Macaw Colour Mutations [Lutino]

[Alisana]

Just came across this article:
http://www.parrotsociety.org.au/images/magazinelinks/PSOA_Exclusive_June.pdf

Lutino Blue and Gold Macaw!

For obvious reasons, the breeders do not wish to be named/identified. But I'm glad to hear that the lutinos are alive and well!

 

[bumblebec]

These were at the QLD parrot convention last weekend, they are beautiful. :01:

$130,000 per bird though, hehe. Just a tad expensive. :09:

 

[cdog]

That's an outrageous price for a mutation that should have never been created! I can't beleive what some breeders do to make a buck. Breeding of blue and golds should be kept to breeding to different gene pools not this inbreeding $!#£ that creates mutations like this!

 

[bumblebec]

That's an outrageous price for a mutation that should have never been created! I can't beleive what some breeders do to make a buck. Breeding of blue and golds should be kept to breeding to different gene pools not this inbreeding $!#£ that creates mutations like this!

These birds were not created intentionally, if I remember correctly, the parents of these lutino Macaws were completely normal Blue and Golds, bought for producing normal babies. These lutino mutations were a random (and natural) occurrence and were not bred for or forced in any way.

In Australia, our Macaws (among other exotic species) are very expensive and very rare, hybrid and mutations are frowned upon by most breeders and bird clubs. As we can no longer import any birds from any other countries for breeding purposes since some time in 90’s, we must keep our limited blood lines pure.

 

[cdog]

My mistake, it's just that normally this is caused by inbreeding and I hate when people do that on purpose just to make a pretty color.

 

[bumblebec]

My mistake, it's just that normally this is caused by inbreeding and I hate when people do that on purpose just to make a pretty color.

Yes, it can be frustrating. I think the amazing colours that nature and evolution have created are beautiful enough. While I won't argue hybrids like miligolds, camelots and catalinas are gorgeous, I don't think they are a good idea.

We do not have much (if any) intentionally bred hybrids birds like macaws, conures or amazons due the reason posted above. There have been a few cases of hybrid macaws I know of personally, but as far as I'm aware, they were an accident. The breeder thought the pair was two females, lol. This created a catalina if I recall, and Scarlets are VERY expensive and rare in Australia, no one would intentionally breed one with a Blue and Gold.

We also have a smaller population and not as wide spread interest in pet birds as the US, so demand for hybrids is not yet something commonly found in Australia. While it is frustrating at times that exotic species like Macaws, Amazons and Greys are so expensive, I am also a firm believer that is a "good thing". We do not have need for more then 1 rescue centre, we don't have thousands of unwanted birds and we have less people who would buy the bigger and more demanding birds like Macaws or Amazons on "impulse” because of their price. MOST people who go to buy these birds have researched them first, as they cost in the thousands and are not easy to find. Pet stores do not often stock them, and breeders will only sell them to genuine owners as there are often long waiting lists. It is very rare to see someone with a pet Macaw, and when you do see one, it's incredibly well looked after and spoiled rotten.

 

[RescueMe]

The only down side is that there are thousands of toos that get discarded and mistreated in their place. I wish that people would tale as much consideration in getting a pet or having a child as they do buying a house. :-(

 

[FutureDVM]

My mistake, it's just that normally this is caused by inbreeding and I hate when people do that on purpose just to make a pretty color.

And where do you think green cheek mutations come from?

 

[cdog]

The only mutations I support are yellow sided, cinnamon, pineapple, and turquoise. Yellow sided is a natural mutation that happens in the wild and they got cinnamon from that, from just a random mutation in a gene somewhere along the line. They got pineapples from cinnamons and yellow sideds, no inbreeding. I honestly don't know where turquoise came from.

 

[FutureDVM]

My point is that in order to proliferate color mutations, a fair amount of inbreeding or "line breeding" has been involved. Although those mutations may have "popped up" naturally, people have inbred them since that time in order to produce more.

 

[bumblebec]

The only down side is that there are thousands of toos that get discarded and mistreated in their place. I wish that people would tale as much consideration in getting a pet or having a child as they do buying a house. :-(

Actually, there aren't as many pet Cockatoos in Australia as you'd think, they are probably more popular in places like the US where they are seen as being exotic.

We have them everywhere in the wild here, both in the suburbs and the city. They are noisy, destructive and somewhat of a pest (chewing solar panels, TV ariels, destroying fences etc.), most people have more of a desire to own birds like conures, lorikeets and ekkies over cockatoos. Because we see them so frequently in the wild, and see how beautiful yet annoying they can be, there's not as bigger demand for people to own one.

 

[cdog]

But it's not necessary and I don't support it, that is why I don't sell any of my babies to people who intend to breed them.

 

[RescueMe]

Well in all honesty I am pleased, I would love to see a world where pet birds were much less popular. I love my babies, but I would be happy to see less so in need as I see in the US.

 

[Alisana]

These were at the QLD parrot convention last weekend, they are beautiful. :01:

$130,000 per bird though, hehe. Just a tad expensive. :09:

I heard that! A friend of ours mentioned that they were on display. If I had known they were there, I would've gone to go see them.

And I'm surprised that they put a price on the birds. Almost as much as discovering that they were still alive and well. I remember reading about them and seeing the pictures when their feathers first grew in, but I hadn't heard anything about them at all - so people were wondering if something went wrong or if anything happened.

I'm just glad to hear that they are doing well!

 

[Alisana]

That's an outrageous price for a mutation that should have never been created! I can't beleive what some breeders do to make a buck. Breeding of blue and golds should be kept to breeding to different gene pools not this inbreeding $!#£ that creates mutations like this!

These birds were not created intentionally, if I remember correctly, the parents of these lutino Macaws were completely normal Blue and Golds, bought for producing normal babies. These lutino mutations were a random (and natural) occurrence and were not bred for or forced in any way.

In Australia, our Macaws (among other exotic species) are very expensive and very rare, hybrid and mutations are frowned upon by most breeders and bird clubs. As we can no longer import any birds from any other countries for breeding purposes since some time in 90’s, we must keep our limited blood lines pure.

That's correct. Both parents were ordinary B&Gs that just happened to both carry the Lutino Gene.

"... these birds are considered non sex-linked lutino (NSL) meaning that both cocks and hens carry the lutino gene. This naturally occurring mutation first presented itself in an aviary in Texas, USA, in 2002 and that breeder has since bred a number of these birds. There are also unconfirmed reports of a lutino in Brazil, however, the NSL Blue and Gold Macaw seems unknown in Europe despite there being other mutations of this species in existence.
This indicates that these birds in Australia are part of only a very few worldwide."​

From what I gather though, I have yet to hear of these birds being sold (the Australian ones anyway). Most breeders of the colour mutation macaws have decided to keep them rather than sell them.

 

[MikeyTN]

Very interesting!!!!!!!!! A natural occurrence of Lutino Macaw is intriguing....I would love to see more pictures of it.

I for one am with cdog as I'm not a fan of mutation inbreeding.....Do I LOVE the colors, yes! Do I support them, absolutely not! Did I inbreed trying to come up with new mutation when I used to breed, absolutely not! Your asking for trouble when you play with inbreeding for new mutation. For example, Lutino Cockatiels, their heads going bald further and further towards their back from constant breeding between Lutinos to Lutinos, the offspring's bald pattern worsens each time.