Still wondering if my albino finches are normal?

[finchlove]

I have two "albino" finches - out of a clutch of 3 eggs (8 mos old - 1 male/1 fem) who are completely white w/ ruby eyes - both from dark parents (I'm not a breeder, obv.). Wondering how this happened and if this is even semi-common. Will they have any potential blindness problems? They are really beautiful and seem uncommon.

[5borders]

Genetics are a funny thing. Sorry, since no-one seemed to step up and answer I’ll give it a go. I do not deal with finches per say, I actually had a white/albino female given to me years ago which indeed was blind. I could have sworn she could see shapes at first but it did become obvious later she went completely blind, this if course never stopped her nor hindered her life. I just had to remember to always whistle the same song when approaching so she knew it was me as well as when cleaning or changing her cage I always put everything back exactly as it was, one bar of for a perch and she knew. Of course I am not sure if yours will go blind but from what I know this is a high probability. Genetics otherwise, there must be a dominant white factor involved in both of the parents backgrounds. They may both be splits and just don’t show it physically. For a bird to arrive and be all white and have red eyes this can only occur two ways. One by mutation but that is not likely do to you received two. The other is the parents most of both had parents themselves carrying the dominant white factor. It could be recessive in the grand parents and parents but became dominant with two splits carrying it. With us dark hair and eyes is always dominant over blond her and blue eyes, in birds this is generally the same except for white. In birds recessive white can be over powered by dark or melanin since yellows and recessive white or lip chrome always loses to the darker even if it comes in a variegated form. This stops when the recessive white gets intensified and becomes dominant. At that point it will win out every time. In canaries we always watch for what is called cinnamon or blues, which carry a diluted gene and white. If you aren’t careful with the pairings your entire flock will start to become various shades of white to all white. This of course then becomes dangerous in to dominant strains paired is a lethal factor, meaning no young will hatch or if they do will not live. Since canaries are also in the finch family I would look up everything you can on genetics and dominant factors in white canaries. This information will apply directly to your needs and birds as well as your search for true answers, be ready genetics can hurt your head. You may want to look at hard and soft feathering as it applies as well, defined as: hard feathering is equated to intensive and soft is muted. In some cases you never mix two intensive birds, in others you never mix soft feathered birds either. Both can be done but specific problems can occur, but that is another very long discussion.

[Kerry C]

I don’t do finches, but if they follow budgie & Lovebird genetics - red eye is sex linked, meaning it’s on the female chromosome. A cock can be split for the mutation (he has 2), but a hen can not (she only has 1) thus if she has it – she must show the mutation. SO some of this cocks daughters can be red eyes, but non of his sons will be red eyed.

Now if you put a red eyed hen with this cock. Then SOME of the sons could be red eyed, or the normal looking sons will be split for red eye. ALL the daughters will be red eyed.