Normal Grey

Asal:  Australia. Pada 1850an Prancis  merupakan negara pertama membiak cockatiel dalam kurungan

Warna asal cockatiel liar- kelabu gelap kehitaman. Jantan lebih gelap daripada betina dan mempunyai pipi kuning yang cerah. Namum jantan muda mempunyai warna yang sama seperti betina. Cocktiel mula meluruh bulu pada usia seawal 6 bulan dan pada usia ini boleh lihat perubahan ketara pada warna jantina.

Tiga jenis pigmen warna ada pada cockatiel

1 –Melanin : semua warna gelap kelabu –hitam

2 – lipochrome : kuning

3 – pstitasin : oren

Betina

Betina           Jantan               

Betina juga mempunyai pipi oren dan kuning tetapi ditutupi warna kelabu menyebabkan betina kelihatan comot.

Semua cockatiel mempunyai jalur tebal putih pada sisi kepak. Warna kuning(lipochrome) berbeza pada setiap cockatiel. Warna kelabu juga boleh berbeza disebab baka split yang dibawa oleh cockatiel. Sebagai contoh Normal Grey yang split Cinnamon mempunyai warna kelabu yang cair manakala Normal Grey yang split Lutino mempunyai warna kelabu yang lebih gelap. 

Ciri-ciri yang perlu dititik beratkan dalam memilih cockatiel ialah warna kuning yang pekat dan pipi oren yang besar dan bulat.   

In the wild, the Normal is in its purest form. There are no mutant genes present to alter the color or pattern from the original genes. This is very important in a breeding program because when pairing a Normal with a mutation the unaltered genes help to strengthen and improve on health, size and vigor of other mutations. Considering that the last pure Normals have since been paired with other mutations, a breeder might want to seriously consider working with the Normal to breed out (over a few generations) all other mutations so that you have a bird that carries no altered genes.

Wild cockatiels

Some splits to another mutation are visually apparent, whereas others are less subtle. Breeding out splits can take time. It is easier to do with a Normal hen than a cock. The reason why is because a hen can not be split to sex-linked mutations, therefore a portion of the potential splits are off the table. But, she can be split to recessive mutations. Some of these splits can be visually apparent, and others are not. When in doubt, always test breed to a visual, to determine if the hen is split or not. A cock can be split to both recessive and sex-linked mutations, so it can take longer to breed the splits from the bird. When pairing a Normal with a mutation all the offspring of both sexes will be split if it is a recessive mutation. Only the cocks will be split if it is a sex-linked mutation. The splits that can be paired back to a visual mutation to improve the next generation.

Pied

Origin: Pied was the first mutation to occur in captivity in California, USA in aviary’s of Mrs. R. Kersh and D. Putnam in 1949. Mrs. Kersh continued to work with the pied mutation until 1979.

Pied is when the normal wild-type body colors are replaced with yellow or white in varying degrees. The most significant change to occur with the Pied is the distribution of Melanin (grey or dark) pigmentation that is deposited randomly on select areas of the body. Combined with the distribution of the Lipochrome (yellow) on the body and crest, contributes to a variegated look to the plumage.

When both the melanin (dark) and Lipochrome (yellow) are suppressed, the result is the Pied areas appearing almost white. The amount of lipochrome (yellow) expressed can vary per bird, and the more that is expressed the yellower the pied areas on the body.

Interestingly, when working with Pied no two birds are marked exactly alike. This makes breeding them fun and a challenge. The amount of pied (yellow) on a bird can vary, thus the terms: light, heavy, and clear Pied.

When you hear the word Pied think of ‘clear’ or the yellow/white areas on the bird. These are the areas that are devoid of the melanin (dark) pigment. A Pied feather will have no dark pigments, but it may contain varying amounts of the lipochrome (yellow) pigments.

Pied is easy to identify as they start to pinfeather in the nest. The toenails will appear white/clear, the crest is yellow, and several (or all if a heavy pied) of the wing flights will be light colored.

