# Do Cockatiel Colors Change?



## Mr.Niceguy (Sep 21, 2014)

My cockatiel is male, 5 mo old, born pale yellow with red eyes and orange cheek patches. 


1. Can non-Lutino's have red eyes? 

2. If my bird has red eyes, can his yellow feathers turn to a medium gray cast as he grows?


I take him in the shower with me and occasionally get him wet on warm and dry days, early in the day. He doesn't seem to like getting wet, if he has anything to say about it. 

If the answers are no and no, then is there a safe way to help a clumsy and adventurous baby bird clean his own feathers back to the clean yellow/white color he was born with?


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BONUS QUESTION:

I've heard that some Lutino's are born with a clumsy gene. Other than that possibility, how long are babies generally clumsy before they develop normal cockatiel agility?

I love him anyway, even if he is clumsy and turning gray, like me ;-)


:lutino:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Yes, non-lutinos can have red eyes, take a whiteface cinnamon for example.

And no, that's not true. ALL baby cockatiels are clumsy. Not just one mutation. Are his wings clipped? That won't help. Baby birds trip and fall down a lot, snapping their feathers off. It is just a phase and will grow out of it. Jaid snapped all his tail feathers and ended up with a duck butt for a while until he grew up. Now he is the most graceful flyer I have


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## Mr.Niceguy (Sep 21, 2014)

Yes, his wings were clipped once, nicely done, at about 3 months old. He still insists on trying to fly, so yes, that's a factor. 

He's wants to explore everywhere so he can try chewing everything that hasn't been chewed yet. He's a very ambitious and curious bird. Maybe he wants to be a scruffy dust mop when he grows up. 

This may or may not be the reason he's turning gray. I'm not sure if it's a natural transition of color at this age or if he's getting dirty. His older tail feathers have become the darkest at the tips. New tail feathers come out yellow then turn gray as they get longer.


:lutino:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

He will get sleek once he matures. Jaid looked like poop when I got him, and now he is sleek yet fluffy


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

I think once a tiel is born lutino, he'll stay that way for the most part. Maybe there are some invisible white marks that are hard to see that are different from male to female, but that's it really.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

Also what I think you are referring to about the clumsy gene is the Lutino cockatiel syndrome? I had a lutino that was like that several years ago. I miss him dearly.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

northernfog, the lutino syndrome is just the bald patch behind the crest


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## Mr.Niceguy (Sep 21, 2014)

northernfog said:


> Also what I think you are referring to about the clumsy gene is the Lutino cockatiel syndrome? I had a lutino that was like that several years ago. I miss him dearly.


I don't know. I'm just an "egg" around here with my 4th post. I looked up the characteristics of "lutino cockatiel syndrome" and it saddened me. I don't know if this is connected to what my avian doctor was telling me about the "lutino clumsy gene." 

---

At about 3 or 4 months, my baby bird had a hard landing and his feather stems apparently jammed upwards and cut his tail skin just below the vent. It was a horizontal tear or cut about 1/4" long and about 1/4" below his vent.

From the bleeding, I couldn't tell where it was coming from, so I went to our leading local avian vet. It was a relief to learn that it was a simple cut from a crash landing as he was learning to deal with his newly clipped wings and slippery nails. 

The doctor recommended stitches to help the healing. $400, ouch! That made my butt hurt too! I nervously deferred to his professional suggestion and let him operate. In retrospect I can not say if this operation was better than natural healing or not. They cut away feathers, gassed him, hooked him up to a vital signs monitor, handled him with not the level of affection I give him, put him in a small plastic box stacked in a room with other unfamiliar squawking birds of all kinds, etc. After the operation he continued bleeding from a blood vessel that was accidentally punctured with the suture needle, so they were injecting him with a liquid to cover the blood loss. Then they gassed him again and tied off the leaking blood vessel with another suture stitch.

When he came home he was weak, confused and traumatized. Of course. Poor little baby. He started picking at his operation wounds and started pulling out feathers from under one of his wings where there was a kind of jelly to fasten the connection of the monitoring device. I was concerned about the overall trauma of this operation at this important young and formative age. 

Anyway, he seems fine now. The Dr. scrubbed under his wing again to remove the last of the crust of the gel and my bird stopped pulling feathers from under his wing. Picking at his stitches concerned me, but it could have been within the realm of natural cleaning of his wound. The tail feathers that were plucked or shaved out of the way have grown back to about 3" now and are beginning to provide the tail support they are designed for. Most of the longer tail feathers that were left in place broke off because they were vulnerable without the underlying feathers for support. He was down to one long tail feather, but those are growing back now too.

