All red african grey

[Spiritbird]

I received this link from my bird club and it is amazing!! Take a look....................
Red African Grey - Red African Grey

 

[TexDot33]

Yep, I know someone who could sell these ... it's a cool $250,000 (USD) on these guys ... there was a big debate over these, people thought that they were "hybrid" Greys, when in fact this is a "mutation" of a gene (correction, it's just the exploitation of a genetic mutation for profit) ... who knows, I'm not a big fan of them, I like greys just they way they are!

 

[Spiritbird]

I 100% agree with your Tex, exploitation and $$ is the game here. I just hope these birds do not turn up with all the genetic defects that may happen. They are pretty but I do love the soft greys and red tails.

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

I agree with you Tex. Grey's should be..... grey.. They're beautiful enough as it is!

 

[HRH Di]

It's just like albinism...but red. there will always be a market for people who want "oddities".

I'm with the general conscensus here...I prefer the regular Greys. The red tails provide a lovely contrast.

 

[antoinette]

I agree with you all ........
I prefer the regular Grey's any day
Sure does seem like albinism
Nothing more beautiful than a genuine Grey
Great day

 

[TexDot33]

I guess the genetics here is nothing more than taking two albino mutations and mating them to make more albino mutations; but, in my opinion I like the greys just they way they are ...

It's not an African Red Parrot, it's and African GREY PARROT

Somewhere, Alex is crying.

 

[Belle]

I think this is sad....love the birds the way nature intended!!

 

[L Greer]

My male from my breeding pair had just a few red feathers on his neck when I got him. Now 19 years later he has a large patch on his neck almost like a yellow nape would. He also has a bunch on his chest. The older he gets the more red appears. Some of his babies have red tinges too. He was a rescue bird so not sure of his age.. could be 36 or 60?? No way of knowing. I think that he is older than 36.

 

[MenomaMinx]

Yeah, I know, late to the party – but since I'm here anyway...........

According to what I've been able to gather from the latest on the gray color mutations, the red feathers are due to follicle damage; which explains why older birds sometimes grow more of them.

So basically those all red African grays are just birds with really bad skin, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if it's not bothering the bird.

Strangely enough, I was actually looking for information on the lutino Congo African grays when I found this topic via search. As far as I can tell, there's a couple of pictures, and a couple of mentions, and no one actually selling these birds. If it's like the lutino mutation in cockatiels, it would be a great improvement for people with allergies, as in my personal experience a lutino cockatiels shed much less feather dust then their wild colored relatives.

Unfortunately, I suspect it's probably like the mice with the yellow fur that are descended from regular brown mice that were overfed – it takes about three generations to undo the epigenetic damage. The fourth generation is brown again provided the last three lived normally as far as a mouse diet is concerned.

There seems to be a lot of prejudice against certain mutations, but there might actually be a scientific basis for those two particular ones. I just don't have enough information.

Were it not for cost constraints, the mutations could probably save me a lot of emotional turmoil when I finally find a way to replace my CAG that was murdered. To be fair to the bird though, I still feel strongly to know why. It's not a aesthetic debate, but rather an ethical one concerning the health of bird.

 

[sofiaee]

I'm so surprised the two threads (on on this forum and one on another) people have been so against and rude about this birds coloration, especially people who haven't any experience or haven't put in any research time into breeding and genetics.

Where did you hear it was skin damage? Very interesting topic!

 

[MonicaMc]

Yes, follicle damage from plucking/over-preening/mutilation can lead to red feathers.... however, red factor african greys are born with red feathers that never molt out. It's not about diet or health, it's about breeding towards a goal using birds that had shown extra amounts of red feathering. When these red factor greys breed, they produce more red factor offspring.

Birds who are plucked with red feathers do not throw red feathered offspring.... and even if they did, these offspring would not keep the red feathers into adulthood.


That's the difference.

 

[MenomaMinx]

The running theory is that the all red birds are born with different follicles that mimic follicle damage enough that of course it would never molt out – think of it like the difference between an oval and a round hair follicles in a human being: one produces straight hair and the other produces curly and they are both genetic. They can also be from follicle damage, although there are usually very few hairs involved. The exception to the rule is with cancer patients, one of which I spoke to who regained her dark curly hair from her youth after chemotherapy had taken away the faded much straighter hair she developed in her older years.

 

[X45kylekatarn]

People who think Red Factor hurts a grey genetically should also believe blue hair/blonde eyes hurts a human genetically, there's no difference. Many color mutations are just mutations of a single gene. If any problems arise, it's due to inbreeding two parents who carry the Red Factor trait. There's nothing wrong with these birds, just like there's nothing wrong with a redhead.

 

[getwozzy]

Just an FYI ...this thread is almost FIVE years old.

 

[X45kylekatarn]

Yeah, and now I found it.

 

[veimar]

When I first saw your post I opened the link prepared to see ALL RED African Grey parrot! I was disappointed there was no picture of a red AG there.

 

[X45kylekatarn]

Well here's one

 

[NiRD]

Unless the bird's DNA is tested and it shows the markers for red pigmentation, I'd assume this happened because of diet. I've seen a cockatoo that was pink, and after a few molts on a proper diet he went back to white.

 

[X45kylekatarn]

There are multiple reasons why a parrot may have red tint to the feathers, but the Red Factor has been proven to be genetic. The all red ones come from crossing two of a certain type of partial red factors. It may be the homozygous expression of that strain of red factor gene. I work with reptile genetics, so color phase mutations aren't unfamiliar to me.
Edit: The first red factor was created by breeding two f1 pied's together.