# Breeding Lutinos...



## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Hi - I am new to this forum. I own 4 lutino cockatiels (added 2 to my lot yesterday). I think they make 2 pairs (time will probably tell). My question is around breeding them. I hear that it is generally not preferable to mate lutinos because of an inherent flaw in their genes (baldness).

Can anyone from experience confirm the validity of this? Is it always unsafe to breed lutinos? Do all the chicks end up with bald heads under their crest? Do the bald heads affect their physical well being (any health issues apart from physical attractiveness)? What other mutations can we safely have them mate with?

Joseph


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

Anything that isn't a lutino split lessens the chance of getting bald offspring. One of my male lutinos (has a bald spot) mated with a pearl lutino I have (no bald spot) and they conceived a bald male lutino. I don't think there is anything physically wrong with them other than the bald spot on their head. Its just a common trait the most lutinos have. If all of your lutinos are bald I would certainly expect bald babies.


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

I don´t know first hand but I´ve seen a few "breeders" that breed lutino to lutino becauwse they think that is a sure way to get lutinos :rollseyes: and all of them have bald spots, some more than others but still bald they have...

I know that to get a male lutino you need both parents carry the gene and having two visuals is more accurate, unless you know the dad is split lutino and breed him to a lutino girl, but many don´t know if a male is split (at least here) so they breed lutino to lutino


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## huson (Feb 23, 2009)

I got a lutino without a bald spot from a local breeder. He told me that it is not certain that breeding lutino with lutino will produce babies with a bald spot. It is all depends on the parents' background. This local breed manage to eliminate visual bald spot from lutino by outbreeding. So if both lutino parents come from a outbreeding background and they both do not have visual bald spot. You might get lutino babies do not have bald spot as well. According to what he said. I am not a breeder myself yet~~~

Hope this helps~~~


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## huson (Feb 23, 2009)

You might want to breed your female lutino cockatiels with a male (normal gray split lutino). These will help you produce a variety of offsprings. 

Sometimes, male (normal gray split lutino) cockatiel can be dictated by having visual white patches feathers at the back of his head. 

 good luck~~~


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

huson said:


> You might want to breed your female lutino cockatiels with a male (normal gray split lutino). These will help you produce a variety of offsprings.
> 
> Sometimes, male (normal gray split lutino) cockatiel can be dictated by having visual white patches feathers at the back of his head.
> 
> good luck~~~


the white patches on the back of any mutation is not split to lutino but it does mean the bird is split to pied. This can be found on males or females Because Pied is not a sex linked gene, and also Pied is the only split that can be seen visually - either from the "tick"/ "thumb print" AKA white spot on the back of their head, Or having all but one (some have more then one) dark nails - If they have all dark nails and one light nail this is normally another sign of Split to pied.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

The bald spot is not the only genetic fault that Lutinos have. It's just the only visual one. The best way to make sure you don't get more Lutinos without the bald spot is to breed them to other mutations. You will also lessen the chance of them having internal problems and shorter lifespans.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I have heard that lutinos are more likely to get night frights and more often then other tiels. I guess you could call that a fault aswell, I would try and find some tiels that are not lutino to breed with your lutinos.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Here's a quote from the American Cockatiel Society at http://www.acstiels.com/Articles/Genetics/gen3.html I included a paragraph about red eyes looking dark, since people have been asking about that lately.

"Lutinos are born with red eyes which is caused by a lack of pigmentation in the eye that allows the blood vessels to give the eye their red coloring. As most Lutinos mature they have a tendency to have an increase in the level of pigment in the eyes causing them to naturally darken. If you were to shine a light in the eyes after this darkening takes place, you would find the eyes are now a just a dark shade of red, but red none the less. Some Lutinos do keep their bright red eyes for life when the genes of both parents line up properly to give them this trait or when they are crossed with Pieds.

When Lutinos first appeared bald spots used to be as large as a persons thumb, through selective breeding the size of this bald spot has been reduced. When Lutinos first appeared, as is today, it is desirable to obtain birds with no bald spot or the smallest spot available in an attempt to eliminate this genetic trait. When breeding Lutinos as in all other mutations, to enhance or eliminate a specific trait, all is dependent on the pairing of the genes in a particular mating. You will find a pair of Lutinos with no baldness can produce chicks that all have bald spots but when breed to a different mate, even one with a small (size of a fingernail) bald spot, can produce chicks with no baldness at all. There is no true method for elimination or enhancement of traits such as a bald spot, red eyes, size, length or coloring, it is accomplished through selective breeding until the desired results are realized. "


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## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Thank you all for your comments.....both on the breeding and red eye topics.

Cheers
Joseph


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## shy bird (Feb 13, 2009)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> I have heard that lutinos are more likely to get night frights and more often then other tiels. I guess you could call that a fault aswell, I would try and find some tiels that are not lutino to breed with your lutinos.


my latino hasnt had any nightfrights.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

So (for the people that know a lot) what would you get if you breed a Lutino and a Gray, or a Light Pied?


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

it depends on who´s the lutino...

dad lutino
mom grey or light pied

you´d get lutino girls
normal greys and split pieds

if mom was the lutino
dad grey or light pied

normal greys split pied, boys split lutino too


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Sorry lol. Lutino is female, Light Pied is male, Gray is male.

I'd love split to Pied, and split to Lutino. AHH. It's going to send me bonkers waiting now knowing what I will get!


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

With either of those combos all your babies will be normal gray but the males will be split for Lutino. With the Pied you babies will all be split for pied as well.


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