Why Pure Normals are Important
by Susanne Russo and Crystal Hopkins/Bush
by Susanne Russo and Crystal Hopkins/Bush
First, let’s start with enjoying the beauty of the Normal in their natural state. If you do a Google image search of wild cockatiels in Australia you can get a better idea of size and coloration. When working with Normals to breed out all splits to other mutations these wild type traits will re-emerge. For example, black/dark feet and beak. It is the generations of being split to Pied and other mutations that has diluted the dark pigments to these areas.
Notice also the difference in body color of the male and female. http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/12/cockatl.php
Notice also the difference in body color of the male and female. http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/12/cockatl.php
Let's start by explaining that mutations are established through heavy line breeding and/or in-breeding. Just think about it, there is a pair of birds that hatch a single mutated baby, and all of the mutations thereafter come from that pair in one way or the other. In a responsible breeding program, those initial mutations will be out crossed with pure normals to strengthen the line. That's usually not the case, and unfortunately, there can be unavoidable and unnecessary results.
I'm going to first explain how it can affect a bird visually, so that you can really understand how it affects the bird on the inside. A very simple example is the Lutino and Whiteface. Visually, you see that the Lutino is predisposed to a bald patch on the back of the head, right behind the crest. Whiteface mutations are prone to be smaller. Now, if you take a Lutino, and breed this bird to a White face without working out the genetic issues, then you now have a small bird with a bald spot!
What's worse, there may be other changes taking place on the inside. Lutino is rather hardy as a mutation, so I will use more descriptive examples in this article to drive this point home.
We now know that a very large chest creates reproductive issues in hens. And we also have learned that a short body can be an indicator that a bird may be predisposed to liver problems. So if you pair a large chested bird with a bird that has a short body, then you now have a bird with the compounded problem of a poor reproductive outlook, and predisposed to liver and/or kidney issues.
These faults, for lack of a better term, may be genetically passed to the next generation. It doing so it is perpetuating a line of birds with that predispose the bird to several health issues. For example; reproductive issues, heart, liver, and renal/kidney disease and/or failure. In addition, when breeding for larger traits in other areas of the bird, you can sometimes reinforce undesirable results. For example, when the eye size is increased the lower eyelid tends to droop. When breeding for larger heads, this can contribute to a higher incidence of DIS eggs because the chick has less clearance in the egg to turn. Breeding for excessively prominent brows may be a concern in the future contributing to birds with reduced sinus cavities and/or respiratory issues. Some of these issues are covered in this article: http://www.justcockatiels.net/breeding-for-proportionate-birds.html
Thus, the Whiteface mutation (example only), actually any pairing of same mutations (visual to visual) together can be prone to a myriad of health issues, therefore it is advisable to not be pair same mutations together. Ideally, a split should be paired to a visual. Or if the visual is of good health and substance, with no visually apparent faults, pair it to a large, healthy Normal with no splits. There is a clear way to avoid these issues, and they are imperative in a responsible breeding program.
First and foremost, learn as much as you can about the mutation you plan to work with. Such as, if there are any distinctive visual traits that need to be preserved or improved upon.
I’ll use Dominant Silver, (DS) mutation for an example. The visual identifying traits are the dark skullcap, dark edged with dilution of color toward the center vein of the wing flights and dark/black feet and beak. Ideally, to preserve and reproduce these distinctive traits the DS should be paired with a normal. If it is paired with a patterned mutation, such as pearl or pied, these mutations will mask these identifying traits. Thus contributing to the mutation it being harder to identify. This also creates problem for the next breeder. They will have to take time and effort (can take several years) to breed out the undesirable mutations to bring the mutation back to being a true representation of its respective mutation.
A breeder’s primary goal should be to improve the next generation.
Work with one or two mutations, and research them so that you know any problems that may be present. Avoid breeding mutations together that you have limited knowledge of and work toward eradicating any issues within a mutation. Also, in certain mutations, you should avoid breeding like to like, in other words, visual to visual. Once again, know your mutation. One of the best ways to work out genetic and health issues is to breed a mutation to a pure normal for splits.
There is a problem with this however, and it will require that you take the time to create your own pure normal line within your aviary, or purchase from a reputable breeder.
Because of extensive mutation breeding, the Normal Grey with no splits is now the rarest of all the cockatiels in the United States.
