Genetics

American Pansy is a newly classified mutation. Originally thought to be basic Redhead or Sparkly, or some combination with fawn, it was sold in the United States as early as 2010. However, recent test breeding by Jen Jordan and Rebecca Lynch have found an isolated, separate mutation.

It acts similar to Sparkly and regular Redhead, in that it increases red and black pigment, creating larger "splotches" on the bird. In homozygous, isolated form, it is believed to cause a deep red color with white tips and black centers, almost mimicking the white laced red variety in chickens.

It is unknown how prevalent this gene is and further studying is currently underway.

Andalusian is a dilution in coturnix quail that causes the bird to have a light grey color and white wingtips with only one copy. With two copies of the gene, it is almost completely lethal, and most quail will die in the shell without hatching. Those that survive will be a light, pale white color. It is different from silver in that there will be patches of "normal" colored feathers across the body.

It is mixed into the Schofield Silver Collection, though the gene has been isolated in the US and abroad.

Autosomal Cinnamon creates a light orange, tan-colored bird with dark, ruby red eyes. It looks visually similar to Sex-Linked Cinnamon, but is a simple autosomal recessive. It is also referred to as "orange" and "buff" in studies.

It is semi-lethal, with a large increase in mortality right as the chicks hatch until they reach adulthood. Birds that do survive are often sensitive to light. It is not believed to be in public hands at this time - all of the public lines of Cinnamon are Sex-Linked Cinnamon instead of Autosomal.

The sex-linked barring gene creates a pattern of white bars across each feather of the bird. Chicks will be mostly dark grey, with a small white patch on the back of the head. It is most commonly seen in barred, crele, and cuckoo varieties in numerous breeds.

It is both sexlinked and autosexing, meaning that it can be crossed with other varieties in a specific way to create sexable-at-hatch chicks, and that barred chicks can be sexed at hatch as well. Males will tend to have a bigger white spot on the back of their head than females.

The APA recognizes the following breeds with the barring gene: Cochin, Holland, Japanese, Plymouth Rock, d'Anver, Old English Game, Dominique.

Birchen is a popular base pattern on the E locus in chickens. It causes the bird to have a black body with gold edging through the head and hackles, with males having more red through the cape and saddle as well. Both sexes will have some lacing going down into the breast. Birchen itself often has other genes added on to create an all-black bird, or covered up with other genes to create spangling, lacing, barring, and more patterns.

In order of dominance, it is less dominant than Extended Black, but more dominant than any other mutation on the E locus, including the natural duckwing/wildtype.

Birchen by itself is recognized in American Game, bantam Cochins, Modern Game, and bantam Old English Game. It can be used to create many other accepted varieties as well.

The black coat gene is a dominant mutation in pigs that causes the swine to have a black coat. It is completely dominant, meaning that if you cross a true black pig with a red or spot pig, all of the piglets will still be black with only one copy of the gene. They can have a white belt or even be all white with the addition of different white and color genes.

It is a requirement for Hampshires and Large Black Pigs. It is not the same gene in Berkshires, Poland, or Spots.

There are currently two proposed modifier genes that extend the black coloration of a quail. They both made the bird overall darker, and it is unknown if they are two separate mutations or just two different expressions. The first, "Myrle", is in the United States, while the second, "Onyx", is in Australia.

Both need more research.

Black-at-Hatch is a gene in coturnix quail that, in heterozygous form, causes the bird to have partial black back as a chick that molts into a slightly darker shade of brown as the chick feathers out. In homozygous form, the gene is lethal, causing the bird to hemorrhage in the embryo and fail to fully develop.

It is not believed to be in public hands at this time, though still exists in university labs.

Blau, often called Blue, in coturnix quail is similar to blue in chickens or turkeys. It has a wide range of shades, from a light grey to dark blue, and is currently compatible with every known mutation.

In heterozygous (one copy) blue, it makes the bird a light grey on Pharaoh and EB bases. On Fawn bases (Italian and Manchurian), the bird will be a orangish ginger color. It doesn't change the underlying base pattern and is still easy to sex and tell the base pattern of the quail.

In homozygous form, the bird will be a very light cream to pure white. It isn't usually possible to figure out the base pattern or sex without vent sexing.

Blue is one of the mutations in the Schofield Silver Collection. It doesn't have any known health defects in any form, and isn't on the same locus as Silver, Andalusian, or Lavender.

Blue is most commonly known for the "blue, black, splash" genetics, as it presents two distinct forms. It is the most common and often only way to achieve the blue or splash variety in any breed.

In heterozygous form (one copy of blue), the bird will appear a slatey-blue color. It is most often seen with a slight lacing of darker blue or black (found with the lacing gene). In homozygous form (two copies of blue), the variety is called splash and will be a light grey or white undercolor, with spots of black or blue feathers across the body. The absence of either form of blue is usually black.

The APA recognizes the blue variety (heterozygous form) in Ameraucana, Andalusian, Cochin, Jersey Giant, Langshan, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Sumatra, and Wyandotte.
However, it only recognizes splash (homozygous form) in Ameraucana, Cochin, and Modern Game.

The blue egg gene is an incomplete dominant gene in chickens that causes the bird to lay a beautiful blue colored egg. This is caused from an increase of Biliverdin deposited onto the egg in the shell gland.

With one copy of the gene, the egg with be a paler blue then the brilliant robin's egg color often seen with homozygous (two copies) of the gene. Blue egg can also be mixed with the brown egg gene to create green eggs in various shades. Birds will typically lay the most vibrant egg colors at the beginning of each reproductive cycle and lighten up as the season goes on.

Blue and green eggs in any shade do not have any impact on the overall nutritional value, egg size, egg shape, bird health, or general plumage traits, however the blue egg gene can cause the bird to lay less eggs overall.

The trait is most often seen in Ameraucanas and Araucanas, the only two recognized APA breeds to lay blue eggs, but can be bred into any breed. It is also a trait bred for in hatchery Americanas (Ameraucana crossbreds), Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers, Crested Cream Legbars, and Isrudds.