A Pied bird will visually show clear areas on the body, and the dark areas can be any mutation that occurs in the solid color variations, or a pattern mutation such as pearl. For example, Normal Pied is a bird that consists of random patches of clear feathers and grey feathers. It was not until the early 1980’s that cross mutations of Pied were bred, which were birds that showed another pattern such as a Pearl Pied. The Whiteface pied and other Whiteface Pied variations appeared in the late 1980’s.

Each Pied is different, and the amount of pied areas on the body will vary. If someone uses the terms ‘heavy’ or ‘light’ Pied they are referring to the amount of light or ‘clear’

Light Pied

Light Pied can have as little as 1 (one) wing flight or tail feather that is a solid yellow/white, up to 25% of the plumage being yellow/white. A symmetrical light Pied is very valuable towards breeding for heavier nicely marked pied. Over the years there has been several arguments and viewpoints expressed on what would be considered a Light Pied bird. When in doubt of if the bird is a light Pied or a split to Pied test breed it with a visual pied. If there are any normal babies in the clutch the bird is a split to pied, and 100% offspring will confirm the bird is a pied.

Heavy Pied

Heavy Pied means that more of the yellow/white plumage shows. This can include a bird that is predominately yellow with just a few dark feathers present on the back, wing flights or tail.


Clear Pied is a bird that exhibits no dark feathers to the back, wing flights or tail, with light colored feet (no dark toenails) and beak, with dark eyes. Since Pied is a patterned mutation, in order to be considered clear, it should not show any dark feathers on the back that can be misconstrued as a pattern. The bird can be considered clear pied if there is an absence of feathers on the back, with just 1 or 2 dark feathers to the face, rump or chest.  Ideally, a clear pied should have no dark feathers anywhere on the body.

A clear Pied can be mistaken for a Lutino because both mutations look the same. Shining a flashlight indirectly to the eye will reveal the pupil and iris colors. If the bird does not reflect back red in both the iris and pupil then it is a clear Pied. A clear Pieds eyes will have a black pupil and a brown iris, and a lutino will have a ruby colored iris and red eyes. The exception to the pupil color will be the Cinnamon mutation, which will reflect back a deep wine color, with brown iris color.

Of all mutations Pied are the most difficult to sex. The mutation is sometimes referred to as ADM Pied, meaning anti-dimorphic. The random distribution of melanin (dark) and lipochrome (yellow) feathers many times obscure the usual differences between the sexes. Many cocks can retain the typical barring to the tail and dots to some wing flights throughout several molts or for several years.

If the pair is a Sex-Linked (SL) pairing, meaning the cock is either a visual SL pied or split to a SL mutation, and the mother is not a SL mutation then the visual SL mutations will be females. For example, A Cinnamon Pearl Pied cock paired with a Normal pied hen. All offspring that visually show Cinnamon and/or pearl are hens and the offspring looking like the hen are cocks. Pied, like Whiteface Lutino, is one of the few mutations that it is best to have DNA sexed. The cocks, like with all other mutations will exhibit, beak banging, heart-wings, and whistle, which can be a good indicator of the sex. A less reliable form of sexing is Wing-Spot sexing.

Pearl Pied

Pearl Pied cocks may retain some of the pearled feathers on their shoulders for several years or their entire life, but the pattern will appear diluted or washed out looking.

Pied is also one of the few mutations that will show that a mutation is split to Pied. If a mutation has a patch or a few light colored feathers on the nape of back of the head it is a good indication of split to pied. Other signs of a bird being split to Pied are light colored toenails, variegated (light and dark pigments) toes, a dark stripe on the beak, light colored patches on the body, and with the pearl mutation elongated shaped wing spots.

Interestingly when a Lutino is split to Pied, as they mature the iris of their eyes may change to an amber, blue, or blue-white color. A Lutino Pied will retain the pale pink eyes.

Primrose has been descriptively used for describing a Pied that has a high content of deep yellow over the body. Many times when this is first seen a person may assume that the yellow is a result of liver disease. If the yellow is a uniform color, with no blotching, then it is the coloration of the pied areas on the body.