In the wild, the Normal is in its purest form. There are no mutant genes present to alter or mask the color or pattern from the original genes. This is very important in a breeding program. When pairing a Normal with a mutation the unaltered genes help to strengthen and improve on health, size and vigor of other mutations.
Considering that the last pure Normals came into the US in 1959, Normals have since been paired with other mutations. A breeder might want to seriously consider working with the Normal to breed out (over several generations) all other mutations so that you have a bird that carries no altered genes. Some splits to another mutation are visually apparent, whereas others are less subtle.
Breeding out splits can take time. It is easier to do with a Normal hen than a cock. The reason why is because a hen cannot be split to sex-linked mutations, therefore a portion of the potential splits are off the table. But, she can be split to recessive mutations. Some of these splits can be visually apparent, and others are not. The most difficult split to breed out is Pied. Shown below are several illustrations that show some areas to look at on a bird to determine if it is carrying splits.
I'm going to first explain how it can affect a bird visually, so that you can really understand how it affects the bird on the inside. A very simple example is the Lutino and Whiteface. Visually, you see that the Lutino is predisposed to a bald patch on the back of the head, right behind the crest. Whiteface mutations are prone to be smaller. Now, if you take a Lutino, and breed this bird to a White face without working out the genetic issues, then you now have a small bird with a bald spot!
What's worse, there may be other changes taking place on the inside. Lutino is rather hardy as a mutation, so I will use more descriptive examples in this article to drive this point home.
We now know that a very large chest creates reproductive issues in hens. And we also have learned that a short body can be an indicator that a bird may be predisposed to liver problems. So if you pair a large chested bird with a bird that has a short body, then you now have a bird with the compounded problem of a poor reproductive outlook, and predisposed to liver and/or kidney issues.
These faults, for lack of a better term, may be genetically passed to the next generation. It doing so it is perpetuating a line of birds with that predispose the bird to several health issues. For example; reproductive issues, heart, liver, and renal/kidney disease and/or failure. In addition, when breeding for larger traits in other areas of the bird, you can sometimes reinforce undesirable results. For example, when the eye size is increased the lower eyelid tends to droop. When breeding for larger heads, this can contribute to a higher incidence of DIS eggs because the chick has less clearance in the egg to turn. Breeding for excessively prominent brows may be a concern in the future contributing to birds with reduced sinus cavities and/or respiratory issues. Some of these issues are covered in this article: http://www.justcockatiels.net/breeding-for-proportionate-birds.html
Thus, the Whiteface mutation (example only), actually any pairing of same mutations (visual to visual) together can be prone to a myriad of health issues, therefore it is advisable to not be pair same mutations together. Ideally, a split should be paired to a visual. Or if the visual is of good health and substance, with no visually apparent faults, pair it to a large, healthy Normal with no splits. There is a clear way to avoid these issues, and they are imperative in a responsible breeding program.
First and foremost, learn as much as you can about the mutation you plan to work with. Such as, if there are any distinctive visual traits that need to be preserved or improved upon.
I’ll use Dominant Silver, (DS) mutation for an example. The visual identifying traits are the dark skullcap, dark edged with dilution of color toward the center vein of the wing flights and dark/black feet and beak. Ideally, to preserve and reproduce these distinctive traits the DS should be paired with a normal. If it is paired with a patterned mutation, such as pearl or pied, these mutations will mask these identifying traits. Thus contributing to the mutation it being harder to identify. This also creates problem for the next breeder. They will have to take time and effort (can take several years) to breed out the undesirable mutations to bring the mutation back to being a true representation of its respective mutation.
A breeder’s primary goal should be to improve the next generation.
Work with one or two mutations, and research them so that you know any problems that may be present. Avoid breeding mutations together that you have limited knowledge of and work toward eradicating any issues within a mutation. Also, in certain mutations, you should avoid breeding like to like, in other words, visual to visual. Once again, know your mutation. One of the best ways to work out genetic and health issues is to breed a mutation to a pure normal for splits.
There is a problem with this however, and it will require that you take the time to create your own pure normal line within your aviary, or purchase from a reputable breeder.
Because of extensive mutation breeding, the Normal Grey with no splits is now the rarest of all the cockatiels in the United States.
