Yellow Gouldian Genetics

[Danny]

Hey Stacie,
Wow thats great, Im looking to get into Yellow Backs, and some Blue if possible also but am having a hard time finding those colors here in Arizona.
Where are you located? and do you know where I can get those color birds to possible breed next season?

Danny.

[slwatson]

Danny

Hi Danny! I'm located in Texas, but I don't really have enough birds yet to ship. I've used http://www.birdproduct.com/, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, to purchase birds that are shipped to me. I also go to bird marts close to my area and purchase birds there. Some people have used http://www.thefinchfarm.com/ also to get birds. Maybe you can find what you're looking for at one of these two sites.

[Colt]

Danny - Beverly (Bev's Birds) in Arizona is a great place to purchase Gouldians. I have some of her bloodlines and they are fabulous. I think she only works with the GB though. There are a lot of Gouldian breeders out there, but you may have to have birds shipped in from California, Florida, or Texas if you can't find the colors you're looking for.

Also in regards to your previous question...

I have been looking to possibly purchase yellow backs or blue and have no idea where to get them from. What do I need to breed together to even produce those mutations?

In order to produce YB or BB birds you will need to breed those colors or birds who are split to those colors. For instance:

YB x YB = 100% YB
GB/YB (or sfYB) x YB = 50% YB and 50% GB/YB

Same for BB. Keep in mind that it is not advised to breed BB birds to one another as the mutation is not as hardy as the GB mutation. It is best to breed them to a bird that is split to BB. In order to obtain silver birds, the chicks must inherit Blue and Yellow from their parents. Silver really confuses me, so you'll have to get Debbie to explain it...lol

[debbie276]

The Pastel gene (which is a sex-linked gene) is what makes a yellow colored bird. Pastel blocks the color black so all black areas are now white.
If your Green male inherits one Pastel gene then it is split to Pastel or SF Pastel. SF Pastel males will be a visually green bird but a lighter color and all black areas will be gray.
A Pastel hen needs only one Pastel gene because it is sex-linked and will be visually yellow.
If your Male bird inherits 2 Pastel genes then he is Pastel and visually yellow.

To get a Blue (which is an autosomal recessive gene) your male and hen birds have to inherit 2 Blue genes or it is split to Blue. The Blue gene blocks red and yellow colors so a Red or Yellow Head will have a salmon colored head.

Combining the Pastel gene and Blue gene is what makes a visually white bird.
If your male bird inherits one Pastel gene and 2 Blue genes it is a SF Pastel Blue and visually blue but a lighter blue color, all black areas are gray.
A Pastel Blue hen needs only one Pastel gene because it is sex-linked but 2 Blue genes because it is autosomal recessive and will be visually white.
If your Male bird inherits 2 Pastel genes and 2 Blue genes he is Pastel Blue and visually white.

Now here's the kicker ... if your male bird is a White Breast and Single Factor the body will be visually yellow on a SF Pastel and visually white on a SF Pastel Blue. The easiest way to tell if the male is SF is a gray chin instead of white.

[Animalzoo]

debbie276

I don't think I will ever get it! haha

What you said here..."SF Pastel males will be a visually green bird but a lighter color and all black areas will be gray." relates to my new bird I have just bought, the one you said is YH.WB.SF Pastal?

So if he breeds with my green hen, they will have green boys but maybe 50% yellow hens (based on when you said "A Pastel hen needs only one Pastel gene because it is sex-linked and will be visually yellow.") ???

[debbie276]

If you pair a WB.SF Pastel with a PB.Green you will get:
all chicks will be PB/WB (PurpleBreast split to WhiteBreast)
males will be:
SF Pastel (visually lighter green body and gray chin)
Green
hens will be:
Pastel (visually yellow body)
Green

IF your hen is a WB all chicks will be WB as well and you would get:
males:
SF Pastel (visually yellow body and gray chin)
Green
hens will be:
Pastel (visually yellow body)
Green

[lnlovesorange]

debbie276 I know I say it all the time, but I really do love you.... and I forget who said it but I agree, you should do some sort of online class for us dodo heads in the Gouldian Genes department, I would pay... Just saying.....

[slwatson]

lnlovesorange

LOL! I said it, and I REALLY meant it! When I start reading the genetic info about gouldians, I truly feel dumb. I need it to be explained as if I were in elementary school

[MariusStegmann]

I have figured out a way to prevent the complexities of gouldian genetics from overwhelming me. As soon as I buy a pair of gouldians, I work out exactly what the offspring should be. Then I add in the possibilities of the parents being possibly split to something else. In this way I can absorb the genetic in small manageable bytes. Since I don't buy birds that often, it is not an information overload. It has been quite a number of decades since I was formally taught about genetics.

[slwatson]

MariusStegmann

That's a great idea! I think I'll start doing that. The main thing that confuses me is the single factor and double factor. I honestly don't know what that means.

[MariusStegmann]

slwatson I think that a single factor yellow only has one yellow gene and the double factor 2 genes.

[MariusStegmann]

slwatson

[debbie276]

If your Green male inherits one Pastel gene then it is split to Pastel or SF Pastel.

Exactly correct, one Single gene and DoubleFactor means 2 (double) genes.
I added the term split to Pastel but hardly anyone says it that way, most use the term SingleFactor.

[slwatson]

MariusStegmann

Thank you!

[slwatson]

debbie276

How do you know if they're double factor or single factor?