The buttercup gene is the gene behind the buttercup comb. It looks like two single combs that form a general cup or crown shape instead of the typical single comb.

The gene is linked to the general duplex comb locus, making it similar to the V-comb and other comb types where the typical single comb is split in two. A bird cannot have two copies of both the v-comb gene and the buttercup gene at the same time.

It is found on the Buttercup and Caumont breeds, though only the Sicilian Buttercup is recognized by the APA.

Calico is a gene in coturnix quail that causes the bird to have wider striations (lines) on their back, and decreased overall patterning. It was originally classified as recessive but later reclassified as incomplete dominant, meaning you can see it in heterozygous form.

In homozygous form, the classic "calico" look on pharaoh has increased and very wide cream/yellow striations on the back, along with more black markings and almost no breast spots on females and fainter colors against the mask. They can still be feather sexed by the mask. On EB, calico enhancement looks almost identical to fawn enhancement, in that it creates yellow barring across the feathers.

In heterozygous form, the markings are incredibly faint. The "lines" along the back will be slightly wider and the breast spots will be slightly reduced overall.

Celadon is a gene in coturnix quail that causes the hens to lay light blue eggs. The egg can be any shade of blue, from a very pale, almost white color to a vibrant robin's egg blue and even some light shades of green. Eggs may be a solid color or speckled with brown.

It is completely separate from plumage genes--the celadon gene can be bred into any color or size of coturnix quail, and the color of the egg does not change the color of the feather. The celadon gene also does not "develop", the bird will either lay blue eggs for its whole life or not at all. It also is entirely recessive, meaning there are no signs if a bird carries the gene.

Chocolate is a sex-linked gene in chickens and ducks that causes the bird to be a deep, chocolate brown color. It is thought to be a similar mutation, though different inheritance, to the dark brown color seen in mice, cattle, sheep, pigs, cats, rabbits, and sheep, and the light color seen in quail and human hair.

Chocolate is sexlinked, meaning that it can be used to create a one-off batch where the chicks/ducklings can be sexed immediately at hatch. This is useful in hard-to-sex breeds like silkies.

Chocolate is not currently recognized by the APA in any chicken breeds, though it is recognized in Call, Muscovy, and Runner ducks.

Cinnamon (also called Fawn) is a dilution gene that causes the color of King Quail to be a light tan color. There is a large variation in shades of cinnamon quail, ranging from a very dark, grey-brown color to a lighter, reddish tan coloration.

Originally, it was thought that Fawn and Cinnamon were two separate mutations, but it is now believed that it is just one gene with a large range of color. Cinnamon is recessive, meaning you can only see it with two copies. The Cinnamon found in the United States is not sex-linked.

Bird pictured is cinnamon with tuxedo.

The clench gene in quail is a little-studied mutation that causes quail to be born with curled toes that didn't self-correct, and is strong enough to prevent the chicks from walking properly on their feet. The toes were curled up to the top joint on the foot, and both chicks and adults. The bird tends to walk on either the side of their curled feet, or the actual joint itself.

This is a different gene and more extreme than the curled toe gene found in chickens. A similar clenched toe trait can also be found in chickens that fail to develop their leg muscles properly during hatching, either from a riboflavin or linoliec acid deficiency, or from pulling the chick from the shell without the chance for it to properly develop its leg and toe muscles.

The Columbian gene in chickens restricts the black pigment to the extremes of the bird - typically the wing tips, ends of the hackle feathers, and the ends of the tail will be black. It is an autosomal dominant gene, though some leakage may happen in the females with only one copy of the gene.

It is also used in combination with several other genes to create buff, laced, light, and other varieties.

The combless gene in chickens causes the bird to have a completely absent comb in the hens and very minimal comb in the males (usually just two small stubs across the top of the beak. It is completely recessive, and works only in combination with the duplex comb gene and likely the rose comb gene.

It is overall understudied due to the rareness of any combless chickens. The only breed known without a comb is the Breda fowl, which have been taken off the APA SOP due to inactivity, though there are currently a few breeders with the gene in the United States.

The crested gene creates a "poof" of feathers from the top of the skull in chickens. It is most commonly seen in Sultans, Polish, Houdans, and Silkies, though the shape of the crests vary wildly from breed to breed. This is due to the feather length, width, and shape that changes by breed.

Generally, the heterozygous forms of crested have smaller shaped crests, while the homozygous form has larger and more developed crests. Males will often have more prominent crest shapes than females in both forms.

The homozygous form of crest has also been linked to malformed skulls and head-shapes, though it is uncertain whether a second, linked gene is responsible for this or if it is due to the crested gene itself.

The APA recognizes Silkies, Sultans, Polish, Houdans, and Crevecoeur chickens to have crests.

Curly is a mutation only found in quail that is different from the frizzle seen in chickens. It is a completely recessive gene that causes the feathers to look ruffled through the back and wings. The bird will have this ruffled feather look from hatch through maturity, though it will look the most frizzle-like and curly around 10 days of age.

It is worth noting that Curly is also different from normal feather damage from breeding. Curly is a natural gene and the ruffled feathers will stay constant through all of the adult molts, especially the bird is separated from others.

Defective feathering causes the barbs on the feathers of quail to become twisted, so that they have an overall ragged appearance. It can be seen at hatch and gets more prominent as the birds grow their feathers in. Females tend to be more impacted than males.

It is controlled by two separate genes, one dominant and the other recessive, meaning that it is hard to breed. It is not currently believed to be in public hands at this time.

Dilute is one of the lesser-studied genes in chickens. It causes the overall red coloration from gold or mahogany to be a lighter shade of orange. It is one of the genes used to make the Buff variety. More research needs to be done overall on the buff variety and dilute genes. It is likely incomplete dominant, though this hasn't been confirmed in any studies.

The APA recognizes Buff as a variety in the following breeds:
Ameraucana, Brahma, Catalana, Cochin, Cornish, Naked Neck, Orpington, Wyandotte, and Plymouth Rock, though Plymouth Rocks for sure do not utilize the dilute gene to create buff.

