What does the lutino bald spot look like?

**RobinD** · 09-02-2007, 12:59 PM

I have my convalescing cockatiel pearl hen and the back of her head is pretty bald, but I don't remember feathers there, so I was wondering what the lutino bald spot actually looked like. I couldn't find any pictures on this forum or the internet showing the bald area.

Tillie's area is covered when she flattens down her crest, but when her crest is up you can see the ridges to her brain casing. The totally bald area is about the size of a penny, pretty big on such a small head.

**Joey28** · 09-02-2007, 03:11 PM

hmn I couldn't find a picture either mayeb someone who has one can take one. BUT I could tell you about bald spots, bald spots are gentically inherited it started with the Lutino and it is more common in the Lutino but other mutations can also carry it.

Thats the reason why I try to stay away from Lutino and some birds that I have are off of Lutino hens...that had major bald spots but I would not put them back to anything that has a bald spotted parent in it's pedigree because it would just come back. (this was put very confusing even to me LOL but I don't have time to edit it)

It sometimes takes 10 generations to breed it out but breeders like me are trying to imrpove the bald spot.

**RobinD** · 09-02-2007, 04:31 PM

Tillie has started to molt, so she is a mess! and she has been sick for eight weeks and it is DEFINITELY a bad hair day! But nonetheless, here is her bald spot. I am hoping that some of it will fill in, but we'll see. What this could be is long-time nutritional deficiency instead, but do you think this looks like the lutino inherited bald spot? By the way, when she stretches out her neck she is bald there too (looks like a bobblehead lol). Otherwise, she is fully feathered. Her feathers to my eyes are well-formed and plentiful. And in this photo you can see that her back feathers look brown, not grey.

**Joey28** · 09-02-2007, 05:38 PM

Yes that looks like a bald spot and it could be Lutino inherited yes, but remember it sometimes can take 10 generations before it doesn't show up in the offspring anymore.

If she is missing feathers on her neck she could have been feather plucked.

Sometimes it does fill in, Bingo had a small one when she was young after a year hers filled in there is nothing there and I just bred her to Corey who is a Grey split to Pied & Lutino (which I didn't know) but they produced a Pied, Grey & Lutino. Her Lutino daughter has no bald spot at all. I am keeping the Pied but I will not breed him to anything that has had a bald spotted bird in its back ground.

**Cashewsbaby3** · 09-07-2007, 06:15 AM

Yep that sure is a bald spot and is mostly in the Lutino Lines only but could be carried in other lines[I have several color mutations from pearl to whiteface lutinos and almost everything inbetween but only my whiteface Lutinos(Albinos) and one pair that has a lutino hen have the baldspot but she is with a whiteface gray male so the spots don't show up but in one or two.

**RobinD** · 09-07-2007, 06:24 AM

Thanks, looks like some of the edges are filling in with solid yellow feathers, but the bald center reminds me of Friar Tuck!

**elfhome** · 09-07-2007, 06:28 AM

I agree Robin. She looks like a medieval Franciscan monk!

**RobinD** · 09-07-2007, 06:53 AM

What I find curious is that her crest, when she lays it down, exactly fills in the bald spot!

**PCLead99** · 09-07-2007, 04:13 PM

Our Lutino cockatiel had a bald spot, but it was lower on his head. I read it comes from inbreeding?

**Joey28** · 09-07-2007, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by PCLead99

Our Lutino cockatiel had a bald spot, but it was lower on his head. I read it comes from inbreeding?

That is how it orginated (I think they orginated in California) someone had a Lutino pop up and they bred that family and kept of breeding it to produce many lutinos. The Lutino mutation was very rare than so they kept on breeding it and this is how the bald spot started...

It was the 2nd mutation to come out in captivity.