BMustee Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 When my CAG's flight feathers came in I noticed that near the base of each feather there was a large area that had a dark red tint, and he has one feather on the back of his head that has a pink dot at the tip. Would this constitute having Red Factor? I like to search Google Images and I came across some very pretty birds with Red Factor on there, so I thought I would share them with you all for the heck of it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Yes, that is the Red Factor :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 Sweet. I read that red factor greys change with each molt. Would it be possible for mine to one-day molt to look like the one pictured? I didn't get him hoping for red...and neither of his parents are...but when I saw the red in his wings I figured that I got just got lucky if that was in fact red factoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Wow! I've never seen that before. That's so cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 CAG with excess carotene gene----22 yrs old Any grey that has this excess gene, no matter the amount, is not a mutation. Mutation only has to do with hybrid birds. Mutations are caused by people and it's a terrible thing to do because it only has to do with color. People who do this don't give a damn that they're mixing and scrambling 2 personalities. Dave ----------------------------------------------- Hybrids/mutations ---------------------- CAMALOT MACAW PIED RED SEVERE MACAW Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/09/27 19:11 Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/09/27 19:13 Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/09/27 19:16<br><br>Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/09/27 19:23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 geesh...it looks like it fell into a vat of candy corn mix or something<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/09/27 20:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 wow...those macaws are stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 BMustee wrote: Sweet. I read that red factor greys change with each molt. Would it be possible for mine to one-day molt to look like the one pictured? I didn't get him hoping for red...and neither of his parents are...but when I saw the red in his wings I figured that I got just got lucky if that was in fact red factoring. The Red factor can go either way. It could all be replaced with Grey feathers on the first Molt or continue for life. You will just have to wait and see. :-) MRSpock - Those are awesome Photos!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 yeah, could go ether way. I think that normal greys are just as pretty, I'm not going to be let down if he never gets a lot of red...it would be more of just an added bonus. I'll love him the same grey or red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loviechick Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 This question has been brought up before. I myself have a "red factor" CAG if that's what you want to call it. Some say its a genetic mutation, some say it can be caused from stress, poor diet, vitamin deficiencies etc. My CAG that has this was abused, stressed, had a calcium and Vitamin A deficiency and only ate sunflower seeds. So she basically fit all the criteria that it could possibly be caused from. So who knows! Either way I think it's cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Well, the fact that you have a red factor grey has nothing to do with all of the above problems. It's strictly an excess of or lack of genes that control color variation. Somewhere in your parrot's lineage there was an excess of caritoid genes. You might not have seen it in the parents or grandparents but it was definitely there in the past. This is the exact opposite <br><br>Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/09/27 22:41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 So are "red factor" greys just as healthy as typical greys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Absolutely no difference whatsoever. Who's healthier, a redheaded woman or brunette? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Well that's good to know. I just wondered if the genetic difference created any health problems or risks, such as fairer skinned people being more prone to skin cancer...I am so fascinated by this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Very nice pics. There have been other threads here about red factor. Its an interesting topic and I too am curious whether there could be health issues related to birds exhibiting this trait. I have not seen and do not believe there has been much if any research/correlation studies on this issue. Selective breeding may result in different colors etc that in the bird world are referred to as mutations, because they are mutant colors from what is seen in the wild type. Animals that are subject to this process do often have health issues since they may lack the genetic diversity seen in the wild and therefore be prone to health problems. Genetically speaking, a true "mutation" is in fact a random event that happens during cellular replication where the polymerase enzyme makes a mistake when copying DNA sequences, resulting in a mutated sequence (eg changed). Genetic mutations can result in many different effects, one of which could be a mutation to a gene or genes related to feather color/production. Therefore a red factor bird that is overproducing a certain gene is likely a result of a genetic mutation. Sometimes these mistakes result in an advantage to certain animals and this can affect evolution in the animal characteristics over time. However, more often than not the mistake has a negative affect on the animal. Humans could propagate such "mistakes" by selectively breeding the animals that demonstrate the characteristic associated with the mistake. Since the genetic mistakes are rare events the chances in the wild that 2 birds with the mistake would breed is low. So if people do the selective breeding it is not what would happen in nature and can result in unhealthy animals. Sorry if that is information overload.... :blink: <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/28 05:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevjoe Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 MrSpock, Your right on target again. Karma for you SER. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 Like Dan said, the color is a "mutation" and can occur in the wild. It's kind of like Albino animals...they happen but you don't see them in the wild. They get picked off normally not too long after birth so that gene is a huge negative for them and that gene is not carried by many animals because those with it don’t make it long enough to breed, but in captivity they are safe from predators and now that people selectively breed for that mutation there are all kinds of Albinos critters...rats, bunnies, snakes, you name it. A local nature center in my town has an albino raccoon. As far as I know there is not a rash of health problems directly linked to the mutations itself, but like Dan said if the gene pool has been turned into a gene puddle with not enough diversity there will be more health problem…just like pure-breed dogs many times have more problems than mutts, gene pool was not big enough. Here are some cool pics of albino critters <br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/09/28 15:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 [image removed due to copyright issues]<br><br>Post edited by: admin, at: 2009/11/10 09:52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdgranna Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 This is a fascinating post that I had known nothing about. thanks for the great info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MabesM Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Hello everyone! I am new here and found this site trying to find information about the "RED FACTOR" gene! This is a very nice site and i am pleased as usual with GOOGLE! I have joined... Early this summer I inherited 2 "WILD CAUGHT" Congo African Greys, (BREEDERS) I named them Gracie & George (as they had no names before!) with the red factor gene! I had posted pictures of them on another forum and was told that was what it was... these birds are 25 years old... have never been handled unlike many of the lovely pets i have seen on here... I also inherited a Moluucan Cockatoo, and a Blue Fronted Amazon I call Father O'Reilly(HE HICCUPS ALL THE TIME!) I rescued them all from a nasty situation, and i am very pleased with their progress! it's a long and unpleasant story. filthy cages, green water etc... The Greys had not had a clutch in 4 years... when they did the woman left them unattended and the eggs perished... For the 1st while all i did was mist them with bird bath daily... feed them a very well balanced diet and my efforts have paid off! they are looking wonderful! :whistle: last month i put the nesting box on the cage and now i have 3 eggies! i am so thrilled... the greys seem very happy with me... they have a sun room and have plenty of natural light and fresh air. ok.. so i'm kind of babbling here but ... i digress... the greys have the red factor gene and they were not bred that way in captivity, they were wild caught. What does it mean? I will upload some pictures very soon, and update my profile too! thanks for taking the time to read this post... advice on the care of my babies is much appreciated!:side: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 """"""""the greys have the red factor gene and they were not bred that way in captivity, they were wild caught. What does it mean?"""""" Not really sure I understand what you're asking but I'll try to answer based on what I think you're asking. Greys breeding in the wild or in the home has no effect on their color gene excess or lack of excess. The gene is simply there. How far back that development of the special gene occured is anyone's guess. In the wild, greys who will breed don't look upon other greys as being inferior if that coloring is visible. They simply take care of business as usual. The same applies to greys who are being bred in a home environment. If you're asking about what the chicks will look like color wise, that's up to nature. Maybe they will have visible excess coloring, maybe not. The only thing for sure is that the excess color gene will be in the chicks. If they were to breed in the future, that doesn't mean that their offspring will definitely show excess color. It might take 20 yrs to show up again or it might take 1 yr to show up again or any number of years in between. It's all up to nature. In 1992, A federal law was created which banned all species of parrots from being imported into the US from any country but before that, the savages who were doing the capturing tried to avoid nabbing any grey who visibly had that red excess color at the time of capture but for only one reason...they felt that they wouldn't get as much money because the bird wasn't identical looking as the others. What they didn't know was that many normal looking greys already had that gene even though it wasn't visible. Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/10/07 17:48<br><br>Post edited by: MrSpock, at: 2007/10/07 17:56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Very intresting Dave, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MabesM Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Thank you for your replies... i am aware the wild caught greys were brutally captured... i have been doing research on the whole thing... i've seen the pictures ... heartbreaking! they are safe with me now... everyday i am learning more and more thanks to peeps like you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 MabesM Wrote : "I rescued them all from a nasty situation, and i am very pleased with their progress! it's a long and unpleasant story. filthy cages, green water etc... " God Bless you for taking on such a task and providing these guys a first "Real Home" with the love and attention they have direly needed for years. I love rescue stories like this. It is so good to know that there are people interested at all costs, not only monetary, but also time and sacrifice wise to do such a wonderful work. Thanks for introducing yourself and your "Flock". :-) Maybe we could see some photos when you get a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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