Saddle back, Butterfly back or Angel wing is descriptively used for describing the pattern of dark feathers on the back of the cockatiel.

Reverse pied is descriptively used for describing a clear Pied or very heavy Pied.

Bulls-Eye is descriptively used as another term for clear pied.

Dirty faced is used descriptively to describe the smudges or dark feathers on the face.

Some common questions when breeding pied

How can I tell if my bird is a visual Pied or a split to Pied? In order for a bird to be a visual Pied mutation it must have at least one clear (solid colored) wing flight or tail feather. If not, then it is a split to pied. Note: This is a point of contention between breeders on if this is true or not. I am writing from my own personal experience. The collages above will illustrate what to look for in determining if the bird is a split or lightly Pied.

How do I breed out the dark chest and dirty face?: When breeding Pied it is desirable to strive for a bird that is evenly marked with no dark feathers present on the face (clean faced), chest, wing flights or tail. The easiest way to do this, but it takes a couple generations, is to start with 1 normal bird that has no splits to Pied, and pair it to a Pied that has a clean face, and chest. Hold back the split offspring, and then pair them with the Pied that you want to be clear of these traits (dirty face, and dark band across the chest)

How can I breed for symmetrical, nicely marked Pied? I have found that the most valuable Pied to breed for heavy symmetrical Pied is a very light Pied, that just has 1-2 clear (light colored) flight feathers on each wing, located in the same place on each wing. Or even a light Pied that has just the 2 center tail feathers that are clear. The first thing I would suggest is to pair this light Pied with a Normal that is not split to Pied. Hold back these splits, and pair them with a 50/50 (equal amounts of light and dark colors) Pied, and some of the offspring will be nice heavy symmetrically marked Pied. From personal experience my first clear Pied were from a of pairing 2 splits from very lightly symmetrical Pied.

Why must I use a male that is not split to Pied to breed for offspring that are split to Pied? The reason why you do not want start with a bird that is split to Pied is because if you do not know what pattern or faults the pied split carries. Patterns and/or faults can be passed to the next generation. Ideally what you want to do is pair a Normal with a Pied that visually exhibits the desired traits. For example, a Pied with a clean face, chest, and/or symmetrically place flight feathers, paired with a Normal with no splits. You then have offspring that are carrying the traits you working towards.

Lutino

Origin: Lutino is the second established mutation. Lutino first appeared in the aviaries of Mr. Cliff Barringer of Miami FL, USA in 1958. Mrs. Moon then successfully established the mutation.

In earlier reference books, dating from the late 70’s the Lutino was incorrectly referred to as Albino. The description for these birds were that they appeared to be white but retain the yellow mask, orange check patches, and have red eyes. The references to the Lutino being white are misleading because if a person looks carefully there is the presence of lipochrome (yellow pigments) in varying degrees. This can vary from a subtle pale yellow to a deep primrose yellow. The Lutino mutation lacks (suppresses) the melanin pigment, which enables the black, brown, grey colors. As a result, the birds coloration can visually range from yellow to a cream white with orange cheek-patches. Some yellow will be present in the crest and sides of the face, and tail. The beak, feet and toenails are flesh colored.

Normal dark eyes / Lutino

A Lutino can be identified as it hatches. The eyes will appear a pink color. Melanin is completely suppressed to the eye when the lutino is young. As the lutino matures, some melanin will darken the red eyes so that they appear dark. Shining a flashlight indirectly to the eye will reveal the pupil and iris colors, which will be a red to ruby color.  Cinnamon chicks will also hatch out with a plum red eye, but the edging is a dark grey. If the bird does not reflect red in both the iris and pupil then it may be a clear Pied. A clear Pied visually looks the same as a Lutino, with the exception of eye color.

Bald patch at the back of the crest

Balding is the result of genetic flaw that showed up when the Lutino mutation was established, and is a recessive fault. Selective breeding helps to eliminate this fault.

