Melanistic zeb?

Includes Species Profile.
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Niki_K
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Yep, all of my wild-types have red eyes, and are descendents from wild-caught birds; the last wild catch was in 2001 (with permit). Interestingly, I have noticed that when you get to about 6th generation wild-type (free pairing), you do sometimes end up with birds that have different coloured eyes- I have seen dark brown, a light brown, and even an odd light amber colour. No doubt a product of in-breeding.

These guys are housed a couple of k's from my domestic stock, so I have no idea what the heck is going on with this one!! I haven't even seen so much as a pied show up from this stock line.

I'll take him home and pop him in an outdoor holding cage to see if it is some kind of melanism.
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TomDeGraaff
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mattymeischke wrote:Point taken, uraeginthus, However, some species are more prone to spontaneous mutations, dominant or other, for reasons which are not understood. Hence, we have more than 600 gouldian mutations or combinations of mutations and a similar number for zebbies, but no double bar and few parrot finch mutations, despite the close relations of those finches.
So it is perhaps less surprising for a zebbie to throw a new mutation than it would be for most other species. Especially if, as I imagine, Niki breeds many hundreds of birds from diverse stock in the course of her research...
Yep, certainly could happen but very, very, very (and a few more veries) unlikely imo. Bill Gordon (of Victoria) recorded seeing a wild black-fronted mutation in the wild in 1938 near Irymple, I believe. Also, fawn (cinnamon) zeb's first appeared in the wild and were taken into captivity as were many recessive mutations of many species. So it happens, I suppose. Maybe those zebras have had too many x-rays, Matt !! :)
Tom
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finchbreeder
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The bird at the start of this has a full black body and black cheek ticks, but retains the orange cheek patches. I have a number of zebs that have the full black body, and no orange cheek patches, just gray cheeks. They have produced chicks when in with nothing else but fawn hens. So can someone tell me why the difference?
LML
LML
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finchbreeder wrote:The bird at the start of this has a full black body and black cheek ticks, but retains the orange cheek patches. I have a number of zebs that have the full black body, and no orange cheek patches, just gray cheeks. They have produced chicks when in with nothing else but fawn hens. So can someone tell me why the difference?
LML
The males without cheek patches are the Charcoal mutation. It is a recessive mutation, so the Fawn females they are pairing up with must be split for Charcoal also (if the offspring are coming out Charcoal too).
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finchbreeder
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I knew one of the fawn hens was split charcol and the other was normal, just put the two charcol boys in with the two girls and let them choose.
LML
LML
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Niki_K
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Hi all,
Just an overdue update on this bird- he was put into an outdoor cage for several months and moulted out the black feathers.
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