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I'm still new to the genetics of Cockatiels where colors are concerned. I have a lot of questions about splits and recessive traits, I'm reading all I can to catch up, but I have a bird I can't even begin to figure out.

I rescued this bird from a 'breeder'. This is supposed to be a hen, though I couldn't tell you for sure.

It has speckles on its chest, and a wierd yellow and white pattern on the head, but not a full yellow head.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30424641@N06/2925063556/

I will try to get better photos, this one is camera shy... but a heavy pied is my best guess. Anyone have input for me?

I can say that this is a hen, I cannot tell yet if she is heavy pied, or if those white ticks on the back of her head signify another split.

I went and looked at her again. her chest is speckled with white dots, the back of her head starts yellow, then has larger either white or VERY pale yellow splotches, kind of like the pearl cocks here: http://www.handfedcockatiels.com/galler ... pearls.jpg

She shivers a LOT. I had another female that did this, and she died. Is shivering an indication of illness? I assumed she was nervous when I was around, since she was used as a breeder before I got her here.

She could be nervous if you are very close, but if she is puffed and shivering a lot, even when you are far away from the cage, then yes, she could be sick. It is always best to take a new bird to the vet for a complete work up, phisical exam, bloodwork, etc. This way you know the bird is healthy.

From what I saw, she doesn't look pearled, but she could be pied, again, we would need better photos.

how old is the bird supposed to be???

I wouldn't think pied, the crest is grey, have a look here :
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~geoffwatts1/Pied.html

And here:
http://www.cockatiels.org/mutations/Enormal2.jpg you can see this adult hen has pearl like markings on her chest and tail


I reckon yours is normal grey split for at least pied..........

She looks a lot like my oldest chick and actually all my grey chicks (there are 3) are grey with some white spots here and there but definitely all have the pearling on them but as far as I know that is common and that will disappear if they are males.

Here is a pic of Georgie, our oldest chick who looks a lot like yours.........
Georgie is 4 1/2 weeks old.......



you can see the pearling on her tummy and tail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30424641@N06/2947141700/

They do look very similar. She's over 2 years old, but I don't know her age exactly. there are more photos of her head and back as well, but she looks like your baby.. just with a lot more speckles and the pattern under her wings

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30424641@N06

Pretty bird. Yes, I agree that if the bird is shaking she needs a vet check up ASAP especially if she was from a stressful situation.
stress=illness

As for identification, you've got me stumped. I've never seen an adult tiel marked like that one!

Let us know what happens with a vet trip.

I'm with Christie from behind she sure looks like a grey but she has a lot more pearls on those wings than my babies pretty!

Maybe the vet will know *grins*. If she's ok I may let her breed, perhaps her babies would be telling. In the meantime I'll just enjoy looking at her and wondering. We all love a puzzle.

I'm a bit lost here regarding the term "split". My understanding of that term is that it is a NON visible trait carried in the genes. Can someone clear that up for me?

MFids wrote:

Claudia, you've got 3 normals, a pearl, a pied, and a pearl pied. !

Yep! I knew that!
See my post above where I mentioned that all grey bubbies are born with "pearling" on them
Butterfly aviary mentioned his bird is a normal split for pied, that is exactly what I suspected, gee I sure have learnt a lot in the past year

Patti, split for pied I believe is the only visual split, you can tell by the white spots on the back of their heads

Thanks for the info Claudia. So..that makes me have another question. We have a pair of yellow faced cinnamon tiels. They occasionally throw pearl cocks. I've read enough to understand that because pearl is a sex linked trait all the pearls they throw will have to be cocks. BUT....one of the little hens they threw last year has a big yellow patch on the back of her head. Does that mean she is split for pied? Both of the pair were found/rescued...years and miles apart.....so we know nothing of their history. We've paired two of their girls (the one with the yellow patch on the back of her head, and another standard yellow face cinn) off with standard pearl cocks. What sort of chicks are we likely to get from these pairings

don't you just love cockatiel genetics

I have used this link
http://www.kirstenmunson.com/cockatiels/index.html
and then you click on Virtual Breeder
I have entered yours as Male: Pearl Female: Cinnamon Yellow cheek (is that correct???) split for pied (assuming the yellow patch indicates split for pied, I am not 100% sure but there are some really knowledgeable people who will no doubt provide the correct info )
anyway, this is what you would potentially get (wait for it............you're in for a surprise )


Mother:Cinnamon Yellowcheek (sex-linked) Split To Pied
Father:Pearl

male offspring:
50% Grey Split To Pied {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon Yellowcheek (sex-linked)}
50% Grey Split To {X1: Pearl} {X2: Cinnamon Yellowcheek (sex-linked)}

female offspring:
50% Pearl Split To Pied
50% Pearl

Greys!!!!! How funny is that