genotypes

[finchbreeder]

Red heads unlike yellows seem to vary greatly in the amount of red to black on the head. Some are very red and just have the black outline. While others have a great deal of black encroching into the red. The cock in the above photos would be described as a good red while the hen would be described as a poor red.
LML

[Diane]

I found the majority of yellow heads are becoming like the "muddy" reds now. Wonder if it has anything to do with a hen having black heads in her pedigree somewhere?
When I was looking for a YH hen to pair with a YH cock all I could see were muddy ones, I did have his YH daughter who is a lovely clear head so I ended up pairing them in an effort to get clear headed hens. Will see how that turns out shortly.

[bleeding green]

So the mixture in head colours is not desirable?

[monotwine]

Bleeding green I think that depends on what you are trying to breed? RH cock birds can be split to BH. If I understand some of that genetics then you will also need RH in the mix to produce YH, if no RH is in the genes of a YH then they visually are black heads with yellow beaks.

Its initially confusing but read up on that site a few times and slowly it starts clicking in place. The confusing side is all the pastel / dilutes and splits. Then I seem to go off the deep end and give up.

[monotwine]

Thats if I understood you correctly. If you are referring to the muddy red & black of the hen then I suppose no its not desirable, but then again it does not necessarily pass on to young and they could have clear masks. One of those yet to be explored parts of Gouldian dynamics?

[finchbreeder]

Sometimes it's a case of what you can get. But where possible I always get the clearest heads possible and don't have any black heads at all. Just yellows and reds.
LML

[Diane]

When all is said and done you can pair whatever colour heads together. It has been noticed though that is getting harder and harder to get "true" colours.
Some of the older breeders insist on the head colours being kept separate.

[colorin]

the patchy head is what they call "dirty red". Her brothers and sisters had normal red, so as far as I know she carries the normal red head gene, even though she looks "patchy".

I guess I'll have to wait until those chiks grow up (if they do) to have a better idea of their parents genes...
(I read so many things about gouldians abandoning nests/chicks and/or tossing them, that I'm trying not to be too excited about those eggs and their future...

[finchbreeder]

It's mostly a matter of personal taste as to if you worry about the degree of red or yellow on your bird heads. I like the clear heads, and overall they seem more popular. But I would much rather have a "dirty" hen than no hen.
LML

[GregH]

It's not just a matter of personal choice it is a matter of breeding success also. I'm sure that Sarah Pryke and Mike Fidler at his SGF research center have conclusively shown that mixing head colours will decrease reproductive success rates. After their discovery each of the three head-colour morphs were recorded as different species and it seems that, in evolutionary terms, a speciation event is not far off.