The rumpless gene causes the chicken to have no tail feathers. It removes the oil gland on the tail, all of the tail feathers, and either one or two of the last spinal vertebrae on the bird. It can also cause a fusing of some of the lower spinal column in some cases too. Breeds with natural rumplessness include the Araucana, Piao, Kaulhuhn, and d'Everberg chickens. All of these breeds often have decreased fertility and hatch rates, likely due to skeletal reproductive issues.

The mutation appears close to the same in both homozygous and heterozygous form, though most birds when tested are heterozygous, making many researchers believe that the homozygous form of the gene also causes lower hatch rates.

The APA recognizes only one rumpless breed: the Araucana.

Dominant white is a gene that restricts the black pigment in chickens. It causes the bird to keep all of the red tones, but none of the black.

The APA recognizes white in either dominant or recessive form in the following breeds: Ameraucana, American Game, Araucana, Aseel, d'Anver, d'Uccle, Booted Bantam, Chantecler, Cochin, Cubalaya, Dorking, Cornish, Favorelles, Hamburg, Holland, Houdan, Japanese, Jersey Giant, Lamona, Langshan, Leghorn (typically dominant white), Malay, Marans, Minorca, Modern Game, Naked Neck, Old English, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Polish, Rhode Island White, Rosecomb, Serama, Silkie, Spanish, Sultan, Wyandotte and Yokohama.

Ermine and paint are unrecognized by the APA, though Ameraucana breeders are working to accept Ermine Ameraucana.

Dotted White is a mutation in coturnix quail that increases the amount of white in a bird.

In heterozygous form (often called tuxedo), the bird will have varying amounts of white. Typically, the white will be focused around the breast and wingtips of the bird, though it can be bred to be as little as a few feathers, or as much as half of the bird. Specific lines can be bred to show more or less white consistently, and are often called tuxedo.

In homozygous form, the bird will be almost all white, with a small dot of the original base pattern on the top of the head (hence the name 'dotted white', though these are also called "English white"). This dot can also be bred to be bigger or smaller, and some lines do not have the dot at all.

Dotted White are often mistakenly called Texas A&M. This is incorrect, as Texas A&M no longer exist.

Downless is causes quail to hatch out with minimal to no feathering. Some chicks will be "patchy", and others don't have any feathers or fluff. After a few molts, most chicks do grow in some feathering. Most quail with downless will appear completely normal as an adult, with complete feathering, though some birds will still miss patches of feathers.

Males are sterile, though females can lay some eggs. It is controlled by two separate recessive genes that work together to create the overall downless mutation. This makes it incredibly difficult to track through different flocks. Recently, birds have been bred by Thieving Otter Farm that match the overall description of Downless as well as the affects of the gene. Because of this, it is suspected that the two recessive genes are in pubic hands and just very rare to be bred together.

The Duplex Comb gene causes the chicken's comb to branch off into two separate combs towards the back of the skull. It interacts with the single comb, pea comb, and rose comb, but is on the same locus as the buttercup comb. This is the main gene that creates the "v-comb" seen in several breeds.

The APA recognizes the Crevecoeur, La Fleche, Houdan, Polish, and Sultan to have the duplex comb gene. Other breeds that naturally have the gene include the Appenzeller Spitzhauben and the Dutch Owlbeard.

The ear-tuft gene in Japanese quail causes the bird to grow feathers from the side of its face. It is a different, more extreme mutation than the Throat Tuft gene also seen in quail, and similar to the Tufted gene in chickens though it is recessive and not completely lethal.

It causes quite a few structural, facial, and ear issues in quail, more common than seen with Throat Tufted birds and more extreme. When crossed with Throat Tuft, there are several additional defects that pop up, including bones protruding from the face. In both cases, the bird can still thrive and reproduce.

It is not currently believed to be in public hands, though breeders have reported birds with feathers coming from the face.

Extended black is a base plumage in chickens. It is found on the E locus, and is the most dominant of all the bases. It causes an increased amount of eumelanin, or black pigment, in chickens, and is similar to the EB gene in coturnix quail and several mammals.

Chicks on with extended black bases typically are a dark grey to black color, with white patches through the front and breast. Chickens will often grow out with darker feathers, and black skin through the feet and beak of the bird if there aren't additional dilutions on top.

The APA currently recognizes black in the following breeds: Ameraucana, American Game, Australorp, d'Anver, Booted, Cochin, Cornish, Crevecoeur, Cubalaya, Dutch, Hamburg, Japanese, Java, Jersey Giant, LaFleche, Langshan, Malay, Modern Game, Old English Game, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rosecomb, Shamo, Sumatra, and Wyandotte (typically Partridge based). It is worth noting that is it possible to get black in these breeds without using the E base.

EB is the mutation that causes both Rosetta (one copy of the gene) and Tibetan (two copies of the gene). In both cases, it makes the entire bird a dark brown color, including the beak and skin on the feet. Darker birds are almost universally preferred for EB. These birds must be vent-sexed, as the entire breast is a brown color instead of feather sexable.

In Rosetta (heterozygous EB), the bird will be almost entirely reddish brown, but will have light yellow shafts going vertically up each feather (1). These will not breed true, as they have one copy of EB.

In Tibetan, the entire bird will be a dark brown, and the shaft of each feather will be brown instead of yellow. They can be a very dark, almost black color, but are not to be confused with Recessive Black or other dark birds. These will breed true.

Extended brown in button quail is almost identical to the EB gene in coturnix quail. It creates an almost all brown bird, with the typical orange feet and slight black markings on the back. It strips the remarkable "bib" found on the wildtype and dilutes, making it impossible to feather sex in homozygous form. It is also often called the Blue Faced gene in buttons.

In homozygous form, the bird is all brown and black. In heterozygous (one copy), there will be some faint blue leakage in the back and breast feathers, and males may have some red coloration near the vent, but the majority of the bird will be a dark brown.

Fallow is an pleiotropic recessive gene in button quail, likely a form of incomplete albino. It causes the quail to be a light, pale tan across the body. It is pleiotropic, meaning it affects more aspects than just feather color-- in this case, it causes the chicks to start with a red eye that often fades into a light blue as the birds age.

