Last time, what mutation?(17 pics) BB??

[LuxandLolita]

Here are pictures of Mom and dad
It seems like the chicks got their gene from lolita. she has those "dot" type feathers rather then bars..
Lux looks normal... also Lolita's tail feathers are re growing in, she used them for the nest haha
So here are pictures of their tails and wings. i will post full body pictures also. Oh and YES i know the chicks are plucked... Lux has stopped and the feathers are starting to grow back.
Lolita(mom)
Tail:
Lux(dad)
Wing:

Tail:
And three different chick's tail feathers :)if you look closely in each picture there is at LEAST one odd out feather.
Gus:
Umm.. HUGE EYES!!There is a spotted feather and two with the half end grey:

Falcon:
Wing:

You can see another half black feather at the top, it looks like a sliver of black ontop of white but it is actually one feather

Tahny:
Wing:
I like this feather on him ^^ here is it again
Look to the far rightest tail feather. it is half white!

[cindy]

Not Black Breast and not split to Black Breast.....splits have an hourglass pattern. Your birds as of right now look like normals...I think as suggested you need to let them get their adult colors/feathers before any of us can tell you what you have. Please refer to the tail paterns were gave you before on previous post.

http://www.efinch.com/species/bbzeb.htm the picturs of the tails show split and full BB

on the post the tail feather in the center is a split to BB on the far right is full BB

http://www.zebrafinch.com/NewZebra/Bird ... athers.GIF

Tail patterns in young can change...and they do not always depict a mutation or a split to a mutation.

[LuxandLolita]

So you are saying it is just because they are chicks?

Even this?
this looks like the black breasted feather

[Ameza]

I see you have gotten the zebra mutation bug

But I agree with Cindy, you really need to wait for the chicks to molt into their adult feathers. At this point, they do not have any clear indicators of BB splits, splits can be very hard to spot this early on.

But, they often change with the adult molt, chicks can have more irregular tail feathers until they molt. I have seen tail feathers change very much with the first molt and if their are boys their cheeks can help us see if they might be split for BB or not.

I know it sucks, but I'm afraid you have to be patient for now ;)


But as they molt things you can look out for that might indicate split BB:

Thin tear mark.

A bit enlarged or irregular male cheeks.

Enlonged flank splots.

Orange lacing in the wings.

White colour under the beak.

And the hourglass/irregular stripes. (it has more white)


But keep in mind that a bird might show all of these pointers or only 1-2. Seeing this in females is usually harder. And in some cases you can never be sure until you breed them with another split BB or fully BB bird.

[LuxandLolita]

it wasn't so much the tail feathers, but there is light orange lacing(i posted a big pic on the first post and a closer one on my second)
i don't think that is normal for chicks? the tail feathers were just what made me believe that the orange lacing was not just me being a nuthead!

[cindy]

What you are showing looks to be the rump...you really can not tell exactly what they will be until they color out...give it a month. I agree with Ameza...the ony way to know is when you breed the offspring...Zebras can carry genes for many mutations.

[LuxandLolita]

You guys are probably right. i don't need to get my hopes up... I took pictures of Lolita, she appears to have the big spots for stripes like the babies. but again, i guess it varies from bird to bird. Lux of course, is normal.
This is also why i asked if they can be split 1/4 instead of 1/2 bb. it would explain some things? oh right, don't get my hopes up

Here is Lolita. her tail feathers still have yet to grow completely back in even after 26 days!
by the way, the black on her wing and back are actually there.its not the tail feathers, but blends into them haha! and it is not a shadow. she is such a weirdo
here are pictures anyway.

[Ameza]

I understand you compleatly though, I still get so phyced out if I think I have a new mutation or split or something

But no one can't really be split 1/4 or such, though mutations can kind of "jump generations" because zebra finches hide them so well. Also it varies how much birds show their split, sometimes they don't at all. Your female might very well be split BB, it's hard to tell, ecpesially since she if female. I did though noticed that I found her tear mark a little odd when I first saw a picture of her, not sure if it might indicate anything or not...

But if you ever get more birds, for example a male that is split BB or is BB, you should try to breed her with him and see if you get BB chicks. Then it would be confirmed

I just recently bred one of my males with a BB hen and finally got confirmed what I thought, that he is split BB since I got a beautiful EI BB BF female (and I could not stop talking about her believe me, haha )

[LuxandLolita]

well here are more pictures of her face if you really care
what do you think of that black? on her wing and above her tail? its just a random spot heheh
Before the babies were born

heres lux by the way. he has a really short tear mark and white on his face. Lux has heart shaped tail bars


They are so pretty!!

[Ameza]

Not sure about that black....

But her tear mark looks a bit strange to me. It's so long and has a bit of a sharp look at the top....

Her tear mark is really too thin to indicate Black cheek, though the longness of it reminds be of split BC.
And if she is BB BC the thinness might because of those two splits are working against each other.

BUT I'm just guessing here, there is no way to know such things unless you can breed her with the other mutations!

But the is the fun about zebra mutations, the endless speculations haha ;) Which drive us mad in the end....

[LuxandLolita]

i agree! totally going mad
i KNOW she is split to something! i just don't know what. and whatever it is here are some odd characteristics that she has that Ivy did not have(i am pretty sure ivy was LB or normal grey, she was pretty light grey but not white)
Lolita:
White laced feathers(some with a hint of brown/orange)
long thin tear mark
odd black feathers on wings and butt(top)
she has ONE white tail feather coming in but she is NOT pied...lol(you can kinda see it in the pics i posted of her tail feathers)
kindof a white mask in front of her eyes
and lastly, a buff belly.
goodness me! this girl is crazy!

OMG two of my chicks are sitting in the seed bowl eating seeds!

[LuxandLolita]

OH! guess what i just found? Lux has oval flanks!


Sorry dark picture but you can see the spots well and some stretched spots too!
just a tail pic
also, buff tail, REALLY white belly. normal?

[cindy]

I was going to say lightback but his underside is buff, lightbacks have a white underside and belly. It looks possibly like he has fawn in the wings so he could be a split to fawn. If he has fawn female offspring in the future then he is split to fawn. See http://www.efinch.com/species/fawnzeb.htm "Identifying splits"

[LuxandLolita]

his belly is pure white. i just thought it was halarious that his butt is orange!
"some Gray males can be identified as being split for Fawn by a buff belly and traces of brown in the wings"
that might explain his butt?
None of my chicks appear to be fawn... maybe they are all male only if he is split to fawn though

[cindy]

the white on a light back goes to the vent...he looks split to fawn...they can if split have traces of fawn in the underside...not always but they can. A split to fawn can have fawn female offspring, a visual fawn (full fawn can have fawn offspring. Females do not carry the gene so you need a vsual fawn to get males when paired with a split to fawn or fawn male.