Ideally, when working with Lutino you would prefer a Lutino that has no balding behind the crest. If none are available, then second choice would be a Lutino with slight balding, with a perfect topline (conformation) and no other visual faults. Pair this bird with a Normal or Pied that is not split to Lutino. Hold back the males, and when mature, pair them with a Normal or Pied. The daughters will be visual Lutino with no balding. The
daughters can be paired with cocks that are split to Lutino, to produce Lutino of both sexes. It may take several generations of selective breeding to eliminate balding. Since this is a recessive fault even with careful and selective pairings thin head feathering or balding may occasionally appear.

All chick with bald patches 

Please note:  Balding can happen with any mutation. There does not have to have Lutino in the background for this to occur. The most common practice for most inexperienced breeder is to pair two birds of the same mutation together, meaning 'like to like' pairings. Repeated generations of this practice results in birds with poorer feather quality, especially behind the crest. Rarely are any of the birds related, and they may have been bought from different sources, but when paired 'like to like' to their dismay up pops a bald spot and ...”Hey, what is going on?” The reason why this happens is that a novice breeder, or even an experienced one, figures: "Ok, I have two Cinnamons (or Pied, or Whiteface, etc.) paired together I know what they will produce”. Or we will pair two pretty birds together hoping for a variety of colors, and are disappointed when we see plain colored grey babies in the nest. If we do not understand genetics, when the odd baby pops up, we may not know it is because the cock was also split to another color. We then try to find a mate that is the same color because we feel we have the control of what the pair will give us. In not knowing genetics and several generations of visual to visual (‘Like to Like’ or same mutation pairings) faults such as balding, a higher mortality rate in the nestbox occurs, and smaller cockatiels, which keeps the pet grade cockatiel at an average of 75-85 grams in weight.

Some of the rarer mutations such as Fallow, Recessive and Dominant Silver, and Emerald are prone to thinner feathering to the head feathers. When working Pearl out of these mutations the head feathering improves.

Pearl female and Lutino male with chicks

When breeding Lutino, it is best to stay away from cross breeding to Pearl. Pearl can bring back the bald spot in lines that have had past histories of good head feathering. Pied is the best to pair with Lutino.

Inspect the babies that are pin feathering in the nest. Hold back the ones that have dense pinfeathers covering all the bare patches behind the crest. Use these birds to pair with Lutino. If you study the pinfeathering on the head of a lutino baby you will notice that there is still a bald section. It is the pin feathers that grow in angled towards the bald area that serve to cover up this area once feathered.

Lutino Pearls

Lutino Pearl (LP) first appeared late 1970 and is a double mutation, meaning the bird visually shows two mutations, Lutino and Pearl. Visually the base color of the bird will be a pale cream color, with a delicate yellow scalloping covering the entire back. The tail will be a deep yellow with yellow barring. The cheek patch is orange.

Adult Lutino Pearl cocks will exhibit beige to lavender appearing wash after their first molt. This slight wash is due to partially suppressed melanin. The eyes will darken as the bird matures, to a deep red color. From a distance, the eyes look like a dark eyed bird.

Lutino Pearl Pied (LPpD) first appeared in the early 1980’s and is a triple mutation that visually shows Lutino, combined with Pearl and Pied patterns. Visually the base color of the bird will be a soft cream color, with a delicate yellow scalloping covering the entire back. The tail will be a deep yellow with yellow barring and some clear yellow feathers. Adult lutino Pearl Pied cocks will exhibit a pale beige to lavender appearing wash to their back after their first molt. This slight wash is due to partially suppressed melanin. The eyes will be a light red very similar to a lutino pied. Beak and feet are a pale flesh tone, and the cheek patch is orange.