It is a very new mutation in the United States, a more research needs to be done to determine the inheritance. It is suspected to be autosomal, but some breeders believe it is on the INO locus, which is responsible for sex-linked impartial albino genes like Cinnamon in Coturnix quail and a "ghost pattern" in Budgerigar. Whether this is the same gene as Cinnamon is yet to be determined.

The gene also is associated with a slow growth rate, low fertility, and vision issues. The more red the eye, the more the vision is impaired. However, there are decently stable lines in the United States and abroad, proving that Fallow buttons can be healthy.

Fawn is the mutation that causes both Italian (one copy of the gene) and Manchurian (two copies of the gene). In both cases, it makes the bird a light yellow color, with black and red markings. It is feather sexable in both forms--males will often have red faces or markings on the head, while females have two fine black lines on the head.

For Italian (heterozygous Fawn), the bird will be a golden straw color with black "v" shaped marks on each feather. They should have a clean mask, with a thin strap of off-white feathering under their chins. Poorly marked Italians will not have black on every feather, but should still have more markings than a Manchurian.

For Manchurian (homozygous Fawn) the bird will be the same straw color, but ideally without black markings. They will often have white shafting across the back, and while there may be some residual black "v" marks, these should still be significantly less markings than in Italian.

Fee is a dilution mutation that changes the brown plumage in coturnix quail to be grey. It does not change the pattern of the feathers itself, but rather the underlying color.

In homozygous form (two copies), the bird will be entirely black, white, and shades of grey. In hetero form (one copy of fee, one "natural"), the plumage will be mainly shades of black and white, though there will be some color leakage. In both forms, the fee is clearly visible.

This gene causes black skin, eyes, organs, and some plumage colors in chickens. Contrary to some media, the fibro gene in chickens does not cause the chicken to also lay black eggs. It is most commonly seen in the Ayam Cemani and Silkie breeds, though it can be introduced into other crosses and has been recently seen in the Zombie Cross (Leghorn x Cemani).

It is considered an almost completely dominant gene, meaning that it is very hard to tell if a bird has only one copy or two copies of the gene, and all crosses will share similar characteristics (black skin, organs, eyes, etc.) It is not uncommon to see white toenails, lighter grey tongues, or other slight color leakage in homozygous or heterozygous form.

The APA only recognizes Silkies with black skin, though the Ayam Cemani Breeders Association is working to get APA recognition as well.

Fray is a mutation in coturnix quail that causes the bird to have mild ruffled or missing feathers across the back of the head and neck. In extreme cases, the bird will be missing most of it's feathers. It works similarly to the Defective Feathers gene.

It is controlled by two separate genes, one dominant and the other recessive, and is not believed to be in public hands at this time.

Frizzle is a feather modifier gene. In heterozygous form, it causes in the feathers to curl backwards across the body of the bird, with the tips of the feather pointing towards the head instead of lying flat. There are no health affects in the normal presentation of hetero. frizzle, aside from birds being more prone to the cold as they can't regulate their temperature as well.

In homozygous form, it presents as "frazzle", where the entire feather is so curled that the shaft becomes brittle. The feathers in a frazzle bird often cause pain to the bird as the feathers snap off frequently, and breeding for frazzle is considered inhumane.

It is recognized by the APA on any breed. It is most commonly found in bantam Cochins, Silkies, and Serama, though a few other breeds like d'Uccles and Favorelles have had frizzle introduced.

Ginger is a recent gene discovered in the United States by Michael Rose with Southwest Gamebirds and sold Rebecca Lynch of Thieving Otter Farm. It was released in the SSSS Collection in 2023, though it was in the United States before the release. Ginger dilutes the color of the bird but doesn't change the underlying pattern.

It looks very similar to Roux, making the whole bird a few shades lighter than both Roux and Sex-linked Brown. It is sex-linked recessive, just as Roux is, meaning that if paired correctly, chicks can be sexed at hatch based on color alone.

Henny feathering (often called hen feathering) is a mutation in chickens that causes the males to grow in female plumage. It is caused by an increased level of estrogen and decreased levels of testosterone in the feather and skin cells of the chickens, which prevents the long hackle and saddle feathers typically seen in males (called benny feathering).

It is an incomplete dominant trait. Male birds with only one copy of the gene will show higher levels of testerone in the skin, but still look almost completely henny feathered. Females with either form of the gene do not have any noticable differences.

The APA recognizes Sebrights and Campines, both breeds that require hen feathering in the males. Henny feathering has also been noted in Leghorns, and could be bred into any breed.

Imperfect albino is a pleiotropic gene (meaning it affects more than just plumage/feather color) in quail that strips the bird of almost all of the melanin. The bird will be almost entirely white with yellowish undertones and will also have red, sensitive eyes.

It is also sexlinked, meaning that it is possible to set a hatch where you can tell males from females as day-olds. It is similar to the sexlinked Cinnamon, but albino will be whiter overall and have a yellow-grey undercolor instead of the brown undercolor of cinnamon. Albino will also have more sensitive and brighter red of eyes, and the heads of chicks will often be see-through.

Albino is not common and many breeders avoid it due to the eye issues and other health concerns. It is in public hands in the United States and abroad, but mostly is just found in labs and very few people publically sell albino lines.

In homozygous form, Lavender will appear any range of grey, with the main pattern showing through. Reddish tones around the neck are also common. It tends to have more base pattern and color than hetero silver would when on a Pharaoh background, and also doesn't have white wingtips unless it has white winged pied or tuxedo dilutions over it. Because Lavender is recessive, you will not see it in heterozygous form.

It is unknown how prominent Lavender is as a whole in the United States, or in other countries across the world. It has been reported to be mixed into the SSC collection, though it is not isolated and there are no "true" Lavender lines being publically sold in the US. A majority of grey birds are actually heterozygous Silver and Andalusian instead of lavender.

Lavender can look nearly identical to the Andalusian, silver, and Blau mutations, as all three have a wide range of grey colors. All three are also mixed in the Schofield Silver Collection bloodline. The best way to tell them apart is by their genetic background and their offspring.

