# Ash-red cockbird question



## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I noticed this a while back but forgot to ask about it 
I've got a pied red check bird, and it's very obvious it is carrying blue. But there's one thing on it that I haven't seen before. It has one blue bar tail feather. Now I know they're supposed to have blue FLECKS, but a whole feather, with the bar and all?? Is that normal?

I'll get pics later, as I'm off to a chicken swap!


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Hi Becky*



MaryOfExeter said:


> I noticed this a while back but forgot to ask about it
> I've got a pied red check bird, and it's very obvious it is carrying blue. But there's one thing on it that I haven't seen before. It has one blue bar tail feather. Now I know they're supposed to have blue FLECKS, but a whole feather, with the bar and all?? Is that normal?
> 
> I'll get pics later, as I'm off to a chicken swap!


How about somewhat normal? A couple of guys were showing birds like this in rollers and homers on another site. Most of them were not almond, just ash reds with alot more than the normal amount of flecking and some whole blue feathers like you describe.

Most would think they were almonds and that was the point. What makes some ash reds do this to such a degree, I have no idea.

I have a recessive red agate roller with 3 blue tail feathers. Looks weird and I don't know exactly why he is that way either, something about an incomplete saturation of recessive red. Why is what I don't understand.

They could be considered a type of mosaic but many would not want to label them as such.

Bill


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*HI BECKEY & BILL, I also have a recessive red that shows 1 blue tail feather.This comes out of a pair of blues that carry the recessive red gene.I feel that all three of the birds we are talking about here are cocks split for blue. BECKEY I feel that your red pied is in fact a recessive red, and not an ash red.I not sure how we would have to test breed your bird to find out. have you bred this pied red and what did you get? By the way I call my recessive red the PATRIOT because the blue feather makes hin red, white ,and blue lol* GEORGE


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Apparently my eyes fooled me. Half the feather is a blue bar tail feather, which happened to be the half that stuck out in sight  Mine is just a plain ole ash red cockbird. I know he's carrying blue, as he does have other normal flecks throughout the tail. Just thought it was odd that that fleck would expand so much as to make the feather look like a blue bar feather. He's mated to a blue bar, and I allowed them to have one clutch. He's apparently a red check split for both blue and bar, as both babies looked like mom. I'll upload the tail pictures.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Here's the bird. Going to find the tail feather picture.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Here's the weird feather that tricked me  Still, what part of it that IS blue, is definitely very blue.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Hi BECKEY, The tail feather of your bird shows a large black fleck, where as in my bird the feather is a true blue type tail of a bar or check bird.After seeing the photo of your bird I would have to say that he is a normal red check pied split for blue. Now I know that a blue bird can carry the gene for recessive red and I believe that two blue birds carring this gene will produce recessive red young.* GEORGE


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Well it's an awfully large fleck  I just thought it was weird because it shows the bar and everything.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

MaryOfExeter said:


> Well it's an awfully large fleck  I just thought it was weird because it shows the bar and everything.


*Hi BECKEY,I have seen ash reds that were very heaverly fleck and in some cases the flecking got heavier as they got older, * GEORGE


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