.zebra finches
zebra finches
colors and basic genetics
"certainly lots has been written about these wonderfull little birds, each person giving their own version of what they have learned along the way breeding and raising these beautiful zebra finches. so here goes my version, please keep in mind that these are my opinions that I have gathered over years of raising zebras. its not the only way to do it, its my way."
I am not going to get into the background of what year each mutation started or where in the world it first appeared, you can find that information out anywhere, although it is very important, I would like to give a different way of looking at colors. more importantly how they are grouped, and that each color trait does something to another color to make it that color it is,"a law". a better idea of why certain colors act the way they do. this list is based on actual color mutations, not a combanation of colors like: ob,bb,bf(orange bodied), that is not a actual mutation. it's a cross of mutations.
we would all agree that all colors started from wild type normals. normals carry and show full color, grey, black, and chestnut. over the years as new mutations appeared they can now fall into three catagories because of the laws that each mutation has to follow. first is the silver, black, grey side. the second is the fawns, oranges, creams side. the third is not a color at all, it changes patterns. below is a breakdown of what side each mutation would fall into, and the laws that it follows.
we would all agree that all colors started from wild type normals. normals carry and show full color, grey, black, and chestnut. over the years as new mutations appeared they can now fall into three catagories because of the laws that each mutation has to follow. first is the silver, black, grey side. the second is the fawns, oranges, creams side. the third is not a color at all, it changes patterns. below is a breakdown of what side each mutation would fall into, and the laws that it follows.
normals
recessive traits
black cheek (bc): turns chestnut color black. recessive trait. hens also show black cheeks.
eumo: turns white color black & turns chestnut color grey. turns regular grey dark grey. recessive trait.
recessive silver (rs): dilutes silver and black color. full chestnut color. recessive trait.
eumo: turns white color black & turns chestnut color grey. turns regular grey dark grey. recessive trait.
recessive silver (rs): dilutes silver and black color. full chestnut color. recessive trait.
dominant traits
black face (bf): turns white markings black. everthing else is the same. dominant trait.
grey cheek (gc): white areas turn buff, chestnut markings turn grey. grey areas turn white or off white.dominant trait. hens also show grey cheeks.
dominant silvers (ds): dilutes silver, black, and chestnut colors. dominant trait. can be single or double factor.
grey cheek (gc): white areas turn buff, chestnut markings turn grey. grey areas turn white or off white.dominant trait. hens also show grey cheeks.
dominant silvers (ds): dilutes silver, black, and chestnut colors. dominant trait. can be single or double factor.
florida fancy (ff): body a uniform buff or cream color. does not show black marking. full orange color. co dominant trait.
fawn cheek (FC):white areas turn buff. chestnut stays the same. fawns areas turn white or off white. hens also have fawn cheeks. dominant trait.
cream (crm): dilutes fawn, brown and chestnut colors. dominant factor that can be double or single factor.
fawn cheek (FC):white areas turn buff. chestnut stays the same. fawns areas turn white or off white. hens also have fawn cheeks. dominant trait.
cream (crm): dilutes fawn, brown and chestnut colors. dominant factor that can be double or single factor.
sex linked
lightback (lb): dilutes grey and chestnut color. still has full black. is located on the sex genes
cfw & continental cfw: cfw turns grey white, dilutes chestnut and black. con.cfw turns grey off white with full black and chestnut color. also located on the sex gene.
cfw & continental cfw: cfw turns grey white, dilutes chestnut and black. con.cfw turns grey off white with full black and chestnut color. also located on the sex gene.
fawn: turns black markings brown, grey marking fawn. full chestnut color. also attached to the sex gene.
orange breasted (ob): turns black markings orange only. recessive trait.
recessive cream (rc): dilutes fawn and brown colors. full chestnut color. recessive trait.
recessive cream (rc): dilutes fawn and brown colors. full chestnut color. recessive trait.
silver, black, grey
fawns, orange, creams
pattern modifiers (not a color)
black breasted (bb): expands cheek size, zebra marking in the chest is replaced by black. dots on the flanks are irregular. but it is not a color itself, it can be added to any mutation without changing color, only pattern. bb is a recessive trait.it also is a important ingedient in some of the more popular combanations like oranged faced pheao.
penguin (p): is not a color. it's a pattern not a color. it does not show any zebra markings or tear markings. it eliminates black or orange in the chest or tear. keeping full chestnut color in the tear and flanks. it can apear in any mutation. it is a recessive trait. a example of a cross would be if you made black cheek penguins they wouldn't show black cheeks or black breast markings but they would still be black cheek penguins because of what they are carring.
pied: is not a color, it is a random marking of white that can be anywhere on the bird. pied is a recessive trait.
white: covers up color and pattern. showing a completely white bird. it is recessive.
penguin (p): is not a color. it's a pattern not a color. it does not show any zebra markings or tear markings. it eliminates black or orange in the chest or tear. keeping full chestnut color in the tear and flanks. it can apear in any mutation. it is a recessive trait. a example of a cross would be if you made black cheek penguins they wouldn't show black cheeks or black breast markings but they would still be black cheek penguins because of what they are carring.
pied: is not a color, it is a random marking of white that can be anywhere on the bird. pied is a recessive trait.
white: covers up color and pattern. showing a completely white bird. it is recessive.
I hope this will give you a better understanding of what colors do and how they can be grouped. this way of looking at them would give you a better idea of how to break color combanations down becuase you know what each color has to do.
