Aussie Finch Forum

Hi

I know you will want a photo, but it's late and dark out, so please start with a description Do you know which mutation this is please?

I have a Zebra Finch hen who is a very pretty even grey all over - her back, her belly, everywhere. She has not so much as a fleck of any kind of marking on her - just this very consistent soft grey-blue colour. She has no teardops yet generally I breed for strong teardops in my flock, so their absence must be part of the mutation.

I have all kinds of genes in my flock, so it could also be the blended effect of more than one primary mutation.

Thanks for any ideas

Photos!!

Charcol x dilute? Really do need a pic or 3, to be more accurate than guessing.
LML

fb, I think you might be right. Looking at her today I can see slightly darker shading in and under her tail, as happens in Charcoals. Her beak is also just very slightly peachy, rather than orange-red. It's as if a Charcoal has been acted up by a dilution gene. Could an Isabel gene have this effect?...because of the missing teardrop? I have one Fawn bird in my flock who also carries Isabel - he would have to be the dad. I also have lots of Marked Whites, but that wouldn't explain the missing teardrop.

When the weather clears up I'll try to get a decent photo. Could be a few days, by the looks of the forecast.

Finally, photos...using my newfangled photo chamber. I'd call her a 'Silver Charcoal', though I didn't know there was such a thing! If that's what she is, what do males of the same blend look like? I've put her next to an actual Charcoal so you can see how different she is...

Maybe a dilute blue charcoal??
That charcoal makes her look like a dwarf.

Yes, especially the last picture! Very weird perspective.

She is a bit smaller though, which pretty much confirms she has Silver blood in her as that line is smaller. I just wasn't aware of how Charcoal and Silver/Dilute can apparently blend into a kind of co-dominant result like this. I'm very curious what the males look like, but can't find any photos or discussions online.

If you bred her, you must have split charcoal in your dilute blue birds so a male is just as possible as a hen. Maybe next clutch.

Are you sure it's a hen, it seems to have a very diluted male ear patch. Craig

Pretty sure. Acts like a hen, and no trace of flank markings.