Lavender is a recessive mutation in chickens that causes the bird to become a washed out, light grey color. It is often called "self-blue", a term more generally used in exhibition poultry. Similar mutations (though different genes) are also seen in mice, humans, and quail. Lavender birds often have a slightly ragged look to their feathers, though it is unknown if this is caused by the gene itself or by the line of birds.

Lavender is not currently recognized by the APA in any breed, though "self-blue" is recognized in Ameraucana, d'Anvers, Booted, Old English Game, and Silkies.

There are multiple separate lethal mutations grouped together here for Coturnix quail. Hereditary Multiple Malformation (HMM), Stumpy Limb and Short Beak all present very similar, in that they are lethal in homozygous form and indetectable in heterozygous form. It has not been confirmed whether they are separate mutations or not, though each presents slightly differently in the embryo.

Almost all of them will kill the developing embryo before they hatch in varying stages of development, and are not believed to be in public hands at this time.

Lethal yellow, not to be confused with Fawn or Calico, is a gene on ASIP in Coturnix quail. In heterozygous form, it causes light, straw-colored feathers similar to Italian, but with some associated health issues. In homozygous form, the gene is lethal and most embryos will die within a few days of development. It is not currently believed to be in public hands at this time.

Light down is an incomplete dominant mutation in coturnix that causes birds with one copy to have slightly lighter color with wider striations across the back. With two copies of the gene, the quail appears a light cream color but always has neurological issues and dies within a week if it manages to hatch at all.

It is not currently believed to be in public hands at this time.

Melanotic is a simple mutation in chickens that extended the overall black plumage color in chickens. Some patterning often comes through with melanotic alone, though it depends on the underlying base. The gene does not extend the black pigment to the skin, beak, or shanks, which will often stay the typical white color. It also doesn't change much of the overall chick down, so chicks with only Melanotic will typically stay a dark patterned color, and then feather out completely or nearly completely black.

The APA currently recognizes black in the following breeds: Ameraucana, American Game, Australorp, d'Anver, Booted, Cochin, Cornish, Crevecoeur, Cubalaya, Dutch, Hamburg, Japanese, Java, Jersey Giant, LaFleche, Langshan, Malay, Modern Game, Old English Game, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rosecomb, Shamo, Sumatra, and Wyandotte (typically Partridge based). (4)

It is worth noting that is it possible to get black in these breeds without using melanotic, and not all of these bird with melanotic will appear solid, show quality black. There are also varieties outside of black that use the melanotic gene.

The mottling gene in chickens creates a pattern of white spangles across the tip of usually black feathers. It is a fairly common mutation, and the birds will exhibit more white across the feathers and more white-tipped feathers overall as the bird ages. It has also been suggested that the mottled gene is the same as the recessive pied gene in chickens.

It is completely recessive, meaning you will only see white spangling with two copies of the gene. It is often used in combination with other mutations to create varieties such as millie fleur (mahogany + colombian + mottled), speckled (wheaton + gold dilute + mahogany + mottled), and porcelain (mahogany + colombian + lavender + mottled).

The APA recognizes the following breeds with mottling: d'Anver, d'Uccle, Cochin (bantam), Cornish (bantam), Houdan, Japanese, and Java.

They also recognize the following breeds with millie fleur: Old English, and the following breeds with both porcelain and millie fleur: d'Anver, d'Uccle, and Booted. Spangled is an accepted variety for Aseel, Cornish, Malay, Old English, and Sussex are recognized for their speckled variety.

The beard and muff gene in chickens causes the bird to present feathers from the side of the head around to the bottom of the beak, creating a "beard" like look. The muff is defined as the feathers from the side of the head, and the beard is the feathers directly under the beak, though they are both controlled by the same gene. This mutation also causes the wattles on the bird to shrink somewhat and be covered by feathers.

In heterozygous form (one copy of Beard and Muff), the bird will just have a smaller beard and muff, with shorter feathers than the full bearded counterpart. The fuller beard is almost always preferred.

APA Recognized bearded Breeds include the Polish, Silkie, All of the Belgium Bantams, Favorelles, Ameraucana, Sultan, Crevecour, and Houdan.

The multiple spur gene causes chickens to grow at least two additional spurs on the hock - usually one above the central spur, and one below the central spur. This can be seen in hens, chicks, and cock birds, with hens and chicks showing three prominent scales instead of full spurs. Chickens can have as few as three spurs with this gene, or as many as five. It works in tandem with the recessive spur gene.

The only recognized breeds in the APA to have multiple spurs are the Sumatra and Cubalaya.

The naked neck gene in chickens stops the bird from growing feathers in the neck (and sometimes vent), giving it a plucked or naked look to the upper portion of the bird. There will usually be some feather growth on the top of the head, and then bare skin down to the beginning of the breast.

In heterozygous form, or with only one copy of the gene, the bird will have a "bowtie" look of several feathers grouped together at the bottom of the neck, which isn't seen in homozygous form (with two copies of the gene).

The APA recognizes the Naked Neck (also called Turken) as its own breed in both largefowl and bantam.

There are a few different mutations that can cause crooked neck or other neck issues in quail. The main ones documented here include the Backdrawer, Star Gazing, Congenital Loco, and Crooked Neck.

All of them are considered to be autosomal recessive, meaning that it can hide in a flock. They are grouped here because all of them present very similarly, cause the same issues in quail, and are inherited in the same manner. It is worth noting that most of these mutations and general neck issues in birds can also be caused from much more common nutritional issues.

Orange skin is a suspected new mutation discovered by Tamara Roswell in the early 2023. The gene most notably causes the bird to have orange feet, and when butchered, will have vibrant orange skin across the carcass. It presents with no currently known health issues, and has been suggested to be autosomal recessive, though this isn't confirmed. It has only been seen on Oz Snowy in this line, though it is unknown and unlikely to be linked.

It is unknown how prevalent this mutation is outside of the line in Australia, and it has never been formally studied in a lab. Orange feet have been documented across Europe, though it is unknown whether this is a similar or separate mutation or how common it is. More research needs to be done.

