Anyone seen this before?

Found this on random youtube browing (as you do) it's so fluffy!


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=WFMXrBWswl0&NR=1]Really Weird-Looking Bird - YouTube[/ame]

Whipper looks like he had a bad perm. :30: TOO funny! I've never seen this before, and now I can't stop giggling.

I actually saw a picture of him or a similar bird recently lol! So cute!! xD

Never seen anything like that before. I was just wondering how Whipper sees anything with his eyes covered up with the hair like feathers.. He really is cute

Very cute and different but the poor bird looked like he was having trouble even walking.

Feather duster budgies. Its a recessive mutation that both parents have to have. People don't breed them on purpose and separate pairings that create them. Because no he cant really see or walk, and he could never fly, and they often have other developmental problems due to so much energy being spent on continually growing feathers. The one in that video though has been in a few other videos too and i think he is properly cared for with an adjusted diet to compensate and was doing fine last i heard
Sorry to ruin the cuteness

It's a genetic mutation called "Feather Duster". It's been documented a several times and with better care now, more of the fledglings are making it to adult hood.

Bit of history here: The mutant 'feather-duster' budgie

Avian Medical Literature below - feel free to skip.
I read about it a while back in one of my avian medicine books. Apparently these birds affected by the condition normally don't make it out of the nest, mostly because the parents abandon them (like the example in the video) or they die due to lack of nutrients, and body density. The amount of energy required to grow feathers is insane and these birds are constantly growing these feathers all year round, so you need a very watchful owner to ensure that the bird is getting plenty of nutrition to sustain the growth. In the wild, the parents can't keep up with the demand for their chicks, so they don't survive, and even if they did, they can't fledge.

The only examples I'm aware of were all budgies that had been handreared by humans. (Like little Whipper) The other thing that is unique with them is that 'peep' sound they make as well. I can't remember off to the top of my head what the gene had to do with it though...

Other examples:

Oedipussrex said:

Feather duster budgies. Its a recessive mutation that both parents have to have. People don't breed them on purpose and separate pairings that create them. Because no he cant really see or walk, and he could never fly, and they often have other developmental problems due to so much energy being spent on continually growing feathers. The one in that video though has been in a few other videos too and i think he is properly cared for with an adjusted diet to compensate and was doing fine last i heard
Sorry to ruin the cuteness

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lol, you beat me. XD

Regardless - I don't think you can 'ruin' his cuteness factor. He is VERY cute.

These birds are lucky to live to 6 months old....

And I have heard of breeders specifically breeding birds to produce them.


Come to think of it, I might have traveled through Winton, NZ where this budgie was born. Can't remember for sure.


Either way, he was born in 2003, so I'd be surprised if he's still alive. I know he celebrated his 1st birthday, but haven't heard that he's lived past 2 years of age... so if anyone has any recent information stating he's still alive, it would be great to hear.

i've seen this before and just the other day i was showing it to my girlfriend. he looks incredibly cute, and that tweet of his really helps with that too. ;p but i also feel bad
for him coz of his mutation. ;'(

When I bred finches, I had a few 'crested' zrebra finches with most of their head feathers fluffy. I tried a few test breedings to see how fluffy they would turn out, and ended up with not very viable babies.

Experiment over.

It was before the internet, and I had minimal genetics knowledge then, so I was just seeing what would happen. Now I'm working on a certain kind of chicken for my laying flock, and it's like magic to have places online to learn about critters.

Whoa that link you provided had FAR too much biblical content. Its bizarre to have someone use science to preach their religion! LOL

Yay, I think they are cute but they dont live very long, some people dont like the idea of breeding them cause of their life span but they sure are adorable!

Thingamagigs said:

Whoa that link you provided had FAR too much biblical content. Its bizarre to have someone use science to preach their religion! LOL

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I know, right! XD I skipped over the religious stuff, was only interested in the dates lol