Yellow Down

[Diamond dave]

Has anyone made any observations on the colour and length of the yellow down that the babies hatch with. Is it possible to establish the colour of a pigeon or perhaps whether its a cock or hen.......?

 

D.D.

[PIGEON_MAN]

Over the last couple of years I have bred 2 or 3 youngsters with no down at all,these have always turned out to be silver hens.

[sapper756]

some examples

 

 

http://www.secretworld.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/baby-pigeon.jpg

http://www.wildish.eu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/baby-pigeons-in-flower-pot.jpg

 

http://www.eastvalleywildlife.org/images/Pigeon%20Hatchlings.jpg

Edited January 14, 2011 by sapper756

[kirky]

Over the last couple of years I have bred 2 or 3 youngsters with no down at all,these have always turned out to be silver hens.

ybs with no down are always yellows or silvers. silvers are mostly hens but i did manage to breed 2 cocks last year.

[Diamond dave]

Hey Sapper - Fantastic examples - everyone different - but does it mean anything - some are fully covered, some have long down some have short - some seem to hold on to it longer than others and some even keep it after they are fully feathered.

Could you perhaps tell a distance pigeon from a sprinter - there must be some significance to it.

 

D.D.

[greenlands]

ybs with no down are always yellows or silvers. silvers are mostly hens but i did manage to breed 2 cocks last year.

Have you got any photo's of the silver cocks,I can honestly say i've never seen one in 50/60 years.

Lindsay.

[Guest IB]

The BHW Scribes Bilco & Round O spoke about down colour meaning something - golden, plum etc - but as far as I know, neither ever went into detail in print explaining it .

[JohnQuinn]

As in the last example, dark feet have always been dark doos in my team.

[lanarkshire lad]

The BHW Scribes Bilco & Round O spoke about down colour meaning something - golden, plum etc - but as far as I know, neither ever went into detail in print explaining it .

There are far too many old wifes tales told in the pigeon game as far as iam concerned.

[Guest ljb107]

The birds with dark beaks and dark feet will be blues, birds with light beaks and feet will be most other colours. The birds with hardly any down will be dilutes, birds with almost no down at all are normally almonds and qualmonds.

 

Lloyd

[deb]

These yellows and silvers are dilute.As pointed out have no down.If they come from an intence coloured cock.Such as a red cheque or blue,they will always be hens.But if they come from a silver cock or yellow cock,they can be either.Deb

[Guest ljb107]

These yellows and silvers are dilute.As pointed out have no down.If they come from an intence coloured cock.Such as a red cheque or blue,they will always be hens.But if they come from a silver cock or yellow cock,they can be either.Deb

 

Always be hens? What if he is carrying dilute?

[greenlands]

Silver in the nest and same bird a couple of weeks later.

Lindsay.

[Guest ljb107]

Nice dilute blue you have there Lindsay.

 

Lloyd

[Guest beautyhomer]

Always be hens? What if he is carrying dilute?

 

Thats exactly what deb said

 

Any dilutes bred from a normal cock and hen will always be hens

 

 

If you want breed dilute cocks pair a dilute hen back to its sire.Half of all cocks bred will then be dilutes

[Diamond dave]

Can somebody explain "dilute" - looks like a blue bar in the nest - whats "dilute" about it........?

 

D.D.

[Guest beautyhomer]

dilute is a sex linked colour modifying gene.

 

It is recessive so cocks can carry the gene without expressing it if they only have one and not a pair.As it is sex linked hens can only ever have one.

 

The gene expresses itself by washing out or diluting the normal colour,therefore a:-

 

blue bar becomes silver bar

red becomes yellow

black becomes dun

mealy becomes cream etc

 

They can be spotted early in the nest due to little or no down.So in answer to your original question in some cases it is possible to determin the sex and colour of the youngsters.