Copyright 2006 Linda S. Rubin
| Multiple Bird Households by Linda S. Rubin |
| Series by Linda S. Rubin |
| BREEDING & SHOWING WHITEFACE LUTINO CINNAMON PEARLS & OTHER WHITEFACE LUTINO CROSSES Copyright © 2005 LINDA S. RUBIN CF Genetics Consultant/Panel Judge www.CockatielsPlusParrots.com Selected Q&A's "From My Mailbox" QUESTION #1 Whiteface Lutinos are my absolute favorite color. I have a Whiteface Lutino and a Whiteface Pied. I just love the all-white color of my bird, Evian. Her father is a Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl and the mother is a Whiteface Cinnamon Pied. It has been suggested that my bird would really be a Whiteface Lutino pearl, but the pearl lacings would not show. She's a very robust, large bird, even though she's still a baby. If Whiteface-Lutinos are my goal, is Evian capable of producing this color, or would it take several generations down the road to reach this goal? Thank you, Marci ANSWER Hi Marci, In order to produce “Evian,” your "all white bird,” her sire must also be split (carry the gene for) Lutino. Therefore, Evian’s father is actually a Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl/Lutino cock. It might be a bit easier to chart the pair with their percentages: Whiteface Cinnamon-Pearl/Lutino cock x Whiteface Cinnamon Pied hen XCPL XCP ww l XC Y wwpp ----------------------------------------------- The offspring will be: cocks 25% Whiteface Cinnamon/Lutino-Pearl Pied XCPL XC wwp 25% Whiteface Cinnamon/Pearl Pied XCP XC wwp hens 25% Whiteface Lutino-Cinnamon-Pearl/Pied XCPL Y wwp 25% Whiteface Cinnamon-Pearl/Pied XCP Y wwp ”Evian,” your visually all-white bird, is the third genotype listed above (Whiteface Lutino-Cinnamon-Pearl/Pied). Because the gene for Whiteface eliminates all orange and yellow (carotenoid) pigments, and the gene for Lutino masks any other color (melanin) pigment, the Cinnamon and Pearl mutations cannot be seen. However, do keep in mind that in some strains of Whiteface-Lutinos, a slight shading or pigment may be seen under Vitalights. This is more noticeable on the show bench and many exhibitors are unaware that their birds carry this slight fault until they are benched! The reason for this fault is due to the background bloodlines of any Lutinos used. Some Lutinos raised from Normal stock that do not completely mask the pigment have been called "Lavender-wings," while other Lutinos mixed with Cinnamon lines are even more apt to show shading. Therefore: 1) be sure that whichever Lutinos you use for the production of your future Whiteface-Lutinos lack any slight (melanin) shadings. You may have to examine a bird directly under Vitalights to be certain. And, 2) do be sure that no evidence of baldness is present in any birds you use. Baldness is an inherited trait in Lutino stock and you should not have any baldness evident in the previous three generations, or it can return in future generations. My recommendation is to always go with large birds that are well proportioned and it sounds as if you have such attributes in your cockatiel already. If you can find a visually appropriate mate that is unrelated, but linebred from exceptional bloodlines, then you can breed such colors together. However, in most cases, splits are used. If you find an exceptional Normal Grey split to Whiteface-Lutino, it will only produce a minority of visuals. Pairing your hen to a Lutino/Whiteface will produce: cocks 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Cinnamon-Pearl-Pied 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Cinnamon-Pearl 12.50% Lutino/Whiteface-Cinnamon-Pearl-Pied 12.50% Lutino/Whiteface-Cinnamon-Pearl hens 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Pied 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino 12.50% Lutino/Whiteface-Pied 12.50% Lutino/Whiteface Or, pairing your hen to a Whiteface/Lutino will produce: cocks 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Cinnamon-Pearl-Pied 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Cinnamon-Pearl 12.50% Whiteface/Lutino-Cinnamon-Pearl-Pied 12.50% Whiteface/Lutino-Cinnamon-Pearl hens 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino/Pied 12.50% Whiteface-Lutino 12.50% Whiteface/Pied 12.50% Whiteface Hope this helps you decide. QUESTION #2 “Evian” definitely has the cinnamon markings you wrote of above. I have a full-spectrum fluorescent light over her cage and I can see the markings; however, they seem to be only where the barring would be on her tail, and not on her wings or the rest of her body. She is only 4 months old and perhaps that might change as she molts. Is this allowed when showing a hen, even an all-white one? Another reason I was so attracted to this bird is that she has absolutely no trace of baldness. I knew I didn't want a bird with that fault, so it's the first thing I checked when I went to visit my breeder's birds. Best wishes, Marci ANSWER It is good that the slight shading you've noticed is limited only to the undersides of Evian's tail. However, there is no guarantee that more pigmented shading won't develop elsewhere with age; conversely, her color could remain exactly as it is. Time is the ultimate judge in this matter. On a good note, however, this type of tinting is more often observed in males, which tend to have the tinting extending over their back and wings as well. However, because the tinting you have described is confined to the underside of the tail, this is only a very minor fault in color (e.g. less than 5 points), and to be truthful, not all judges may notice this fault as they will be too busy looking for the obvious such as inherited baldness behind the crest. However, it is my task to update the color mutations in our standard where these faults - and attributes - will be included for both judges and exhibitors to read. Hopefully, it will help us all to produce better birds and continually improve our stock. I'm glad you've started a book for Evian and printed out the chart and saved it for selecting a possible future mate. Sounds like you are on your way to developing a quality line. |
| BREEDING & SHOWING WHITEFACE LUTINO CINNAMON PEARLS & OTHER WHITEFACE LUTINO CROSSES Copyright © 2005 Linda S. Rubin All Rights Reserved |
| c.2006 Suzanne Ravaillion |
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| ORIGINAL BOOK REVIEW by Dr. Rainer R. Erhardt "Well, there is help on the horizon and anyone seriously interested in color genetics should take a look at Linda Rubin's book: COCKATIEL GENETICS MADE EASY! Though this book is primarily directed to breeders of cockatiel mutations, there is enough information in this volume to teach anyone the secrets of dealing with recessive, sex-linked, and dominant mutations..." ACBM, Vol. 65, No.12 CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW! 112 pages, 15 chapters, glossary & more! |