I have a grey green couple who produced one grey chick. He looked a little different shade than the parents even as a chick but now the variation is huge. This chick doesn't live with me anymore, but with another breeder who has a grey girl to breed with her.

 

So my question is if anyone has the same kind of grey plumage on any of their grey greens? And if those birds have turned out to be, or could be DF greys.

 

As a chick, there was only a grey shimmer in his chest when looked at from a spesific angle, but now the grey in the body is very distinguishable, as you can see. In the chicks picture you can also see his wife-to-be in the background. He could also be carrying the cinnamon gene, so there could be some really pretty babies coming along, especially is he's a DF grey.

 

A greygreen chick

 

His parents

Do you have any wing shots ? and were these pictures taken with a flash ? which changes colours and perceptions of colour of course.

I think that photo was taked with a flash. But I can see the same with my bare eyes. If looked from side, the whole stomach looks grey - it's like only the tips of the feathers are grey. Otherwise he's just a normal greygreen opaline.

 

Here's a little older photo

 

Here's the wings too.

The bird is a cinnamon grey green...yes ?

He's an opaline greygreen, only possibly split cinnamon, as his sister is a cinnamon.

The wings looked brown in that photo...... flash again ?

I don't suppose one of the parents is a YF2 grey green and both parents are split blue, that would result in some chicks which were grey and some carrying YF@ which would account for that look

I'm sorry Kaz, possibly it's that flash again, I haven't taken those photos.Another oneThough funny now that I put it there, you can compare the wings to he's brother who seems to have brown wings in this photo, though I always thought he was a normal green. Maybe it's that flash. But anyway, you can see, that in this picture, despite the flash, the gregreen boy has black markings. The mother anyway is an opaline without cinnamon and the father is a normal greygreen, so the boys can't be cinnamons.I'm sure my birds don't enjoy the flash, but here, at this time of year there is no light from outside and pictures are impossible to take in a normal day- or roomlight. They turn out black.

I don't suppose one of the parents is a YF2 grey green and both parents are split blue, that would result in some chicks which were grey and some carrying YF@ which would account for that look

Good thinking, that's possible, I guess. I have one green girl who's YF II green, and has a visible, strong yellof mask. These birds don't have it. In first wing picture possibly because of the flash, he does seem like a yellow face, but in type II the colour would develop stronger later on. So we'll keep that in mind. :)And by the way, all grey greens carry the blue factor. Grey is a blue series colour, like violet, and like violet green birds, grey greens also are split blue, always.

I thought grey was an adding factor as opposed to a blue series colour.... Yikes, I'mlost I have a number of birds that have very similiar colouring which are YF2 greys

I thought grey was an adding factor as opposed to a blue series colour.... Yikes, I'mlost I have a number of birds that have very similiar colouring which are YF2 greys

 

Oh well, I've just read it somewhere, that all the grey's carry blue. But now one of the parent's ought to look the same like him, and they don't... Unless YFI could have the same effect and one of them is carrying it double when it wouldn't show at all. So there's no possibility with your birds, that they are DF greys?

No one of the parents wouldn't like him. If they are grey green then the YF2 wouldn't be seen as it would just blend in with the green colouring

 

If this theory is correct he isn't a grey green he's a grey.

The difference in the shade of grey is probably because of the dark factor. If the parents both had one dark factor the chick could have 2, 1 or none. The 1st picture does look like he could be a T2 yellow face grey rather than a grey green but it's probably just the flash. A grey green is not always split for blue, grey green is the green form of grey. He could be double factor grey green but that shouldn't make any difference to his appearance

I don't know about that... If he would be a grey YF2, he would have been grey as a chick with only a little yellow on his mask first and not until after the first moult he would have started looking like he's now. But he was a normal looking grey green first and then started to show more grey in his stomach. And if he was to be a YF2 as both his parents are grey green too, one of them ought to have strong yellow mask to indicate the yellow face gene, but neither of them has.Just my thoughts. So none of your birds looking like this can be DF grey green? As in both their parents are grey/grey greens?

