathers and become lighter in color a bit. Atleast that's how it went with Baby.


You're right Aly! Remember when I first brought Rocky home? How dark everyone said he was? As he got older the powder lightened his feathers. One of his chicks (also a grey) Is also Very Dark!

Genetics are really facinating! Lol!:p

[Aly]

Here is a good link with pics also.. http://www.tieltreasures.com/gallery.htm

[Australe]

Thanks a million Sue. It definately helped to explain why my bird is a light pied instead of the normal grey I thought he was. I forwarded the link to this thread to my sister who just got two cockatiels, she'll appreciate it too! Thanks a million!

[ReniLyn]

Ok, I tried the link and got this:


Mother:Whiteface Pearl
Father:Pied Pearl

male offspring:
100% Pearl Split To Pied Whiteface

female offspring:
100% Pearl Split To Pied Whiteface



So is it basically telling me that I will get pretty much an equal amount of what each parent is? LOL I'm sooooooooooooooooooo lost! Back in the day, we just hatched eggs and it was like Christmas. We got what we got! I've never tried figuring all this out before. :confused::confused::confused::confused:

[sweetrsue]

It works that way because both are Pearls and both have recessive mutations. So you would get all Pearls with all the babies split to both of the recessive mutations. Visually they will all look like normal Pearls.

[tielfan]

It's telling you that visually, they're all going to be regular pearls! All the chicks will be split for both of the other mutations that the parents have but you won't see any whiteface or pied on them, except maybe for the pied tickmarks that are sometimes seen on a split-pied bird.

If you get any chicks that are visual pied pearl or visual whiteface pearl, it means that one of the parents has a split that you didn't know about.

[lmacri223]

thanks heaps

[srtiels]

Remember when I first brought Rocky home? How dark everyone said he was? As he got older the powder lightened his feathers

A tiel will lighten just a little bit, prior to molting. The new feathers should be darker, but not as dark as they were originally. Exposure to sun or vita light can also lighten the feather color just a little. With cinnaamons the exposure (daily) to sun is noticable because the feathers become paler.

[Mythara]

Remember when I first brought Rocky home? How dark everyone said he was? As he got older the powder lightened his feathers

A tiel will lighten just a little bit, prior to molting. The new feathers should be darker, but not as dark as they were originally. Exposure to sun or vita light can also lighten the feather color just a little. With cinnaamons the exposure (daily) to sun is noticable because the feathers become paler.

Yep, our two are both cinnamons, and now it's really obvious, but when we first got them, we thought they were greys. :)

[Lovin_the_tiels]

Very Nice Posts SweetrSue!!!!I enjoyed the picts very much!!!...Lisa

[srtiels]

Cheryl,

The baby in the pix is a recessive silver pearl pied. Very Nice :)

[clawnz]

Thank you for great references.
[QUOTE=sweetrsue;59526][CENTER]Normal Gray

[SIZE=3][FONT=Verdana]The most common color for Cockatiels is the Gray. It is the color for all wild cockatiels. It is the basis for all the mutations that have come about through captive breeding. The wild type cockatiel is made up of Gray (melanin) as well as yellow and orange (lipochrome). The immature birds will share the markings of mature hens untill the first or second molt when males develop a yellow mask and solid gray wing and tail feathers.

Can I add this link? http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~geoffwatts1/Cockatiel_Mutations.html
I have been looking to see if Tweety is Cinnamon Pearl! She is very pale for a Cinnamon Pearl.
Monica on Birdboard said she found some reference to A Platimun Pearl.
My best guess at this stage she is Cinnamon Pearl. As the Plats are meant to be few and far between.
Can you please explain to me what Split is? in the mutations.
Clive

[Gops1979]

Hi All, I have an Albino Hen.. I want chicks like the one shown in below link http://www.genesisaviaries.com/aphrodite2.jpg ... So with Albino hen, what cock should I pair to get such heavy pied chicks..

[srtiels]

It isn't going to work with an albino. An albino is a Lutino WF. Lutino is a different mutation than pied.

[NuttyNu]

im very confused and getting more confused the more i read!!! What makes a normal pied? how can a clear pied with no grey on it, would that not make it a lutino as there is no grey?

Also, you say that lutinos rarely have dark eyes but my 3 female lutinos have all got dark eyes and at least one has produced 3 chicks with red eyes (have not been able to look at newborns for eye colour yet as they are only 1 day old ). does having the dark or red eyes matter with relation to their health or breeding?

[srtiels]

Lutino eyes are red. Clear pieds eyes are dark.

Lutinos eyes are lighter when young, as they age they get dark, to a dark deep ruby color. if a light is shined indirectly to the eye the red collor can still be seen.

