# penciled parents with white babies?



## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I am breeding two homozygous pencil parents and somehow the baby looks like pure white. What happened to the pencil gene?

The parents are the white ones with black faces:









The baby:


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Are you sure they are pencils?*



RodSD said:


> I am breeding two homozygous pencil parents and somehow the baby looks like pure white. What happened to the pencil gene?
> 
> The parents are the white ones with black faces:
> 
> ...


When they were young, did they show the bronze pencil markings that moulted away? I suppose you could have very light pencil birds that would eventually produce an all white. White tends to increase in birds that show alot of white and all white birds can be bred from a number of combinations. This one would just be another possiblity. If you are certain that the parents are **** pencil, the white youngster should be as well. I'd test it with a more colorful pencil to see what happens.

Bill


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I got those parents as adults. Their parents look like them. Their brothers, sisters, cousins all look like those above. I call them black face birds so I am curious about this baby. I am looking at the head and looking for some black colors on it. I think I'll wait till I see some feathering on the head and will let you know.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*I don't think this is pencil*



RodSD said:


> I got those parents as adults. Their parents look like them. Their brothers, sisters, cousins all look like those above. I call them black face birds so I am curious about this baby. I am looking at the head and looking for some black colors on it. I think I'll wait till I see some feathering on the head and will let you know.


I would expect to see some bronze penciling even on a bird with a white head, if it is pencil.

I'm leaning toward a lack of the pencil gene in this pair but am not certain. Sometimes I just lean and then fall over. 

Does either of this pair show the bronzy look in the color on their heads?

Bill


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## Ed (Sep 18, 2008)

those pics made my neck hurt


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Ston3d,

Me, too! My bad! Sometimes I put my camera on certain angle to get a shot.

Bill,

I'll see if I can find a bigger picture.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Hey Bill,

These are their previous babies:









They had another baby as well and it looks like the above.

I posted their picture on the other thread.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Here is the previous baby as well from the second round last year:









Semi-grown up:









By the way, this bird is my very first hawk victim.

Inspecting closer, it seems the parents have blue heads.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*I remember them now*

Well, they must both be pencil to have those young. Interesting to get a solid white. Eventually, I would mate that white to a pencil to see what happens.

Bill


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