Lutino Pied (LpD) first appeared in the early 1980’s and is a double mutation, meaning the bird visually shows two mutations, Lutino and Pied. Visually a Lutino Pied will have an overall softy buttery yellow color to the plumage. It is very easy to tell if a lutino is also Pied once they are fully feathered. Look at the wing flights. If there are any flight feathers that are clear (meaning a solid yellow), with no spots/dots, these are Pied feathers. Normal Lutino feathers, when young, will have yellow spots/dots against a cream colored flight. If only a few wing flights are clear then the bird is lightly Pied, and if 50% or more of the wing flights are clear it is a heavy Pied. The same applies to the tail feathers, clear feathers are Pied feathers and barred feathers are non-Pied feathers. Beak and feet are a pale flesh tone, and the cheek patch is orange. This Lutino variation is less prone to balding, because Pied contributes to the feathering to the head and crest.

Lutino Pied eyes are a paler, bright jelly bean pink color in comparison to other Lutino variations, and do not darken as they get older. Pied and/or Whiteface Pied splits will affect eye color with any of the Lutino variations. Normal Lutino eyes will darken as the bird matures, due to a slight infusion of melanin. When split to Pied this slight infusion of melanin will contribute to amber, grey-blue to blue-white eye color.

Split to Pied has been noted to alter the Lutino eye color as the bird matures. A normal Lutino eye lacks the melanin pigment therefore the red is a result of the light reflecting off the veins inside the eye. When melanin partially expresses itself then the eyes will darken to a ruby color. If the lutino is split to Pied, it has been theorized that lipochrome will also be present to contribute to an amber, blue/white eye color.

Many times those inexperienced with the various mutations will misidentify a Pied as a Lutino or Lutino Pied. The person will see the yellow and instantly think it is a Lutino, and if marked, such as with Cinnamon and Pearl, then misidentify the bird as a Lutino Cinnamon Pearl. The difference between the two mutations is that a lutino will not have any dark feathers to the body plumage. If it does then it is a Pied variation.

Lutino Cinnamon, LC or Cinnamon Lutino, CL (outside the US Lutino Cinnamon may also be referred to as Lacewing) first appeared in the mid 1980’s, Lutino Cinnamon is a double mutation, meaning the bird visually shows two mutations, Lutino and Cinnamon. When young the Lutino hens will exhibit a dilute Cinnamon coloration to the body plumage (if also pearl), wing flights and tail feathers.

With cocks, the Lutino Cinnamon coloration will show up after the first molt. Prior to the first molt the cocks will visually look like a cream/white colored Lutino. A Lutino Cinnamon can be selectively bred to deepen the Cinnamon tone to the back, flight feathers and tail, and increase the yellow suffusion to the face and chest area of the bird. When the depth of color is increased it also makes this mutation hard to visually distinguish from a Fallow. The only visual difference may be looking at the eyes. A Fallows eye color will always be a pale jelly-bean pink, whereas the Lutino eyes are darker red, and the color deepens to wine or ruby color as they go through their first molt.

Whiteface Lutino (WFL) is a combination color meaning the bird visually Lutino and Whiteface, it is not a mutation. This variation was first bred in the mid to late 1980’s. The ‘term’ Albino is acceptable to describe the Whiteface Lutino. Visually this variation is a solid white bird with red eyes, pale flesh colored beak and feet, with no orange or yellow pigments visible. A Whiteface Clear Pied can be mistaken for a Whiteface lutino. Like with the lutino, check the eye color with indirect light to it.


Note: the Whiteface Lutino, aka Albino is white on white and will be hard to visually see any changes after a molt.  Looking at the bird under a black light will help to see if there is tail barring or wing spots present.
The lutino mutation is Sexually Diamorphic.  This means that after the first molt with careful inspection, and good lighting you can look for changes in coloration.  The female/hens will always retain the barring to the tail feathers, with the exception of lutino Pied.  The male/cock will molt out the barring.  Both sexes will have the wing spots when they are young.  The females will molt out the spots from the lower feathers closest to the body, whereas the males will molt all the spots as they mature.

Pearl

Origin:  Pearl is the third established mutation. The Pearl cockatiel was first bred and established in West Germany in 1967.

