Hello :) New to Budgies

[chicknhawk]

Hi!

My name is Kylie and these are my 3 babies - Stormy, Calypso and Chicken Hawk.
I have joined to find out some info regarding all things budgie and will definitely be checking out all great info on this site!

For the moment though im hoping some of you can shed some light for me regarding my boy, Stormy's mutation.I'm hardwired to need to know all the specifics in most parts of life and my pets are no exception! I have tried identifying his color/mutation but without confirmation from those who know better i just keep going round in circles!
He is going through a moult right now so apologies for photos not being great to work with. I'm thinking maybe a mauve spangle ? maybe spangle/opaline? The outline on his wing feathers is more of a tan/cinnamon
and he has some coloring coming through in places. His cheek patches are a very light silvery color. Also his age...I've only had him since monday and i dont know how to read the breeders band so advice there would be helpful as well!

Secondly, Calypso (albino hen) and Chicken Hawk (lutino hen) produce this stunning iridescent shimmer from their bellies and underside and Calypso also has it on her rump. Calypso pretty well exhibits it all the time and is a beautiful aqua/teal/bluey kind of effect under any light but more so in natural light. Chicken Hawk's is more like a neon lime green but hers can only be seen in sun light and only from certain angles. Is this normal? If so is there a name for this effect? It really is so pretty and i would love to know how/why this happens

You can see it in the photos of Calypso but that is dull compared to some days. Always happy to share photos so if you need better ones thats no problem. I can also upload videos (never too shy to showcase my babies:) )

[blue48]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure someone will be able to help, there's loads of knowledge on here

Beautiful birdies. I love Stormy's colouring.

[Marianne Marlow]

Welcome!

Is Stormy Blue or grey? I cannot tell!

He's some sort of spangle.

Love your albino hen. I used to have one just like her.

[chicknhawk]

Thank you! They are gorgeous if i do say so myself

Stormy is ... well... a blueish grey lol the only similar color i can find is called mauve apparently? He does look very much like the other mauve's i have seen online but then i dont understand what the dilute/greywing type genes can do and weather that gives him the tan/cinnamon linings to his feathers and...well there is so much info out there with so many combinations that i have really no idea where to even start. Thank you both for the warm welcomes

[Marianne Marlow]

This was my albino hen. She could be a little horror, but she was very lovable

[Hezz]

If the wing markings are brown, he is a cinnamon. He is also a spangle, but as the cinnamon mutation is a diluting factor, I don't think he would be classified as mauve. Not sure if he would be sky blue or cobalt.

[Hezz]

The iridescent shimmer that you talked about is known as suffusion. If you wanted to study the genetics of budgie mutations, there are different factors that can give this; from dark factors to recessive genes that don't show up visually in any other way but this suffusion, and also can be due to the base colour of the budgie. I don't profess to understand it all, budgie genetics are more confusing than human genetics!

[chicknhawk]

Sorry guys i dont yet know how to reply to specific people.

Marianne, they look almost identical! even the body shape is the same she looks lovely! did she do this suffusion thing Hezz explained as well?

Thank you so much for that info Hezz, very much appreciate it. I thought i was loosing my mind! Now i have something to read about!! The hens were fro the same clutch so the lady who bred them would probably be interested to know??

With Stormy, he has blue coming through the white on his wings and shoulders as well as the among the barring on his neck and back of his head and silver cheek patch;s Is this also a result of the cinnamon?

[chicknhawk]

HAHA!! (sorry i get excited learning new things about my birdies so I read that this suffusion effect shows up better with a flash on and so it does! Its amazing how they can go from an all white/yellow to all those colors!
I also read this effect may be considered differently depending on eye color?? I took some photos with and without the flash and the hens eyes are usually a deep dark almost black red but naturally the flash makes them look bright red!

Hezz I took some better photos of Stormy, do these photos help decide what base color he is?

[Marianne Marlow]

Feb 15, 2020 3:38:57 GMT chicknhawk said:

Sorry guys i dont yet know how to reply to specific people.

Marianne, they look almost identical! even the body shape is the same she looks lovely! did she do this suffusion thing Hezz explained as well?

Yes, in certain lights you could see a light blue through her feathers.

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[chicknhawk]

Marianne Marlow THANK YOU!

[Hezz]

Feb 15, 2020 3:38:57 GMT chicknhawk said:

Sorry guys i dont yet know how to reply to specific people.

Marianne, they look almost identical! even the body shape is the same she looks lovely! did she do this suffusion thing Hezz explained as well?

Thank you so much for that info Hezz, very much appreciate it. I thought i was loosing my mind! Now i have something to read about!! The hens were fro the same clutch so the lady who bred them would probably be interested to know??

With Stormy, he has blue coming through the white on his wings and shoulders as well as the among the barring on his neck and back of his head and silver cheek patch;s Is this also a result of the cinnamon?

If this is so, then he would be opaline as well. Blue on the head is normal colouring. Is his blue a deeper colour on the sides and back of his head?

I'm certainly no expert on budgie genetics, as I said. I'm okay with the simpler single mutations, but combinations complicate what is visual, what is partially visible, and what are hidden. You might come across the term "split for", meaning that the bird has gotten one gene of a recessive mutation where two are needed to show up visually. And then you have sex-linked genes, just to complicate things more.

[chicknhawk]

Hezz thank you for that. Yes the color coming through between the barring on the back of his head is a definite blue much brighter/stronger than the blue/grey of his body color. The color showing through his wings though is the most washed out of all

[Hezz]

If it is darker, it is supposed to be an indication of a dark factor - a cobalt has one dark factor, making it darker than a sky blue, for instance. We really need a long-term breeder/genetics expert to give you a concise and definite answer.

[chicknhawk]

OK well thanks again for that info Hezz, very much appreciate your time!
For now my little Mr Storm has paired of with a lovely cobalt opaline named Ocean so whatever mutation he is might show through in some little peepers in the coming weeks/months! Very excited!