Oz Sandy is a sex-linked dominant mutation found in coturnix quail that causes the bird to be a light tan/grey color. It similar in color to Egyptian Fee, though completely different inheritance. It is often confused with Oz Snowy. It also is different across countries. The Australian mutation has been the most studied, and thus is referenced here.

On Pharaoh, Oz Sandy looks similar to Egyptian Fee. Birds will be a greyish tan color, with little red on the hens and some copper color across the breast and face of cocks. It is hard to tell a Oz Snowy from an Oz Sandy on Pharaoh. Sandy will be very consistent across Pharoah.

Because Oz Sandy is a sex-linked mutation, it can be used to create onetime batches were the chicks can be sexed at hatch with 100% accuracy. It is found in Australia, and has been said to also be in the United States and UK (3), however the lines outside of Australia are very different, with some breeders even reporting a recessive gene instead of dominant (3).

Oz Snowy (not to be confused with Oz Sandy) is a recessive mutation in Coturnix quail that causes a bird to be either shades of tan or light cream. It has not been studied in a lab. It was originally documented in Australia, and has been imported to several countries abroad, including the US and UK, though the phenotypes of UK birds vary.

On a pharaoh base, Oz Snowy creates a warm grey color, very similar to Oz Sandy and Egyptian Fee. It will be slightly darker than Oz Snowy. On fawn, however, Oz Snowy creates a light cream colored bird, with black and orange markings. It is unknown how it interacts on EB bases.

Oz Snowy also presents with possible health issues, including failure to thrive and mortality in the shell, but this needs more study.

Panda is a gene in coturnix quail that is similar to dotted white in that it causes the bird to present with almost a tuxedo-like or white-winged-pied type pattern. However, it is different than both in that it is entirely recessive. It is also similar but separate from splash in the markings that it throws.

With two copies of the gene, panda creates an almost all-white bird, with two big patches of color across the back of the head and back of the body. This color will match the underlying base color and any additional dilutions. For example, if the panda gene is bred into a silver fawn quail, the two patches of color will be a light grey with basic fawn patterning.

Pansy is a pattern modifier gene that is most commonly seen on pharaoh. It was originally classified as recessive, but can be seen in heterozygous form.

In homozygous form, the bird will have a white or light yellow base color, with black blotches on the majority of each feather. There may be some red on each feather as well. The males will have a deep red face, while the females will have two black stripes through the cheek similar to pharaoh.

In heterozygous form, the bird will have slightly more barring and a "blotchier", more rounded look to the patterning. It is very hard to see in heterozygous form.

Partial featherlessness is a mutation that causes coturnix quail to have patches of bare skin across the back of their head, back down, stomach, thighs, and chin. It has been confirmed in a lab, though it is still under-researched and needs more information.

It is a partially lethal mutation, with high mortality in chicks from hatch to maturity. It is possible for birds to survive to adulthood and reproduce, though fairly rare. Chicks will have no buds for feathers in the areas mentioned, and they do not grow the feathers in as they mature.

The Patch gene is a white mutation in pigs that causes the pig to have white patches across the body with sharp, defined borders. The pattern is required in Hereford, and seen in some Light Crossbreds (though not as common). It is incomplete dominant, which means pigs with only one copy of the gene will have less white patching than pigs with two copies of the gene. In general, the amount of white in heterozygous and homozygous forms can be selectively bred for more or less patches.

The pattern gene (Pg) in chickens is crucial for creating specific feather patterns like lacing and penciling. This gene organizes the black pigment in a concentric pattern around the feather, contributing to the distinctive lacing effect seen in some breeds. Research has shown that the Pg gene works in conjunction with other genes, such as the melanotic gene (Ml) and the columbian gene (Co), to produce these patterns. The pattern gene by itself isn't noticeable without these other genes.

For example, the melanotic gene enhances and moves black pigment to the feather's edge, while the columbian gene restricts eumelanin in the center of the feather, leading to single lacing. When both the pattern and melanosis genes are present, you get double lacing patterns. The pattern gene is also responsible for enhancing autosomal barring, partridge, penciling, and other varieties.

The gene is most often seen in homozygous form (two copies of the gene) for lacing, penciling, and other varieties. In heterozygous form (one copy of the gene), the lacing and overall pattern will be much less refined and complete, and smut is more common.

The APA recognizes golden and silver laced in cochins, wyandottes, and sebrights. In bantam Cornish, white laced red and blue laced red are also accepted. Polish is the only breed with the chamois accepted, or buff laced with white. Wyandottes, Hamburgs, and Rocks are recognized in the silver penciled variety. The gold penciling is only recognized in Hamburgs. Brahmas and Campines are breeds that also utilize the pattern gene for different varieties.

The pea comb gene creates a shorter comb on the top of the head, similiar rose comb, though slightly taller with three ridges through the center. It is dominant, so a bird will have the typical "pea comb" look regardless of it is has one copy of the gene or two.

The pea comb gene also works with other genes to create the walnut and cushion comb. The walnut comb is at least one copy of the pea comb gene plus at least one copy of the rose comb gene. The cushion comb is a walnut comb (pea gene + rose comb gene) plus a smoothing gene.

APA recognized pea comb breeds include: Ameraucana, Araucana, Aseel, Brahma, Buckeye, Cornish, Cubalaya, Shamo, Sumatra, and Yokohama

Pearl (sometimes called Golden Pearl) is a mutation in button quail that causes the females to have a yellow, straw colored plumage with black "v" shaped markings on each feather. Males will look very similar to wildtype, though the back markings will be a slightly lighter shade of yellow throughout the back. Chicks of both sexes will be a lighty, downy color, and males will be distinguishable at about three weeks of age.

It is likely similar to, if not the same mutation, as the Lethal Yellow found in laboratory coturnix. The gene in buttons is lethal in homozygous form, and any embryo with two copies of the gene dies in the shell. It is not suspected to cause any side affects in heterozygous form, but more studies need to be done to see if Pearl impacts growth rate or other factors.

It is called Golden Pearl on wildtype, and Pearl + mutation (example, Silver Pearl) on other dilutions.

