Grizzle? How does it work?

[keystonepaul]

I guess the bigger question is, What are the rules to mating in regards to color?

1. Specifically if I mate a grizzle with a typical BB pigeon or a Recessive red pigeon. How does grizzle affect each.

Thanks, PaulC.

[george simon]

Originally Posted by keystonepaul

I guess the bigger question is, What are the rules to mating in regards to color?

1. Specifically if I mate a grizzle with a typical BB pigeon or a Recessive red pigeon. How does grizzle affect each.

Thanks, PaulC.

[b]Hi PAUL, The best mating for grizzle is blue bar to grizzle. Grizzle is an autosomal dominant which produces variable depigmentation in feather color., so never mate grizzle to grizzle as the young from this mating will result in white or near white birds.In grizzles, the clumped pigment areas, because of increased spacing, are lighter then spread areas.So for this reason, checker and T- pattern grizzles show less expression of grizzle,and are not nearly as attractive as bar. [b] GEORGE

[keystonepaul]

Thank you much George. Keystonepaul

[rudolph.est]

Hi George,

I've read that homozygous grizzle gave stork marked birds (on blue) and on ash-red the homo-grizzles are white to near white.

Regards,
Rudolph

[NetRider]

What happens if you mate a spread grizzle to another spread grizzle, can you still get a nearly white bird ?

[MaryOfExeter]

Yes, you can still get nearly white birds. Spread doesn't effect the grizzle, it just effects the color showing on the grizzle (turning blues to black, etc.).

Homozygous grizzle in reds will give you nearly white or completely white birds with colored eyes. In blue, it can still give you an almost white bird, but you will get storks (colored flights and tail). Other things like piebald will help make a homo. blue grizzle totally white.

[jbangelfish]

Spread factor was thought to interrupt grizzle or alter it to mottle, according to Quinn. This seems to hold true at least sometimes. I have black grizzles that look like grizzles as well as black grizzles that look like mottles. It is possible that these are two different grizzles at work.

Quinn also reported that recessive red can also affect grizzle and change it to mottle. I have recessive reds that appear as both grizzled and mottled and again, it may be due to two different types of grizzle. It is also possible that some of these reds are spread, creating mottles.

Kite may mask grizzle altogether and these kite grizzles don't show it but can produce grizzles. This subject bears more study and I don't have the experience with it to speak on it. I have birds that would appear as kite grizzles but they are probably not kites but recessive red carriers showing bronze.

Mating grizzle to grizzle results in stork marked birds that can be very attractive, depending on your point of view. They will have dark wingtips and tails, usually streaked with white, which resembles so called undergrizzle. In ash red breeding, grizzle to grizzle can result in pure white birds and most orange eyed whites are of this type. Homozygous ash red grizzles tend to show very little color, being mostly white or all white. Het ash red grizzles can be just as colorful and grizzled as any other colors.

Grizzle can be a very useful gene but being dominant, it can take over a flock of birds, as ash red and other dominant genes can do. The most visible grizzles are only het grizzle and can still pass on the gene to half of their young. Homozygous grizzle to non grizzle, will result in 100% het grizzles that under most circumstances, will appear as grizzled pigeons.

Bill