Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 11/24/2007

Question
Hello again,
   I am very pleased by how fast you answer me, so I'll ask you all of my questions if you don't mind. I have three chicks that have hatched so far, an egg on the way as I write, and an egg due in two days. One of my chicks has red eyes and I was wondering if it was most likely a Lutino cockatiel. Neither of the parents are Lutino. The dad is a Normal Grey and the mom a Pearl. Is it possible for the baby to be Lutino?



-Astrid

Answer
Hi, Astrid,

Lutino cockatiels don't have red eyes in general.  Lutinos are mostly white birds, but they are not albinos unless they have red eyes and no yellow coloration.  The only birds that have red eyes are true albino birds.  Be aware that some baby birds look like they have red eyes when they are the age yours are, but as they get older, you'll see their eyes are really dark colored.  It is only possible the baby is lutino if both parents carry lutino genes.  The phenotype (coloration) of a bird not only is linked to the parents, but also the parents of the parents.  In other words, even if the parent birds you have aren't lutino, but their parents carried lutino genes and your adult birds both carry the lutino gene (hidden), then there's a possibility the baby(ies) could be lutino.  I'd take a wild guess that most of the babies will be normal grey or pearl (pearls are always female IF they retain the pearl coloration after 2 molts [over 1 year old]).  However, the babies can also be colored differently if their grandparents were some other color mutation and the parent birds carry these genes.  It can get complicated when trying to determine coloration of offspring that aren't yet feathered!

Chrys