Pharaoh is the purest form of color-- it is what a quail looks like without any other dilutions, bases, mutations, or otherwise. They don't have a locus or inheritance because it is the absence of anything on top of it. Without any mutations, it will always breed true. Pharaoh is essential for breeding programs as it acts as a "test color" to breed everything back to, mainly because it is so predictable and can be considered a clean slate.

They are an even brown color with wing patterning. Backs should present straight, even, white vertical lines on both sexes. Each feather should have eye-like black patterns on back feathers and wing feathers will present a wavy-type pattern. Masks should be clean and crisp, and both sexes should present a thin white chin strap across the bottom of their face.

They are feather sexable at three weeks. Females will have black chest speckling while males will have a rusty, clean chest. Males with SLB will also have a rusty, reddish face, though this is not ideal.

Polydactyly is a mutation in chickens and ducks that causes the bird to grow an extra toe on the backside of the foot, near the hind-facing fourth toe. There are two different genes responsible for the toe depending on the heritage of the chicken - Asiatic breeds have a different gene then the European breeds do, but both genes act in the same way. The same gene is also seen in mice, cattle, pigs, cats, and humans.

It is a dominant gene, meaning the chicken will have an extra toe regardless of it only has one or two copies of the gene. There is a separate mutation that causes a partial fifth toe to grow from the same stem of the fourth toe that can crop up in polydactyly breedings, but this isn't related.

Dorkings (European), Hamburgs (European), Chinese You (Asiatic), Favorelles (European), Silkies (Asiatic), all have the polydactyly gene.

Porcupine is an understudied gene in chickens, pigeons, and quail. It has been most studied in Coturnix, and causes extremely low fertility and high mortality in all species. In homozygous form, it causes the barbs of the feather to curl together, creating a quill, porcupine-like look to the feathers.

There are no issues to the health of the bird or the barbs of the feathers itself, it just affects the fertility and how the barbs interact with other feathers.

Progressive Pied is an understudied mutation in coturnix quail that presents similar to the mottling gene in chickens. It is different from the Progressive Pied often seen in peafowl, as it is not lethal. It is believed to be the same genes as the German "Getupft".

Birds will start out with minimal white feathering as chicks, and then with each molt, the amount of white feathers will progressively increase. The white will typically start around the head and neck area, and then progress to the entire body.

The foot feathering gene in chickens and pigeons, scientifically called Ptilopody and caused from multiple mutations, makes the bird grow various amounts of feathers from the hock, down through the shank, and sometimes across the foot. This gene has been thought to link chickens to dinosaurs and help shape our knowledge of evolution in general.

The amount of feathering varies from species and breeds, and is mostly due to selective breeding. Some breeds, such as the Marans, require feathering just down the shank, while other breeds like the cochin require feathers across the foot through at least the middle toe. Patterning of the feathers is dependent on the variety.

APA recognized breeds with feathered feet include d'Uccle, Booted Bantams, Brahma, Cochin, Favorelles, Langshan, Silkie, Sultan, and Marans.

Recessive Black is a unique mutation in coturnix quail. Though it looks like Tibetan or Rosetta, the mutation is actually closer related to fawn. It causes the bird to have a dark brown, almost plumage, with white coming through at the throat and breast. Pink and yellow feet separate it out from the typical EB look.

It is not currently believed to be in public hands at this time, though it has been tested in several labs in Asia and Europe as late as 2008.

Recessive silver is a gene in button quail that dilutes the black pigment in the feathers to be a pale blue color. It is different from the silver mutations seen in both chickens and coturnix quail in that is completely recessive and believed to be non-sexlinked.

Unlike Pearl or other mutations, it doesn't affect the underlying pattern of the bird, just the color. While males will not have the the red breast or ventral plumage that normally is used to sex the bird, they will still have an unmarked breast and chinstrap to help distinguish between the heavily marked females.

Recessive Silver is often combined with other genes to create more interesting colors. When paired with red-breasted birds, the button quail will be a soft tan color with light blue and reddish markings on the back and breast in females and a bright red breast coming through the grey coloration in males. More work needs to be done to study the effects of silver overall.

Silver, Slate, Ivory,

Recessive white is a gene commonly seen in certain white varieties, most notably Rocks. It causes the bird to be entirely white and covers up almost all other colors and mutations, though chicks may have a slight red tinge to the plumage.

Where dominant white affects only the black plumage (eumelanin) and not gold (pheomelanin), the recessive white gene affects both eumelanin and pheomelanin, making it much less likely to get smuttiness, black feathers, or brassiness that can creep in with dominant white. Therefore, it is often used to create the white varieties found in the showroom, aside from most leghorn lines.

The APA recognizes white in either dominant or recessive form in the following breeds: Ameraucana, American Game, Araucana, Aseel, d'Anver, d'Uccle, Booted Bantam, Chantecler, Cochin, Cubalaya, Dorking, Cornish, Favorelles, Hamburg, Holland, Houdan, Japanese, Jersey Giant, Lamona, Langshan, Leghorn (typically dominant white), Malay, Marans, Minorca, Modern Game, Naked Neck, Old English, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Polish, Rhode Island White, Rosecomb, Serama, Silkie, Spanish, Sultan, Wyandotte and Yokohama.

The Red Breasted gene causes button quail to have much darker plumage in the males, and much lighter plumage in the females. It is one of the few button genes to be studied in the lab, and the gene, locus, and allele of the recessive mutation has been confirmed.

In males, the red breasted gene causes the bird to be a dark blue across the body and back, covering up the patterning. It turns the breast into a deep russet color, and a messier, dark face. In some lines of Red Breasted, the face will be entirely black, a look dubbed "Darth Vader".

In the females, the bird turns a much lighter, pale cream through the neck, breast, and back. The deep wildtype markings turn into black "v" shaped marks across a majority of the feathers. The face also turns lighter, and females will have a bit of a black chinstrap, though not the striking bib that males develop.

Red egg is a recessive mutation in Coturnix quail that causes the ground color as well as the shell color in the egg vary in color from a pale pink to a deeper red. It has only been studied once in a lab, and is unknown if it is in public hands, but has been proven to exist and is believed to interact with Celadon.

