FINCHforum

Ok, so...as I understand it, this is how yellow genetics goes...

red cock x yellow hen= all red babies with cocks split to yellow

yellow cock x red hen= yellow hens and red cocks split to yellow

yellow cock x yellow hen= all yellow babies

***My question is about breeding split cocks...Is this right?

red cock(split) x red hen= yellow hens and red cocks(NOT split??)

red cock(split) x yellow hen= all yellow babies??

Can anyone confirm or set me straight about the "split" breeding?(or any of it, if my understanding is incorrect)???

Thanks!
Tim

I know nothing about the genetics of Star finches. All I know is that I have a male Red (don't know if he is split or not) and a female Yellow and they gave me a Yellow male baby.

The trouble with splits is that there is no way to visually tell if a Star is a split. I originally had a pair of reds, which produced 9 babies, 8 red and 1 yellow (hen). I bred the yellow hen to a red male. Last season, they produced 8 babies, 4 male and 4 female, all reds. So I would have had to have kept all 8 babies and bred them to both reds and yellows, to figure out who might be a split. I would like to get a yellow male to pair with this yellow hen, then I should for sure get yellows, I would think.

I'm pretty certain the yellow version of the star is a sex linked mutation (same as yellow backed gouldians). In Sally's instance this would mean that her original red faced cock was split for yellow. Only cock birds can be split for a sex linked gene. This pairing will produce roughly 25% normal hens, 25% yellow hens, 25% normal cocks and 25% split cocks. The mating between a normal cock and yellow hen will produce 50% normal hens and 50% split cocks. A paring of split cock x yellow hen should produce 25% yellow cocks, 25% split cocks, 25% normal hens and 25% yellow hens.

Thanks for that info, Matt, that makes it much clearer. Of course, I sold all my males that I now figure should have been split, and kept the hens which now I realize are normal--got it backwards! Oh, well, I've set up my yellow hen again, with her red mate, and will see what happens. Liz, I sure could use your little yellow male!

Sally wrote: I've set up my yellow hen again, with her red mate, and will see what happens. Liz, I sure could use your little yellow male!

I sure wish you lived up here, Sally! Best wishes for your Stars! Let us know the outcome. Mine have only laid 1 egg in November in the cage, 1 egg in December and January in the nest but did not sit. Since I cannot see into the nest I did not realize they were there until it was too late to give them to the Societies. They did not hatch. There's got to be an easier way for me to check the nest...