[NuttyNu]

Thanks srtiels. i cannot handle them so it is all seen from a distance (Or i will have many more wounds to add to the collection from cocktiels!) I did not realise that they darken as they get older. Now i am curious as to which they are but am not brave or tough enough!!!

[srtiels]

You can still shine a flashlight at the eyes from a few feet away. You do not have to pick them up :)

[Colten]

After reading this I think my whiteface is a female :o
It only has white behind its head, not the whole face like it shows in the picture

[BLESSED'S_WINGS]

Can I know visually the sex of a Fallow? My bird is WF Cinnamon Pearl but with red eyes. He/she is just 4 weeks old. The parents are Hen: same as the baby and cock: WF Pearl Pied but they grey color is pretty light so maybe a Platinum.

Thank You

[srtiels]

Can you post pix's?

Another thing your bird can be is a WF cinnamon lutino pearl

[Miss Mercy]

I have a lutino pearl female and am looking for a male, do you have any suggestions on what mutation would best suit her?

[tiel lover]

I have a yellow pied hen- her mate is a white face cinnamon pied. what can I expect in chicks? she's a gorgeous pastel yellow color.

[srtiels]

You should expect ALL pied babies. Anythiong with cinnamon will be females, and non-cinnamon males.

BUT, if each bird is not a nice sized bird, with good confirmation when breeding like to like...meaning pied to pied all you accomplish is going backwards in quality and size. it is preferrable to pair a split to pied with a visual pied.

Pairing like to like is a common beginner/novices choices, and this in turn is why many pet quality birds stay in the range of 75-85 grams. If a person is to breed their goals should be to improve each generation.

[Swtbbgrl]

Can you help me this all has me a bit lost. I was told my female was a Cinnamon...I'm sure she is (looks pink in the sun light) but was wondering what other mutations she may have. Trying to figure out how to post a better picture of her so maybe someone here can help.

[nwoodrow]

try getting pictures of just her from different angles specially if she has any other different feathers going on in the back

[Swtbbgrl]

ok going to give this a shot hope pics post :confused:

Babygirl
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2694.jpg
tail...
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2701.jpg
tummy...
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2707.jpg
back...
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2698.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2697.jpg

you cant tell here how much lighter she is then him...
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/swtbbgrl30/birds/sspx2689.jpg

[nwoodrow]

you can see the difference in coloring by the side by sid, she looks like a cinnamon hen

[Swtbbgrl]

Yes I know she is a Cinnamon I was wondering about any other Mutations....Not sure how to tell. They are a breeding pair and would like to know if they are a good pair and what babys to expect....Squawks mom was a grey and dad a pied... her unknown

[DallyTsuka]

unless shes split pied as well (hard to tell in some birds) then the babies should be greys. if theyre both split whiteface (your male looks like he might be) then you may get whiteface babies (wont know unless you get a WF baby) the male babies will be split cinnamon because the mom is cinnamon.


your hen looks a tad overweight... it may not be a good idea to breed her until shes a better weight (could just be photos or just me, but see the sticky thread on keel bone checking for weight)

[Swtbbgrl]

Thank you :) so All males will be cinnamon or if they are cinnamon they will be males? this is where I get confused, lol.

[nwoodrow]

no they will be grey split to cinnamon which means when they breed they will have cinnamon daughters.

[DallyTsuka]

welcome to cockatiel genetics lol

[Swtbbgrl]

OK wow this could get confusing really fast...is there somewhere I could read up on all this. I have tried to find books but not much help....I was told she had pearly in her as well (don't know for sure) what does that mean??

[nwoodrow]

Ok well the cinnamon, lutino, pearl, and yellow cheek are all sex-linked mutations if daddy carries those mutations his daughters will be those mutations and the sons will be split to get visual sons mommy must also be these mutations.
How the Other recessive mutations work is if one parent carries them the children will be split to them (not always equally) if both parents are split or carry these mutations that is when you get the visual ressesive mutations, whiteface, pied, ressessive silver, olive, pastelface and fallow.

[Swtbbgrl]

ok I see thank you that was easer to understand....

[nwoodrow]

If your interested in finding out what your pair will throw this is the best genetic calculator, you enter in what daddy is (what you can visually see) and enter in what mommy is (what you visually see) and virtually breed, as the season goes on if you come up with a chick that doesnt fit the mutation guide then you go and adjust daddy, if it isnt a sex-linked mutation then you also adjust mommy as they both have to be split to it to get visual ressesive mutations, any sex-linked colors that mommy isnt visual for are female.

www.kirstenmunsen.com/cockatiels/blue.html

I hope this helps you, and remember you not alone, there are still mutation issues that im dealing with. lol

[Swtbbgrl]

That link is not working for me :( I'm really happy with anything as long as the are healthy and happy :)

[nwoodrow]

oops misspelled.

www.kirstenmunson.com/cockatiels/blue.html

[nwoodrow]

Well i wish you the best of luck with your beautiful babes.