In the wild, the Normal is in its purest form. There are no mutant genes present to alter or mask the color or pattern from the original genes. This is very important in a breeding program. When pairing a Normal with a mutation the unaltered genes help to strengthen and improve on health, size and vigor of other mutations.
Considering that the last pure Normals came into the US in 1959, Normals have since been paired with other mutations. A breeder might want to seriously consider working with the Normal to breed out (over several generations) all other mutations so that you have a bird that carries no altered genes. Some splits to another mutation are visually apparent, whereas others are less subtle.
Breeding out splits can take time. It is easier to do with a Normal hen than a cock. The reason why is because a hen cannot be split to sex-linked mutations, therefore a portion of the potential splits are off the table. But, she can be split to recessive mutations. Some of these splits can be visually apparent, and others are not. The most difficult split to breed out is Pied. Shown below are several illustrations that show some areas to look at on a bird to determine if it is carrying splits.
When in doubt, always test breed to a visual, to determine if the hen is split or not. A cock can be split to both recessive and sex-linked mutations, so it can take longer to breed the splits from the bird.
NOTE: When pairing a Normal with a mutation all the offspring of both sexes will be split if it is a recessive mutation. Only the cocks will be split if it is a sex-linked mutation. The splits that can be paired back to a visual mutation to improve the next generation.
When you look in the nestbox and cages/flights this is what you would like to strive for. The chicks should be dark in coloration as they feather out. At 7-10 days the feet will start to darken. Color will start to come in on the beak. By the time the baby has weaned the beak should be black. At this stage it looks like the baby has black socks on…LOL. Size/Weight should be good at 100 grams or more. If less, I have found that the next generation will be larger. Size and quality is achieved over several generations.
NOTE: When pairing a Normal with a mutation all the offspring of both sexes will be split if it is a recessive mutation. Only the cocks will be split if it is a sex-linked mutation. The splits that can be paired back to a visual mutation to improve the next generation.
When you look in the nestbox and cages/flights this is what you would like to strive for. The chicks should be dark in coloration as they feather out. At 7-10 days the feet will start to darken. Color will start to come in on the beak. By the time the baby has weaned the beak should be black. At this stage it looks like the baby has black socks on…LOL. Size/Weight should be good at 100 grams or more. If less, I have found that the next generation will be larger. Size and quality is achieved over several generations.
When looking at the adults they should be proportionate for their size. In the wild they are a sleek, streamlined bird.
One thing that I was very surprised to observe was the down color of the chicks as they hatched. In the past I had associated pale yellow down color to be split to Whiteface. I did some test breeding’s and found that this is the normal coloration of the down, and not a split to Whiteface. If you revisit the link at the beginning of this article you will not that the facial masks of the cock is subdued in color with a light halo surrounding the edges. The hen will also exhibit this. I have noticed that as I breed the splits to other mutations out this is starting to appear, and seems to be an indicator that I am almost there with my Normals.
If you look at the illustration below I have also found that the chicks with the yellow down feathered out as visual Pied or split to Pied.
If you look at the illustration below I have also found that the chicks with the yellow down feathered out as visual Pied or split to Pied.
In summary… At the time of this writing this is what I have observed and learned so far. I would like to encourage others to pursue breeding for pure Normals. If you are working with any other mutations, to consider breeding out the splits and go back to the basic mutation and attributes that define the mutation.
As my flock evolves I will give updates and add to this article. If you/reader are also working towards a goal of Normal or any mutation that is free of splits I would like to hear from you. You can use the ‘Contact Me’ on the menu to let me know what you are working on, and any info that will help other breeders.
© 2001-2015 Susanne Russo, all rights reserved. Anything copied or printed from this site is for personal offline use ONLY. NO portion of this site may be reproduced or distributed or posted on/in FB group files without the permission of Susanne Russo.
As my flock evolves I will give updates and add to this article. If you/reader are also working towards a goal of Normal or any mutation that is free of splits I would like to hear from you. You can use the ‘Contact Me’ on the menu to let me know what you are working on, and any info that will help other breeders.
© 2001-2015 Susanne Russo, all rights reserved. Anything copied or printed from this site is for personal offline use ONLY. NO portion of this site may be reproduced or distributed or posted on/in FB group files without the permission of Susanne Russo.
