Whiteface

Origin:  Whiteface is the seventh established mutation. The Whiteface first appeared in Holland in 1969. By the late 1970s it had been bred in Germany, and reached the UK in 1979, and was imported into the US in 1984 by Dale Thompson.

Pied Whitefsce

Whiteface is a recessive mutation. Both parents will need to carry the gene. This can be pairings such as: 2 visuals, a visual and a split, or even 2 splits. The Whiteface (WF) mutation removes the lipochrome and psittacin, which are the genes that produce yellows and orange. Yet it leaves the melanin gene, which produces the shades of grey and brown, thus an interesting contrast of white with all of the color mutations. A normal Whiteface Pied will be quite striking as a black/dark charcoal and white bird. Since the lipochrome is genetically not present, the Whiteface mutations will not exhibit the orange cheek patch.

Although the yellow and orange cheek patches are absent in this mutation sexing is the same as the Normal. Most hens have white barring to the side tail feathers, white wing spots, and light grey to the sides of the faces rather than the white facial mask of a mature cock. The only exception is Whiteface Pied, where the coloration is disrupted, and randomly placed on the body of both sexes, and is anti-dimorphic.

A Whiteface chick is easily recognized in the nest box at hatch because it will have white down. All the other mutations have yellow down, in varying shades dependent on the mutation, when hatched.

Splits to Whiteface will have a lighter orange cheek patch. The cheek patch is still orange, but is a diluted color, many times with fine yellow lines streaking horizontally across the patch. Mature cocks will also exhibit a white halo around the back of the yellow facial mask. This is true of most split to whiteface. It has been said that show breeders have selectively bred this trait out, because on the show bench the cheek patches should be a solid clear orange without imperfections of streaking and irregular shapes.

It is advisable to breed visual Whiteface with a split to Whiteface. This will improve the next generation of visual Whiteface.

It is not advisable to breed Whiteface and Yellowcheek patch mutations together; especially the sex-linked mutation. Whiteface will mask the yellow color of the Yellowcheek bird’s cheek patch area. The bird will look like a Whiteface even if the bird may be genetically a sex-linked Yellowcheek. Chapter 15 goes into more detail as to cautions in pairing Whiteface or split to Whiteface to Dominant yellow Cheek. 

Whiteface is best paired with Pastelface or Creamface.

With the exception of the YC mutations Whiteface is quite striking in all the other mutations. Many cross mutations such as Whiteface Lutino appeared in the mid 1980’s, and during the late 1980’s Whiteface Pied, Whiteface Pearl Pied, Whiteface Cinnamon, etc.