[Swtbbgrl]

Thank you for your help :)

[nwoodrow]

your welcome hun

[Swtbbgrl]

Saw the most beautiful baby today went into pet store to get more corn cob for nest box and they had the most beautiful pied pearly but (and this is where I got confused) they said it was a male! they said he talks problem is his cheek patches were so light they almost look yellow! Couldn't see under "his" wings is is possible for him to be a her or him to just have very light markings? I was told females never talk. Maybe a bit of white face, any ideas? would love to add to our family but not sure if I should add another male for fear Squawk would get jealous and turn mean. :confused:

[nwoodrow]

if the babe was pied pearl wing spot sexing is not usable and well there have been some very accomplished female cockatiels that can talk the only way to tell with that one is to wait until after 1st moult

[Swtbbgrl]

Oh ok thank you :) the bird lady wasn't in tonight so going back to talk to her tomorrow see if he has been DNAed.

[nwoodrow]

well hope you the best of luck if you get the little one.

[Swtbbgrl]

oh I dont think so but sure is a beauty I know a few people who are looking though :) and thanks

[artistchan]

are blue are that rare? i have a whitefaced lutino, and when she turns her eye you can see blue.

[4birdsNC]

Don't use Corn Cob bedding,,, it sucks out moisture from the egg shell and can cause all kinds of problems... srtiels didn't quite yell at me about it, but came close.... LOL

[betteyawn]

crazy4tiels88 can u please tell me if u know the colors of mother and father of your bird ivory

[xoxsarahxox]

crazy4tiels88 can u please tell me if u know the colors of mother and father of your bird ivory

If you want to know how to produce a whiteface lutino then its the same as producing a lutino except that both parent birds need to carry the whiteface gene, either one is a visual whiteface and the other split to whiteface, or both are visual whitefaces, or both are split to whiteface. If thats what you were trying to find out, if not Im sorry for butting in :)

[socalcrochet]

excellent post

[Em&Me]

Is blue eyes really a rare mutation in lutino cockatiels? My Emily has the prettiest blue eyes and she got the from her father Tassy, and Tassy got them from either Sonny or Cher I haven't really noticed who has them, but the blue eyes are quite a pretty touch :love:

[tielfan]

When a lutino has blue eyes it's a sign that the bird is split pied or lutino pied.

[leeisme]

Excellent post Sue Great job and lots of hard work I am sure

[mishkaroni]

Curious if I got this right:
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd83/mishkaroni/cerbs.jpg

So my Cerberus here is a female white face then, correct? She's the one breeding with a lutino so based on the calculator my baby
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd83/mishkaroni/baby.jpg
is a lutino split to whiteface?

[xoxsarahxox]

The top pic is a whiteface split pied, the bottom picture I assume is the baby, is a normal grey Split to whiteface and is a boy so he is split to lutino as well, and possibly split to pied.

[mishkaroni]

Ya learn something new everyday, thanks!

[unrequeited]

i was wondering if WF lutinos have any color at all, yuki is pretty much white with brown/red eyes but she has a slight pattern down her chest and tail in light cream kinda like coffee with a lot of milk lol
I've posted a few close up pictures, a little dark because i didn't want the flash to scare her
http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii634/unrequeited/IMG-20120115-00027-1.jpg
http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii634/unrequeited/IMG-20120115-00028-1-1.jpg

[morla]

Thanks for the sticky! It was awesome!

[tielfan]

i was wondering if WF lutinos have any color at all, yuki is pretty much white with brown/red eyes but she has a slight pattern down her chest and tail in light cream kinda like coffee with a lot of milk lol
Whiteface lutinos are usually pure white, but if some feathers have a dirty look to them it means that she's a cinnamon whiteface lutino. I'm not the world's greatest mutation identifier, but I wonder if she might be pearl as well. Maybe somebody else can tell us about that.

[RexiesMuM]

Wow she is gorgeous !! I would think its highly possible she is cinnamon also , I dont much about fallows but could that be a possibility also ?

[tielfan]

Fallows have red eyes so it's a possibility. I don't know much about fallows, but they're supposed to look pretty much like a very pale cinnamon. I don't think I've ever seen a fallow in real life, but the pictures I've seen all had noticeable color on the wings. This bird's color is on the chest and tail, so I'm more inclined to go with cinnamon whiteface lutino. But mutations aren't my strong point so I could very well be wrong.

[adellelauren]

Love the information. Thank you.

[orchid221]

Great description of color mutations. I've looked at color charts before but this helps add a little extra information.

[unrequeited]

wowie i knew she was pretty, but now she seems extra fancy! thanks for the help everyone:D