The difference in the shade of grey is probably because of the dark factor. If the parents both had one dark factor the chick could have 2, 1 or none. The 1st picture does look like he could be a T2 yellow face grey rather than a grey green but it's probably just the flash. A grey green is not always split for blue, grey green is the green form of grey. He could be double factor grey green but that shouldn't make any difference to his appearance

Thanks Neville. I was thinking about those dark factor things ealier on too. So maybe he's an olive green grey. Or then a YF type 2 grey. If he will be mated with that grey girl, there ought not to be any greens in the chicks, if that is the case. :)So there is no difference between SF and DF greys?

So there is no difference between SF and DF greys?

They usually look the same but a DF will have all grey or grey green chicks when mated to a normal and a SF will have half normals and half grey or grey green. If your bird was bred from 2 grey greens there is a 25% chance that he is double factor

Edited December 8, 200816 yr by Neville

No diference

 

It will be a good test mating for you. If he is a YF2 you should end up with grey and YF2 greys out of the clutch and no grey greens

okay then. I'll be updating this thread sometime in next December then, when the matings are done and some outcome can be seen

 

So the parents of this grey green chick were two grey greens (the hen also opaline) who produced one light green cinnamon girl and one light green normal boy and this grey green opaline boy. This boy will be paired up with a cinnamon grey girl later on next year. So they should produce some greys (50%) and normals (25%) and possibly DF greys (25%) and if he's a DF grey all the chicks will be 50% SF and 50% DF greys. I hope for tons of cinnamon greys

 

Until next year...!

If he is grey green you will get some or all(depending if he is split blue) grey greens in the clutch, if he is YF2 grey you will only get greys and YF2 greys.

If he is grey green you will get some or all(depending if he is split blue) grey greens in the clutch, if he is YF2 grey you will only get greys and YF2 greys.

 

Yeah, I forgot to mention that YF2 bit It would be nicer really, if he was YF type 2 grey.

His present owner kindly enough took a few more pics taken in bird lamp light and one in a incandescent lamp light. So here's the true colour But I'll post more images, if something new turns out, he's in the middle of the first moult, I think, at the moment.

 

 

 

Here I've got some new evidence on that DF grey theory. There's a breeder in UK who got a bunch of grey chicks from a grey couple. One of the chicks is grey green like the one in the thread and indeed has grey feathers among the grey green feathers. Also as a chick he was "shining through" grey, just like my chick here. Here a picture of that british chick:

 

(not sure if the pics too big in height, as I just copied the address, but can aswell change it to a link is necessary. I have a permission from the owner to use the photo,)

 

And also I got a new grey green hen myself, and sheäs a lot darker in colour than my other grey green hen, which looks more yellowish, like the one above. I first actually thought she was an olive green, but the cheeck patches are clearly grey and there's no blue in the tail feathers. I think she might be a double dark factor grey green, which means that her basic colour is olive green. Or possibly dark green, with only one dark factor, which would make my other grey greens light greens as their basic colour.

Edited December 17, 200816 yr by falki

DF Grey is not a theory, it is fact.

Photos taken in incandesant light will always alter colour due to the light spectrum emmitted. They tend to cast a browish glow.

 

It must be remembered that Green or Grey Green baby budgies before going through their first moult will show blue or grey feathering especially in the lower half of the body. The full colour will not be realised until the moult is completed. This is due in part to the feather structure. It is immature and lacking a great deal of the internal features that make up a mature feather. In fact all immature budgie feather lack the full depth of substance and colour of a fully grown Budgerigar.

 

Going on the photos provided it looks like the parents are Light factor SF Grey Greens. Although it is possible one may be a Medium Dark SF factor Grey Green as the resulting chick once going through the moult appears to be a Medium Dark Factored Grey Green budgie. Only breeding with the appropriate blue series bird will tell.

 

From the results so far produced from the Grey Green pair the Baby in question is a cock and he will be split for Opaline and a 25% chance of being split for Cinnamon and a 25% chance of being DF Grey. If you wish to test this theory pair him up to a Sky Normal hen.

 

If the bird still retains some plumage amongst the body different in colour i.e. Grey Green with Grey patches is is possible the bird is a form of half sider. Do give the bird a chance to moult a couple of times though as there have been many changes to the feather of the modern budgie.

Great... one more thing I have to learn about genetics... And I was just starting to think I was getting on top of it...