Is my baby REALLY a Yellow-sided GCC?

[lexx510]

Definitely a pineapple - your bird has a light flesh colored beak and a light grey head. Yellow sided green cheeks have darker colors in general, but more specifically black beaks and dark grey heads.

here's a picture of a yellow sided for comparison (not my pic)

 

[truste]

Monicamc--thanks so much for your explanation! I admit that I know vey litttle about conure genetics. What research I DID do confused me to no end, as the farthest I got with bio was a high school class! Everything makes more as we now.

I'm glad to know the specifics of her genetics, but like I said, I love her colors whichever mutation she is!

 

[MonicaMc]

It's a really poor explanation, but if it works! lol

Much of what I've learned about genetics in parrots has actually come from learning on my own through the internet and with help from genetic experts. I am, by far, no expert, as I've got a lot of learning still to do! But I've got the basics covered, at least! And I hope that my own knowledge can help others figure it out as well!

I'm not sure why labrador colors came to mind, especially since labs don't have a sex-linked mutation that I'm aware of... anyway, if you have any other questions, I can give my best shot to answer them!

 

[amysaviary]

I personally think the breeder was saying or maybe meant the parents were a yellowside and a pineapple?? Just my thought because as a breeder he/she should know genetics. I don't want to confuse anyone but I want to try to explain GC genetics a little.

First a Pineapple is really a cinnamon opaline (or a cinnamon and Yellowside)
Cinnamon is a mutation, yellowside is really the opaline mutation but in GC they call it yellowside. (hope that makes sense?)
So to be a pineapple a bird has to have both the cinnamon and yellowside(opaline) mutation.
A bird is not half and half. They can be a visual color (the color u see) and be split(meaning they carry the gene but u can't see it) So u would say the bird is a normal split Cinnamon(just an ex.) or a Cinnamon split yellowsided(opaline)
That being said a pineapple is not split to anything because they show both mutations they carry the cinnamon and yellowside(opaline) mutation

Again hope that didn't confuse anyone to much!? As a Green Cheek breeder it drives me nuts that stores will sell GC as "Fancy" because they don't know the color or mutation. Also drives me nuts when breeders don't really know what they have or what they r doing when breeding. I don't know it all, I am not saying that but I do my homework and I ask questions and I research. I want to know what I am doing! If u have questions on any of this I will be happy to help or if u have other questions please ask!

 

[MonicaMc]

Other than the fact that females can't be split while males can, it's a pretty good description! Thumbs up from me for using the term opaline!

The only time a bird can be "half and half" is if we are speaking about co-dominant mutations (two recessive mutations that, if combined, are co-dominant to each other), although thankfully, green cheeks do not have any such mutations like that (so far).

 

[truste]

Opaline sounds so much prettier than yellow sided! After knowing what I do now, I think that's what the breeder meant too, that one parent was yellow sided and one was pineapple. At least, I HOPE that's what he meant, because I'd want my breeder to know more about genetics than I do now, thanks to you guys.

I remember reading somewhere that it's bad to breed mutations to mutations? Like, it's a better guarantee of color, but it makes unhealthy babies?

 

[MonicaMc]

truste, that depends on how healthy the mutation birds are. A lot of breeders will line-breed (aka inbreed) their birds to reproduce a color more frequently. If done with a high intensity with not enough fresh blood, this may result in weaker offspring since there's a higher chance of recessive genes expressing themselves.

However, done right, there is no problem with the health of the chicks. Cinnamon and opaline are both sex-linked mutations, which means that no line-breeding would be required to achieve the mutation in chicks - however, it can be done to achieve it quicker, and in both sexes instead of just one.


If your bird is in fact a female (without DNA sexing), then her father carried both mutations (visually, split, or visual for one and split for the other), and her mother carried either one mutation or neither. It's the easiest way to determine the gender when you are dealing with sex-linked mutations, especially in birds where the two genders appear the same.

 

[strasia93]

She is beautiful!