Courtesy of Mort Faddy – Open Breeder at the Sunshine Coast

The Challenge – Preserving the Rarer varieties.

Lets now look at the Dark Eye Clears (DEC). It was around the early 1940's during the occupation of Belgian by the German army that the Dark Eye Clears along with the Clear Flighted Pieds were produced in the aviaries of Mon Raymaeker of Belgian.

 

It appears that when a Recessive Pied was crossed with a Clearflighted Pied the Clearflight young from that pairing produced handsome Dark Eye Clears when mated back to a Recessive Pied.

 

They were named Black Eye Lutinos and sold for a very hight price in the 1940's. Between 1939 and 1945 in Holland also appeared a new mutation known as the Dutch Pied. This new mutation also paired to a Recessive Pied found that the young of that pairing put back to a Recessive Pied produced Dark Eye Clears.

 

WHAT are Dark Eye Clears

 

Dark Eye Clears from their name, are budgerigars of a clear yellow or white, free from any markings and colour pigmentation. They resemble the Lutinos and Albinos except in the eye. Like the Recessive Pied they have the solid black eye without the white iris ring.

 

My Story

 

In June of 2003 I obtained 1 pair of Dark Eye Clears (DEC) from my friend Dave Cook, I looked at the little things as they were such poor quality, they were not much bigger than our native bush Budgies. No reflection on COOKIE by the way.

 

In my first year I was in need of numbers so I paired Dark eye to Dark Eye, as a result of that pairing I produced 100% Dark Eye Clears. All eight chicks were small with no improvement in size.

 

Second year, 2004 I paired up Dark Eye Clears to Recessive Pied's. The Recessives were a nice line coming from the SEAGROTT stud, having a percentage of Mannes blood in them. The chicks now were showing a small improvement in size and feather quality.

 

Third year, 2005 I had come across a letter to UK Budgerigar World by an Italian breeder also attempting to work with the Dark Eye Clears. He found that pairing a Normal Split Recessive Pied to the Dark Eye Clears was by far the best way to improve the size in the rare variety.

 

This pairing will result in:

 

1. Dark Eye Clears

 

2. Recessive Pieds

 

3. Continental Clearflights

 

4. Normal Split Recessive Pieds

 

Genetics of the Dark Eye Clears

 

The Dark Eye Clears are in fact, birds that carry in their genetical make up, one dominant gene (gene for the Clearflight) and two recessive genes (gene for the Recessive Pied)

 

The confusion arises when pairing a Dark Eye Clear with a normal bird; we then produce the Clearflights. In this pairing we will not produce DEC's even though we started with one. In fact, the pairing will produce Clearflights and normals all split for Recessive Pied. What happens in this pairing is that the dominant Clearflight gene will act and the pairing is just like a Dominant Pied to a normal. Because the DEC had two recessive genes in hidden form, then these genes will continue to be present in the progeny in a hidden form as well, hence all the progeny will be split for Recessive Pied.

 

My Pairing

 

1. Dark Eye Clear to Normal/Rec.Pied

 

2. Continential Clearflights/Rec. to Normal/Rec. Pied

 

Good Luck with your hobby

 

Mort

Excellent article Daz just what I needed thankyou.

Thanks Pearce. I did an article last year on the DEC's as they are a variety I am trying to bring back. But i haven't found it yet???

So Daz.......

 

If I pair my DEC to a normal split recessive Pied, will I have a chance of getting some more DEC'S??????

 

 

Normal Sky Blue Split Recessive Hen....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEC Cock....

 

Thanks Pearce. I did an article last year on the DEC's as they are a variety I am trying to bring back. But i haven't found it yet???

 

 

 

Your other topic here >>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....c=18689&hl=

okay daz

how do i tell if my bird is a dark eyed clear

or a doubble factor spangle ??????

do these birds both have the same look

or is it that dark eye clears have yellow wings going to white like a lutino ????

thanks

also the dark eyed clears breed at my club by one member his have fainted markings is this not desirabale as he seems to breed it deliberate not cin grey faint markings

G_B,

 

DEC's are clear yellow or white and do not have iris rings...