About Blessing's Lory Food Products

   I personally like Adam Lock's Genetics 101 article because he likes to keep the Swainson rainbows as pure as he can www.lisaslories.com  Other Australian article on genetics are good also. The Australians have been doing the mutations the longest.

Scaly and rainbow lorikeets now appear in many beautiful color mutations. Understanding how these mutations work helps aviculturists make better breeding decisions and protect the purity of certain lines.

I especially appreciate Adam Lock’s “Genetics 101” article, because he emphasizes keeping Swainson’s rainbow lorikeets as pure as possible. Other genetic articles from Australian breeders are also very useful. The Australians have been working with lory mutations longer than most, and their experience shows in the quality of their birds.

My hands‑on experience with genetics comes from over 20 years of work with orchids and parrotlets. Over time, I noticed that plant and animal mutations share some important similarities.

One key lesson I learned is simple: you must start with the best breeding stock you can afford if you want the best offspring. “Common creates common.” If your foundation birds are average, you will mostly produce average results. If your foundation birds are exceptional, your chances of producing exceptional young increase dramatically.

I also believe that only a basic understanding of genetics is necessary for success. The simpler we keep it, the easier it is for everyone. You don’t need to know how every mechanism works—much like a television, you don’t have to understand the electronics to sit down and watch a show. You just need to understand the basic rules well enough to apply them.

In aviculture, there are three main types of genetic inheritance that we deal with: sex‑linked, recessive, and dominant.

Sex‑linked mutations are named because the mutation factor is linked to the sex chromosomes of the bird.

With sex‑linked traits, the first mutant bird to appear is always a female. When this mutant female is mated to a normal male, the mutation factor passes to her sons. These sons look visually normal, but they “split” for the mutation—they carry the mutant gene without showing it.

If one of these split males is bred to a normal hen, it can reproduce the mutant female phenotype. In other words, sex‑linked mutations typically show up first in females, then hide in males as splits, and reappear in subsequent generations when paired correctly.

Recessive mutations are called “recessive” because they are masked by the normal form of the bird.

In recessive inheritance, the first mutant bird can be either male or female. When this mutant bird is mated to a normal bird, all of the offspring are splits. They carry the mutant color gene but look normal.

To see the recessive mutation visually, both parents must carry the factor. That means both parents need to be either fully mutant or split to the mutant. When the mutation factor is present in both parents, it can combine and express in the offspring as the visible mutant phenotype.

Dominant mutations are named because they visibly dominate over the normal bird phenotype.

Some dominant mutations show both single‑factor and double‑factor forms, as in the pied cockatiel (Quarrion). Other dominant traits do not have clearly separate single and double forms.

Generally, there are no “splits” in dominant mutations. Birds are either mutants (single‑ or double‑factor) or they are normal. A bird carrying a dominant mutation will show it, and a normal‑looking bird will not carry the factor.

Albino and lutino birds have no color pigment in their skin. Their feet and legs are pink or flesh‑colored, and their eyes are always red. Any yellow or white feathers appear as clear, clean colors.

In lutinos, the red color range remains present. In albinos, that red range is absent. These mutations are usually sex‑linked, but they can sometimes be recessive.

Cinnamon birds are among the most commonly seen mutations. They are essentially partial albinos or lutinos. Individual cinnamon birds can vary widely, from nearly normal in color to very close to lutino or albino.

Recessive cinnamons are usually closer to the normal color form, and all I have worked with have hatched with black eyes. Sex‑linked cinnamons tend to be closer to lutinos or albinos and always hatch with red or plum‑colored eyes. Some sex‑linked cinnamons keep their red eyes into adulthood, and some of these advanced red‑eyed cinnamons are recessive.

All cinnamons lack color pigment in their feet. Those closer to the normal form have slightly darker feet than the ones closer to full lutino expression. All cinnamons retain blue in a diluted form and keep the yellow‑to‑red range of colors. In some cinnamon mutations, the yellow dilutes into a warmer cinnamon shade.

The blue mutation is defined by the absence of yellow pigment. A blue bird has only blue, white, and black feather coloring.

Par‑blue birds are partially without yellow pigment. In these birds, the blue and white is infused with some yellow, and the red tones are diluted to a softer salmon color.

Feet and eyes remain normal in all blue mutations. All blue mutations I have encountered so far have been recessive.

Pied mutations are birds with albino‑like spots on their skin. Any feathers that grow in these spotted areas look like lutino or albino feathers.

