Breast bars on females?

[Niki_K]

Hi everyone,
I have an unusual hen in with the supposedly 'normal' zebs I bought at the La Trobe Bird Sale in July. She has typical normal colouring, but has a black smudge along her breast; almost like a poorly formed breast bar. She also has brown eyes, rather than the red. Any ideas re: what she could be?
I'll try to get a pic of her, but she's a fiesty little and won't stay still! She's laid two eggs (paired with an actual pure normal cock), so we'll see what we end up with.
Cheers

[AMCA26]

Its a Normal Hen, some tend to have that mark on them.

[Niki_K]

Excellent, thanks! She's the only hen I have who has one, so I wasn't sure if she actually is a normal.

[finchbreeder]

Seems to be more common in those with Charcol blood.
LML

[Niki_K]

That's interesting to know, finchbreeder. The mark is quite interesting, it actually forms a clear 'X' on her breast. Quite pretty really.

[natamambo]

I'd be cage breeding her and keeping the young clear of the rest of your pure normal flock, your collection is valuable from avicultural point of view if not monetarily.

If she's a mutant split you don't want her in with your pures.

[Niki_K]

Already done. All the normals I've bought from breeders (all hens) are being bred in cages as part of a maternal stress experiment. They currently have pure normal male mates, simply because I had more than twice as many pure males as females, and my colony permit only allows a certain number of birds, so I wasn't able to get domestic males. Their offspring will be used for a generational study, so are being kept well away from the completely pure breeding colony. Believe me, I've had to fight tooth and nail to keep it this way- if left to the animal techs, they would have just put the domestics in with the wild stock
I'm planning to sell off the domestics once I'm done with them (gosh, I sound harsh!), as I'm concerned that once I leave the uni, all the birds will be lumped in together and we'll lose those bloodlines.

[Niki_K]

Also, I will need to sell off excess pure normal stock in the next few months as I have about 20-odd pairs breeding up a storm! Any suggestions on what I should be charging for them? I know you're familiar with my flock, natamambo, but for those who aren't, this is a collection curated 30-odd years ago from wild populations (with a permit!) and has not ever been bred with domestic zebra finches, and has never thrown a mutant. They have also regularly been 'restocked' with wild birds (again, with a permit) to minimise inbreeding.

[vettepilot_6]

Would love some but freight would be the deal breaker....

[Niki_K]

Sad, but true! I'd prefer not to freight them in any case, though I realise this may be the only option unless I sell them to a pet shop