Operations are not simple. They come with other risks and costs that need to be carefully evaluated for our decisions. 

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In my discussions with the doctor, he mentioned the existence of a Lutino "clumsy gene" as a part of our passing conversation. It was not directed at my bird in particular. I think my bird falls in the "clumsy baby bird with freshly cut wings and nails" category.

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The main question of this thread is if there is a bird-safe way of helping him clean dusty-sooty looking feathers that may be dirt or grime rather than naturally changing colors to gray at his age of 5 months old. 

I think that Lutinos do not produce black or gray colors. Is that right or wrong? I believe his red eyes are an indication of this. 
.
I'm an "egg" here, so I'm learning.


:lutino:


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## Janalee (Jul 25, 2012)

*Cockatiel color change*

Oh, your poor little bird! I am sorry for what he (and you!) had to go through. I hope he is okay now. Yes, anesthesia is hard on a bird, as is any type of surgery. I always feel bad for Bennie when we're at the vet. She is gentle, but still has to hold him firmly to examine him and clip his nails, etc. He always seems stressed for a little while after we get home.
My previous bird was a lutino. She had a bald spot behind her crest. I don't know if that is "lutino cockatiel syndrome" or not. Sadly, my lutino girl Meshach died of cancer after nearly 13 years with me. I don't remember her being clumsy at all.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Oh, your poor birdie. I felt so bad for you and him when reading this.
One of our members, Juliet, recently had a bird that was extremely sick and now is doing very well. I really hope yours has a similar recovery.


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

I'm so sorry that you and your little one had to go through so much.  Is he all better now? 



> northernfog, the lutino syndrome is just the bald patch behind the crest


Here's what I got from a quick google search of the Lutino Cockatiel Syndrome: 
Baldness, on crown
Hemophilia: uncontrolled bleeding
More prone to disease, appear mentally retarded or undeveloped
Lack of coordination, appears drunk
Falls off perch at night
Bruising/bleeding wing tips, abdomen, pectoral muscles, prone to trauma and falling, many genetic problems
(mainly due to overbreeding particularly when this mutation was still new and rare. In general, lutino cockatiels are stronger nowadays)

http://beautyofbirds.com/cockatieldiseases.html

I had a lutino that sadly passed several years back when I wasn't very informed and knowledgeable on how to take care of birds. I didn't know then but my little Mr. White was internally bleeding. Also he would fall off his perch often because I remember getting up from bed to go get him to relax in the middle of the night. Also if I was feeding him something small and handed it to him, he would try to grab my fingers instead of the actual food. It was almost like he was half blind. That to me classifies as the description above but I could be wrong. :hmm:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

I don't agree with most of the other listed symptoms, but it is true they are more susceptible to illnesses for some reason... perhaps it is because they were a new mutation created by people, they don't have the strongest system as say, a normal grey, the wild mutation.

I'm not sure how that works, but I did hear that from someone on the forum who knows a lot about genetics.

Eh, but what do I know? I'm not overly familiar with cockatiel genetics


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## Mr.Niceguy (Sep 21, 2014)

northernfog said:


> I'm so sorry that you and your little one had to go through so much.  Is he all better now?


Yes, thank you. He is healthy and rambunctious. 

His operation was 7 weeks ago. I gave him medicine from an eyedropper for a week. He recovered well without further incidents. His wounds are covered with new feathers now and his tail is growing back smooth and even. His nails have grown back sharp enough to get a better foothold and he's adapting comfortably to clipped wings.

He's a happy, enthusiastic and lively bird, a little over 5 months old now. His repertoire of new sounds and words is growing by leaps and bounds. He wants to talk to everyone and everything, including responding to the microwave alarm when my coffee is ready. 


:lutino:


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## Mr.Niceguy (Sep 21, 2014)

Ahso. He's probably Fallow, not Lutino and not dirty. Fallows have red eyes.

His "dirty" silver/brown/gray colors and patterns are much more evident when he's wet. 

http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/cockatielmutations.php

I found this picture from a google image search of "fallow." His emerging "scruffy dirt patterns" make him look like this guy's twin brother:










He has a small bald patch behind his crest that's mostly covered. That fits the profile of a red-eyed Fallow too. 


I thought he might be picking up soot in the air from a wood burning stove, or maybe dirt or dust that might come from packages of seed, pellets, straw & other food in the pie plate he loves to jump into when he eats. 


I understand now. This color change developing from baby yellow appears to be natural. That's why I'm an egg around here 


:lutino:


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