The Pearl gene does not have any visual effect on the base color pigments in the bird but instead it affects the distribution of the colors that are already present. It actually decreases the spread of the grey family of pigments (melanin) and increases the spread of the yellow pigments (lipochrome). Individual feathers all over the bird are altered to create a uniform pattern. The mutated gene acts differently than Pied, which is a lack of color or pigment to random areas on the bird. Melanin is absent from the center of each individual feather. This can vary in color from white to a deep golden yellow creating a scalloped pattern. The scalloped pattern will vary per bird. If you look carefully at an individual Pearl feather, it can either be yellow with grey/dark edging, or grey/dark with yellow edging. The pearl pattern may be confined largely to the back and wings, or it can extend onto the breast area, which will appear diluted.

A Pearl can be identified in the nest as it starts to pinfeather. The tail pinfeathers will be yellow, and the pinfeathers on the body will be variegated or striped looking in bands of alternating grey and yellow. The feet will be pink, and the toenails dark.

When young, Pearl cockatiels of both sexes will have a yellow suffusion to the grey of the facial mask and base of the crest. The tails will be yellow with varying degrees of barring and the central vein down the center of the tail feather is dark.

The Pearl mutation is dimorphic, like the Normal Grey. The Pearl cock will lose the pearl markings and yellow tail when he molts into adult plumage, starting at 5-6 months old. The cock does not actually lose his pearl markings and yellow tail. What happens is when the new feather emerges it contains a higher concentration of melanin will mask the pattern on the feather so that it is a solid color. After a molt or two the melanin may not totally mask the entire pattern, thus a slight pale ‘ghosting’ of where the pearling was can be seen on the back.

Patterns and the intensity of yellow can vary per bird. On rare occasions, a Pearl may have only one (1) pearl on the body. Some Pearls may show an incomplete (is a descriptive term) pearl pattern to the center of the back. If the age is unknown, the bird may be mistaken for young cock going through a molt. When this occurs, it is a result of melanin suppressing the pattern from showing in portions of the overall pattern. These oddities in pattern can occur with either sex. Ideally, the Pearl mutation should have a uniform pattern to the entire back from the base of the skull to the rump.

When breeding, if you have a particular depth of yellow and pattern you like you can breed the Pearl to a Normal with minimal to no splits, especially no Pearl splits to create birds (hold back the cocks) that are split to the specific pearl pattern and color. The cock, when mature, should then be paired with a Normal or solid color mutation, which will give you visual daughters.

There appear to be several variations of the pearl pattern. Some pearl patterns may have distinct edges between the light and dark colors, or the colors seem to blend into each other. The edging can be a narrow thin line or color (light or dark) to a wide band of color edging the feather. Many times descriptive words are used to describe pearl pattern, such as Silver or White Pearl, Golden Pearl, Lacewing, Marginated, Bordered, or Incomplete Pearl

Also look at the tail feathers of the pearl.  Pearl feathers will always have a dark/black center vein and some pattern to them.  If the pearl is also pied there will be some ‘Clear’ feathers to the tail.  Clear means the feather will not have any markings or other color aside from a solid yellow or white (if whiteface)

Cinnamon

Origin: Cinnamon is the fourth established mutation. Mr. Van Otterdijk, of Belgium, established the Cinnamon mutation in 1967.

The Cinnamon mutation is a result of an altered gene that reduces the melanin, thus contributing to a brown to tan color. In affect, what this altered gene does is to stop the brown pigment from changing to grey or black. The amount (quantity) of pigment does not change, just the color of it. What remains shows no presence of grey or black pigments. This altered pigment is also seen on the beak, feet, and eyes. Cinnamons can vary quite widely in depth of coloration, with adult cocks being darker because of the natural presence of more melanin in their plumage. A warm, even shade of Cinnamon is desirable. The legs, beaks and toenails are lighter in coloration than those of Normal cockatiels.

Sexing is simple after the first molt, with cocks acquiring solid, dark rather than barred undersides to their tail feather, loss of body barring, and the yellow facial mask similar to adult normal grey cocks.

