IPS Bands, Color Mutation Terms

Hi Sandee, I'm Pam from Nebraska. An amateur, hobby breeder. I was wondering if you still offer colored bands for Pacific parrotlets? Other than silver? I now have a second hen laying on eggs, (the fathers are brothers from the same clutch) and I would like to have a different color to distinguish between the two. If so, how much? Also, how do you interpret green split to blue, or double split? Is that describing the father first, then the mother? What is double split, or triple split? Thank You Pam

Dear Pam:

Thank you for your email.

I'm assuming that when you said 'you' regarding the bands you meant the International Parrotlet Society. IPS does offer other colors of bands - blue, green, red, black, its just silver is the easiest to read for most people so that is the 'default' color but you're welcome to use another color of you wish. It is the same price as the other bands; there is no additional charge.

Recessive mutations have nothing do with sex; those are sex-linked mutations and we only have one of those, so far, in parrotlets. They are called 'palid' and those have not been imported into the US at this time.

Recessive mutations are very simple - either parent can pass on the color gene but both parents need the same color to produce visual offspring. The term 'split' refers to a bird that carries a color gene but looks like a normal bird. So a blue split would be a green bird that carries the blue gene. A double split is a bird that carries two color genes. True triple splits are rare but its possible to have a bird split to three colors such as dilute, blue and fallow. Double and triple splits can be visual i.e., such as a blue bird carrying a dilute gene but it can also be a green bird that carries blue and dilute.

I have a lot of information on my website at http://www.parrotletranch.com/mutbasics.html on breeding mutations including terms and basic inheritance modes. Most people find it very helpful.

Hope this helps!

Recessive, Dominant & Sex Linked Color Mutations

Hi:

I have a question and if you have the time to answer I'll be glad to know your reply.

Are the parrotlets male have dominant genes like the cockatiels?

For example:

An albino cockatiel can produce albino babies and it don't matter the female mutation color. But an albino female cockatiel can't produce albino unless you pair her with an albino or split to albino male.

My question is because I have a green parotlet split to blue male (I think that is split to blue because both of his parents are green split to blue) and I want to buy him a mate that can produce blue or yellow.

Thank You,
Sheila

Thank you for your email Sheila. I have a page on my website at http://www.parrotletranch.com/mutbasics.html that I think you will find very helpful in understanding parrotlet mutations. First, remember that unlike cockatiels, there are several species of parrotlets and the one that has the most color mutations in the US are Pacifics. Also, all but one, dominant pied, is recessive. None are sex-linked as the only sex-linked mutation, the palid, to my knowledge, has not been imported. This includes lutino which is sex-linked in almost all other birds including cockatiels. Albino in Pacifics is not a true genetic albino but a combination of blue and lutino.

If you think of inheritance modes instead of colors, you should have absolutely no problems. After all, recessive in parrotlets is the same as all other birds including cockatiels, budgies, lovebirds and even chickens.

Hope this helps.