Interesting fawn line Zebra

[xz_zebs]

Cindy - Thanks for hooking up with the Australian breeders. I'm probably at least as curious as the OP.

I am jealous of several of the Australian only mutations. Eumo has never appealed to me, but I would love Charcoal. Sigh about the export ban, but I can understand and support it. However, I'm curious how this is a pic of a charcoal fawn hen. This is what I see when I search for Charcoal fawn hen pics (scroll down to the last pic):
http://members.optusnet.com.au/ellist/T ... ARCOAL.htm

Even though this isn't a fawn, you can see the contrast on the face of this charcoal hen.
http://www.seqzfs.org/apps/photos/photo ... =194673347

Do your Australian breeder friends know if it is common for the face markings on the charcoal hens to be missing?

I was just writing that BF exists in Australia. There are show win photos available and the description and inheritance info matches.

The pics of the reds here do look like OB (although there is no info on inheritance), but the color is deeper. It may just be part of the photography/processing though. Although looking at pics of Zebs from the middle east leads me to believe that if you focus on color you can breed for much more intense color in standard mutations via careful selection.
http://www.seqzfs.org/apps/photos/album ... d=13296236

As for Black Breasted - can you ask about Red Headed (which is apparently different from Red). This is what sounds the most like BB (which sounds like it should include a lot more black than it does). Here is what the description reads:

"Red Headed

Developed by Mr Eric Brown, Sydney NSW. The 'Red Headed' was developed by selectively breeding birds that showed an extension of the cheek lobe until the entire head carried orange flecking. Still in the developmental stage many birds show the orange flecking but none carry a full red head."

[cindy]

Do your Australian breeder friends know if it is common for the face markings on the charcoal hens to be missing. (sent him your question)

http://www.seqzfs.org/charcoal.htm
http://www.seqzfs.org/zebravarieties.htm

Based on the chart I posted of the mutations and combinations...

To me their Red Black bodied (reds) looks like our Florida Fancy, Black Breast Black face combo (OB can be used in this combination also).

Black fronted looks more like our Black Breast.

[cindy]

in answer to this question... 'Do your Australian breeder friends know if it is common for the face markings on the charcoal hens to be missing'

the answer is .... "They tend to blend in with fawn mutations at times, defiantly charcoal has faint tears under the and dark rump and no barring on the tail"

[Dramoth]

cindy

Thanks Cindy, I would need to catch the little girl to get a good look at her cheeks, but from a distance, there could be faint tear marks starting to form... and she definitely has the darker rump and currently has no barring on the tail feathers.

Looks like she definitely is a fawn line charcoal hen... or will be

[Dramoth]

Thinking about this young lady has me wondering whether, next year, I should make another breeding box and move our all white male Zeb into it along with this young lady, give them plenty of time to get acquainted and see what comes out of it

If nothing else, we should get some interesting chicks.

[cindy]

Thinking about this young lady has me wondering whether, next year, I should make another breeding box and move our all white male Zeb into it along with this young lady, give them plenty of time to get acquainted and see what comes out of it

If nothing else, we should get some interesting chicks.

White is recessive so you would likely get splits, not sure how the white interacts with Charcoal (recessive). Fawn is sex linked since mom is fawn she will only give males that are split to fawn no visuals. To get visual fawns you need either a visual fawn male or a split to fawn male. Not sure what the outcome on pairing white with charcoal will result in since both are recessive.

http://www.seqzfs.org/white.htm
http://www.seqzfs.org/fawn.htm
http://www.seqzfs.org/charcoal.htm

from efinch regarding the White mutation.... (not sure if your whites do the same) "All combinations with the White mutation results in a white bird. When combined with the Fawn mutation, some of the flecks of gray often seen on the heads of some White Zebras is reduced or eliminated. Another advantage to using fawn based whites is the buff feather quality that many fawns have."

[Dramoth]

We do have a bunch of dirty white Zebs... with cheek marks as well. The white cock bird is the only pure white that we have... although I think that he does have some faint barring on the tail feathers.

I really need to start catching each individual bird that we are going to be breeding with, photographing it and banding it.

I need need to try and do what lovezebs suggested and get a big container of bobble beads to use as bands.

[lovezebs]

Dramoth

It sounds like what you also need, is one of my girls for your white boy

[cindy]

Elana, is yours an all white pied or the actual White mutation?

[Dramoth]

Cindy, I think that Elana's one is the real deal. Looking at the tail of my one, you can see barring on the tail feathers which shouldnt be there. Which suggests that ours is an all white pied (which seems logical considering his brother is a saddleback pied).

[cindy]

All white pieds and Whites can be easily mistaken... efinch: "Notes
In shows, some of the Whites entered are actually Pied Zebras. Referred to as white Pieds, they are not a combination of White and Pied but rather an over expression of the Pied mutation. They are impossible to identify visually, but breeding will show the true genetic make up of the bird. Some exhibitors prefer the white Pieds because they have shown better conformation and size than the true Whites."

The one way to see if hers is pied is breeding you can put it with a non pied carrying.. if she gets young that express pied (split to pied markers) then the hen is a pied.