Sometimes you tell upon hatch if a chick is going to be Cinnamon. The eyes will appear as a plum color, and can be mistaken for a lutino, but within a couple days the eyes will darken and appear like a Normal Grey.

Unlike the Normal Grey the feet will not get dark colored, but more of a light pinkish tan color with brown nails. The iris of the eye is brown, the pupil black on hens, and a reflective wine color on cocks. Cocks that are split to Cinnamon will have a reflective wine colored pupil. This can be seen by shining an indirect light at the eye.

Cinnamon is a mutation that should not be crossed with melanin reducing mutations such as Emerald, Dominant Silver, Recessive Silver, or Fallow. In most cases, it can either mask or darken these mutations making them harder to identify. See the illustration below

Not a commonly known fact, but the Cinnamon mutation is photosensitive to natural sunlight.  During the summer months exposure to strong sunlight may fade the color resulting in a mottled or variegated pattern to the back of the bird.  During the winter months, when the sunlight is weaker the bird will molt back to it true coloration.  The new feathers will contrast against the faded, photosensitive feathers.  The effect is quite striking

Recessive Silver

Origin: Recessive Silver is the fifth established mutation. Recessive Silver was first established in New Zealand at the start of the 1950’s. The Recessive Silver in the US is of European origin and imported into the US in the late 1960’s.

The melanin pigment has been modified and the visual coloration can range from a steel or silvery grey to a brown color. Overall, the coloration has a cool tone rather than a warm tone of the Fallow. There is a visual difference between the hen and cock. The cock is lighter, ranging from a smoky brown to a pale grey. As he matures he will get the yellow facial mask, and the body plumage may darken. The hen is a dark brown. She will look like a dark Cinnamon with red eyes. The eye color is a ruby red with the iris being lighter than the pupil. The eye color is what distinguishes a Recessive Silver visually from the Dominant Silver cockatiel. Recessive Silver is not as light colored as the Fallow mutation, which also has a brighter pink/red eye color.

The Recessive Silver can be recognized in the nest box upon hatch because it will have light plum red eyes. Recessive Silver should not be bred with Cinnamon (a melanin altering mutation) or any dilute mutation. The Cinnamon will either mask (appear as a lutino) the Recessive Silver coloration or darken it which makes it harder to identify the mutation of the bird. Breeding two visuals together will result in a smaller bird, with higher loses in the nest. Ideally, it would be the best to breed visual Recessive Silver with a split. This will improve the next generation.

The photos below show the differences in the shade of coloration between the two mutations.  There is also a slight difference in the eye color.  A fallow eye will be a paler pink than a Recessive Silver.

Shown below is a collage that shows some examples of what a Recessive Silver may look like if Cinnamon is masking the color. These birds can be mistaken for a lutino with a dirty diluted grey-tan wash to several areas of the body. The eye color will be paler than a lutino.  

When in doubt on the mutation of the bird, it is best to test breed with a visual Recessive Silver that has no Cinnamon in its background. If the bird proves to be a Recessive Silver, hold onto the visual Recessive Silver hens to work with because hens do not inherit the sex-linked mutations. At this time there are very few breeders working with Recessive Silvers. It is in the best interest of this mutation to work towards lines that have no Cinnamon in the background.

Many times Cinnamon can be mistaken for Recessive Silver.  The difference is that a Recessive Silver will have red eyes.  BOTH the pupil and the iris are red.  A Cinnamon will have a dark/brown iris, and a black pupil, but when a light is shown to the pupil it will reflect back a wine-red color.  