True pied birds should not be confused with mottling caused by vitamin deficiencies or blood disorders. Pied is usually a dominant mutation, though it can sometimes be recessive.

Dilute birds and dilute yellows are mutations in which most colors are softened or diluted, except in the yellow and red ranges. In these birds, feet and eyes remain normal.

Fallow birds are similar in the dilution of color, but their eyes are red. Both dilutes and fallows appear to be recessive in their inheritance patterns.

Olive is a mutation that has appeared more recently in Australian parrots. It is easy to recognize because all green areas turn a dark olive color. Blue areas become grey, while yellow and red colors remain.

The known olive mutations in Australian parrots have all behaved as fully dominant traits. They do not show obvious differences between single and double factors visually; they are simply expressed or not.

Color variations are another form of color change that we see often. These are not new mutations but rather normal variations that have been intensified and spread over more of the bird’s body through selective line breeding.

Currently, there are two striking examples in Sydney: two rainbow lorikeets in separate aviaries that show extreme color variation. They are exceptionally attractive birds, but I am not convinced that these forms have a genetic future as stable mutations.

One of these birds is in my aviaries and now has two normal offspring. Over the next few years, I may be able to comment more on whether this trait can be reliably passed on. For now, I am skeptical that this is a true mutation.

The reason for my doubt is that too many color changes in the bird do not fit known genetic patterns. The red color has taken over areas where it should not. The normal blue belly of a rainbow lorikeet has been replaced with red; genetically, blue should dilute to white, not red. The blue head should also shift to white in such a change and should not show red through it. Likewise, the rich golden yellow seen in normal birds would not remain so intense in a lutino form.

There is one interesting point of comparison. Andalusian horses (Spanish dancing horses) are born bay and gradually turn grey around five years of age. This color change appears to be genetically based and is age‑related.

Perhaps something similar is happening with these unusual lorikeets—maybe they change color at a certain age. At this stage, I simply do not know.

Joe Forshaw has suggested that the unusual color in these birds may be due to a hormone deficiency, and I tend to agree that hormones could be involved. Until more is known, I consider these extreme color forms more likely to be hormone‑driven variations rather than stable genetic mutations.

AGE OF CHICK                                    BEST  TEMPERATURES

1-5 Days                                               34.4 C– 35.5 C        94 D – 96 D

6-9 Days                                              33.8 C – 35 C          93 D – 95 D

10 – 14 Days                                         32.7 C – 33.8 C       91 D – 93 D

15 – 21 Days                                         30 C – 32.2 C           86 D – 90 D

22 - 28 Days                                        27.2 C – 29.4 C        81 D – 85 D

29 – 35 Days                                        24.4 C – 26.6 C         76 D – 80 D

36 Days to weaning                          21.1 C – 23.8 C         70 D – 75 Di

   Incubate the eggs in an incubator designed for parrot or exotic bird eggs. The incubator you use should have accurate temperature control within one-tenth of one degree, and ideally a system for humidity control. Maintain the temperature at 99.3 degrees F, and the humidity at 40 to 50 percent. We like the INCA.

An egg, to the initiated observer, may seem a simple   reproductive method. An egg nevertheless is an extremely complicated   structure and contains many intricate parts which collectively enable the egg   to hatch through incubation processes. It is, of course, essential that an   egg contains all the nutritional requirements necessary to allow a growing   chick to hatch, if all these ingredients are not present, then obviously the   chick will fail to hatch and the common term ‘dead in shell’ will prevail. It   is therefore important that birds have an adequate diet to ensure that this   phenomenon is reduced considerably. As there are adequate descriptions of   structure of an egg in other avicultural books. Parrots lay eggs with no   color, i.e. white. It is generally felt the eggs are white because parrots   lay in hollow trees which tend to be dark areas and she can see the eggs when   entering the nest. The egg shell is formed in such a way that it is difficult   to enter from the outside but relatively easy to exit for the chick from the   inside. The egg shell contains pores that allow moisture and gases to escape.   Unfortunately, it is also possible for bacteria to enter through the same   pores if the shell goes through a series of cooling. Egg shells also can be   accidentally punctured by the hen’s nail or cracked by a descending blow when   the hen enters the nest. These eggs will invariably fail to hatch as bacteria   will enter. The albumen or egg white consists of three proteins. Globulin,   mucins and albumen. The egg yolk contains proteins and fats which will be   consumed by the growing embryo and will form the main source of nutrition.   The embryo begins to develop before the laying of the egg.

Incubating parrot eggs 35-50%   humidity

Hatching parrot eggs 65%   humidity