What color is she?

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Feb 17, 2024
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Location
Tulsa
Parrots
Sunny (lutino budgie)
Sky (yellowface budgie)
Pixie (greywing budgie)
This is a baby pic, too lazy to dig out the good camera today. I've had her over a year now, started trying to guess at her color when I first got her, got frustrated, and now I want to know again. Does she look cobalt, or is that a hint of violet? Is this greywing or a dilute? I think I saw a page that said the cheek patches on a dilute might be more faded?
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It's hard to tell mutations with these light colored budgies. A more current photo would help because baby feathers are lighter and less intensely colored than adult feathers. Snap a phone camera shot and post it.
I would say from this photo that she's greywing because the wing markings are more distinct in greywing than in dilute and I would say she has the violet trait not just cobalt.
She's really beautiful and has such a sweet face!
 
Phone camera is awful though. I think after straining my eyes for a while with greywing to dilute comparisons, I agree with you, looking at her now compared to above, the main intensity difference is in the cheeks, they darkened so probably greywing then. Glad someone else saw the violet, I thought I might be fooling myself with wishful thinking, lol. Thank you :)
 
Some people think Violet budgies look purple but they're more a very cool blue vs Cobalt which is less cool vs Sky Blue which is really an aqua blue. I've never seen a sky the color of a Sky Blue budgie- it's much closer to Cobalt or Violet! Online pictures of Violet budgies are often enhanced to make them look purple. It's actually pretty hard to tell some Violets from Cobalts, especially in the really pale mutations. And some budgies are both Violet and Cobalt (having one dark factor AND the violet factor) and some have TWO violet factors. It's easiest to tell Violet in an opaline budgie on the upper back between the wing- that area tends to look the most "violety" but it never looks purple. I have an opaline violet hen and she looks the most cool violet from above and perched next to her bestie, an opaline dominant pied Sky Blue male who is a light, bright clear aqua color.
Unless you're breeding her and are trying to predict the color of her offspring it really doesn't matter if your girl is a truly a Cobalt or a Violet or a Violet Cobalt. Or a Dilute or a Greywing. Just say she's whatever you want (within reason- she's not green!) but be prepared to explain to people unfamiliar with budgie mutations that No, Violet budgies are NOT purple!
 
Well, actually, I am breeding her. Wanted to when I was a teen, didn't have birds for a while, but have been fighting the urge since I got budgies again a couple of years ago. I had to go to Petsmart, there were no available budgies when my daughter wanted one for Christmas (though we all really knew I was the most excited about "her" gift). I wanted a bird from a reputable breeder. I was so sad. Then the other day my kid started talking about "hey, can we go ahead and breed them" and I wasn't able to say no. I can attempt to be the breeder I wanted. It's spring, the ladies were already going into breeding condition, I was talking about moving the cage away from the window. Pixie was the first to bond with Sunny, though I hear that may cause poorly colored birds, a male from her clutch can go to Sky, who might get better color. I will probably start looking for a male for Pixie about then. And of course, I can bond Sunny to Sky some time after they rest.

Thank you for your help :)
 
What are you going to do with the babies after they're weaned and fledged? You may be surprised at how many budgies you end up with after only six or eight months of breeding!
If you need any breeding advice just ask. I spent all last summer and fall breeding budgies.
 
Thank you, I'll keep that in mind :). Right now I have a neighbor who will take a few, and I'll have fun increasing my flock. Eventually, I will advertise in local trading groups, the places I myself scanned hoping to find someone who isn't too far. I have a dedicated room right now, but we're ready to put up a couple of screen doors so they can have the hall and room next to it as well. So, it might be a rare thing for us to sell a bird, I might just share a few with my friends and just have a few clutches. Contemplating that if I do sell, it will be an older bird who knows how to come on command, so I feel more secure that they won't be traumatized by chasing. My own birds don't even do that yet, lol.
 

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