Seeking knowledge regarding the turquoise (par-blue) gene

Onyx

New member
Dec 25, 2012
6
0
I am located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Parrots
Turquoise, pineapple turquoise and pineapple green cheek conures, and a pair of red rump parakeets
This is kind of a minor question and a bit long-winded, but it's been driving me crazy xD

I am a breeder of turquoise green cheek conures. This is a new breeding project for me, and my first clutch of splits is 4.5 - 6 weeks old currently. Previously, I bred linnies.

There's a question that's been really puzzling me, and I haven't been able to find any information on it at all.

Some of my green cheeks (most of them, actually) have a small patch of color on the leading edge of the wing. When the wings are folded it looks like it's on the bird's shoulder. My yellow-sided has the biggest patches (thought they are still not very big), and they are a brilliant yellow and orange-red. On the other hand, they are barely visible on my pineapple turquoise female and my turquoise male, because the patches are pure white instead of yellow and orange. However, the turquoise male's brother has brilliant yellow patches.

I think these patches, though small, are very pretty and want to try to breed to increase the size of the patches. However, I am rather puzzled because the par-blue gene is a yellow pigment inhibitor. However, I have two turquoise males, one normal and one pineapple, who both have brilliant yellow wing spots. Comparing the birds with yellow/orange wing spots to the birds with white spots (pineapple to pineapple and normal to normal) I can't detect any real difference in the color of their turquoise parts regardless of what color their wing spots are. I would have expected that the birds with the yellow spots would be more green in color if it had anything to do with their par-blue genes not inhibiting the yellow pigment as well.

So I'm wondering... how is it that some of these birds have white spots and some have colored spots? If the par-blue gene is inhibiting the expression of yellow pigment, then how is it that these birds still have brilliant yellow spots but the yellow is being supressed elsewhere on the body?

The reason I ask is that I want to increase the size of these patches but I'm not sure if by purposely keeping birds with the yellow/orange spots, I'll be somehow sabotaging the quality of the color on my turquoise birds. Ideally I'd like to inhibit as much yellow as possible on the body to give a more blue appearance, but keep the yellow color on the wing spots. I am not sure if one thing has anything to do with the other, however.
 

CindyR

New member
Jan 18, 2013
24
0
Parrots
Two sun conures - Olivia and Caillou
I have no input because I am not a breeder nor do I understand ANYTHING about it but I just wanted to say that your birds are beautiful. What neat colors!
 

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