At the time of this writing I have been puzzeled over Slick Chicks (collage below) eye color.  The bird was DNA’d a female.  From personal expereience it is the cocks that will have the wine-red pupil if they are either visual Cinnamon or as an indication that they are split to Cinnamon.  While going over her mothers pedigree I noticed that there is Recessive Silver in her background.  It makes me wonder if this reflective pupil color on a hen could be a visual indication that she could be split to Recessive Silver.  I’m only speculating, but may have to test breed

Fallow

Origin:  Fallow is the sixth established mutation. The Fallow mutation originated in1971 in the aviary of Mrs. Irma Vowels

The Fallow is a red eyed bird. At hatch the eyes appear pale pink and the pupils will look like they glow from within. As they age the eye color can darken slightly, though the eyes will still appear a lighter shade of red/pink than a lutino pied. If the Fallow is also pied the eyes tend to remain a brighter pinkish red color. The eye will appear to be a solid pink-red with vary little variance in color of the pupil and iris, whereas a Lutino will have a darker ruby pupil with a slightly lighter red/ruby iris. The body plumage can vary from a Lutino appearing bird with very pale warm beige wash to a soft light milk chocolate shade, with a deep yellow suffusion to the face and chest of both sexes.

Contrary to most other color mutations the hen is more attractive than the cock. Her colors are lighter. The hen will have a subtle yellow face/head, with a lighter chest with a yellow suffusion/wash. The cocks may be lighter toned when young, but will usually darken slightly as they age. The beak and feet are light toned, lacking melanin pigments, with the toenails appearing a pale tan.

Fallow is prone to balding. Many breeders of the rarer mutations, through communicating with each other, have learned to avoid introducing Pearl to Fallow when breeding because pearl tends to enhance an existing problem with balding. Even so, the fallow pearl is an attractive bird, and the pearl does help in increasing size to this mutation. Once this is obtained a breeder can breed the pearl out from the mutation. Good quality Fallows with no splits are uncommon and hard to find..

A Lutino cinnamon (cinnamon Lutino) can also be mistaken for a Fallow.  When in doubt of the mutation always test breed.  Fallow is recessive and both birds must carry the gene. Lutino Cinnamon is sex-linked, and if the cock is a visual he will produce Lutino Cinnamon daughters.


When a Fallow is crossed with a Cinnamon the Cinnamon will mask the Fallow color of the offspring. This results in a bird that looks like a Lutino. The color can range from a pale cream with a beige wash to a bright yellow bird. Cinnamon Fallow or Lutino Fallow are names used descriptively, but genetically the bird is a Fallow. Visually a Cinnamon Fallow (Lutino Fallow) can be mistaken for a Lutino Cinnamon, or if the bird is bright yellow, a Lutino Pied. It can be hard to determine visually which mutation you are looking at. As a result, there are many cockatiels sold as Fallows, by inexperienced breeders.

NOTE: If you pair a visual Cinnamon Fallow hen to a Normal that is not split to cinnamon. Any female offspring will be split to fallow, and no cinnamon.  Hold back just the females. When the bird matures pair her with a visual Fallow. This how you regain the beautiful Fallow coloration that was lost when cinnamon was bred into this mutation.

Note:  Interestingly in Europe and the Netherlands the Cinnamon Fallow is referred to as a Non Sex-Linked Lutino (NSL).

The reason why it is called a Non Sex-Linked Lutino is because the lutino mutation is sex-linked, and  a Cinnamon Fallow is a recessive mutation.

IF you pair a visual Cinnamon Fallow (NSL) cock to any mutation hen the offspring will be normal. IF you pair a visual Cinnamon Fallow hen to a Lutino cock, like a sex-linked pairing only the females will be lutino. There will never be any males because the hen was not lutino.

In order to reproduce this mutation, both birds must carry the gene, either visually or carry the recessive split.  For example: A visual Cinnamon Fallow hen, paired with a cock that is split to Cinnamon and Fallow.

As previously mentioned, when working with this mutation it advisable to not cross breed with Cinnamon or Pearl, because both mutations will enhance faults or greatly alter the visual color. It is best to try to breed back to the basic mutation. The first step is to start with a visual Fallow hen with few to no faults paired with a normal cock with no splits to Cinnamon and Pearl. Hold back all the offspring, which will be splits to fallow. Pair these birds with splits to Fallow or visual Fallows, taking care not to reintroduce Cinnamon and/or Pearl. Never breed visual Fallows together. This will bring out recessive faults such as balding, the size of the mutation is smaller, and there could be a higher loss of chicks in the nest.