In order, the wildtype egg is most dominant, followed by Celadon, then Red Eggshell.

Rose Comb causes the normal single comb to flatten out and widen through the head. It has a low, rounded profile unlike the pea comb gene, and has a distinct spike, called a leader, that comes from the back of the comb and either lays flat on the head or extends a bit upwards. It is typically bumpy in texture, though there is a separate smoothing gene that causes the comb to be smooth and flat across the top. Typically this smooth look is desired.

There are two identical strains of rosecomb, one noted to cause fertility issues, and a second on a close allele that does not cause any fertility issues.

Rose comb also works with the pea comb and a possible smoothing gene to create the walnut and cushion comb.

Roux is a dilution gene that causes the entire bird to be a reddish color. It does not change the pattern of the bird itself, but rather changes all of the brown and black plumage to be tinted red. It is very similar to the Ginger mutation, although it has more of a red tint and is slightly darker than Ginger, but still lighter than the sex-linked brown mutation.

Roux is sexlinked, so it can be used to create a hatch where the offspring can be sexed immediately at hatch. This is done by crossing a homozygous Roux male over non-Roux females. Any base pattern can be used.

Rusty is a mutation in quail that causes them to turn a bright orange color, brighter than Roux and likely brighter than Ginger as well, though a similar dilution. While Roux and Ginger affect the whole feather of the bird and will be a pale red all the way through, the birds with Rusty will have a slate blue undercolor and fluff.

It has only been tested once on Pharaoh and it is unknown how common it is outside of a lab setting. It is confirmed to be recessive and not sex-linked, but the locus, gene, and allele that it is on is unknown, as well as how it interacts with any other gene except curly.

The Sex-Linked Brown gene in coturnix quail causes the bird to be a slightly lighter shade of brown than wildtype--in between the clean pharaoh color and pale red color of Ginger and Roux. It was originally used in production flocks to sex chicks at hatch, but the differences between SLB and clean are faint in adults and even harder to see as chicks.

Sex-linked brown is believed to be fairly common in backyard flocks, as it is hard to see and even harder to breed out. It is recessive, meaning you have to test breed individual birds for several generations to ensure they don't have the gene.

The cinnamon gene in coturnix quail results in a light brown or dun colored plumage. The gene is a partial expression of albino, causing the bird to have pink eyes on top of lighter pigment overall. It is also likely related to the

Cinnamon birds often have health issues associated with the eye color, though there are confirmed stable lines in the United States.

It is sex-linked and recessive, meaning that it is possible to breed a one-time hatch where the chicks are sexable at hatch. This is done by crossing cinnamon cocks over Pharaoh or other non-cinnamon hens. The female chicks will be cinnamon at hatch, while males will be cinnamon split. This cross isn't often used commercially due to the the slower growth and structure issues associated with cinnamon.

Sex-linked silver is gene that turns the pheomelanin (red tones) in a chicken to almost entirely white. It is arguably one of the most researched and utilized genes in poultry due to the use in the hatchery, meat, and egg production industries.

Silver is used in many different breeds and varieties. On wildtype males (often called silver duckwing), the silver gene will make the hackle, saddle, wings, and flight feathers, but retain a black breast. The main tail feathers will be a green, with a green bar across the wings. In females, the color is a bit more diverse. They will have white hackles, grey patterned wings and cape, black tail, and a red breast.

Other recognized patterns include silver laced, silver pencilled, silver spangled, silver blue, and fawn silver duckwing. It also is used with dominant white to try and prevent gold and red leakage. In general, silver will replace any naturally red pattern with a light grey or white color.

The APA recognizes silver duckwing in American Game, Araucana, Modern Game, and Old English Game.
Silver is a recognized variety in Ameraucana, Campine (with the autosomal barring gene), Polish, Leghorn, Dutch, Phoenix, and Sebright (with the pattern and colombian gene), and Dorking.

Delaware, Rhode Island White, Leghorn, Hamburg, Cornish, and other recognized breeds also naturally have silver.

The Short Barb gene in Japanese quail causes the feathers to have thin ends, giving the bird an overall more frayed or shaggy look that doesn't go away after any molt. The flight feathers will also have slight waves across the edge and a thickened line.

There are no health defects associated with the short barb gene, but it is not believed to be in public hands at this time.

The silkie gene in chickens causes the feathers to be a silky, floofy texture similar to chick down. The "look" is created from the feathers having long barbs and lacking the "scroll" portion of the feather that keeps the barbs together.

It is a recessive gene, so both parents need to have at least one copy of the gene for any chicks to show silkie feathering.

It is only recognized by the APA for the Silkie chicken breed, though the mutation can also be found in Seramas.

Silver is a mutation found on the same gene for both Coturnix quail and mice, and is similar to a mutation in humans as well. It is best studied in mice, though a few studies have been done on quail.

Silver in quail is a light grey color across the bird in heterozygous form (one copy of the gene), but has the same underlying base pattern, just with a different color. The bird may or may not have white wingtips without any additional white mutations. In homozygous form (two copies of the gene), the bird will be a pale cream, almost white color. It is considered part of the Schofield Silver Collection, along with Andalusian and Lavender.

Silver in mice presents as a grey colored coat in heterozygous form, and a light cream in homozygous form, similar to in birds.

In homozygous form for both species, there is a lethal gene involved. For quail, a majority of the chicks with two copies of silver will die in the shell, and the birds that survive and hatch will often be deformed and not survive to adulthood. For mice and humans, it can cause issues with pigmentation, vision, and other defects.

The smoothing gene is a proposed gene by the author used to explain the differences in rose comb phenotypes. It is unknown and untested, though. The following is a theory currently being tested by the author.

The smoothing gene would be responsible for creating the flat rose comb seen on Wyandottes and a few other breeds. It would also likely play a role in the strawberry and walnut comb seen in several chicken breeds, compared to the typical cushion comb.

Sparkly is an incomplete dominant mutation that causes increased black patterning on coturnix quail. It doesn't change much of the coloring, but can give the bird an overall darker or more red look. Both forms of Sparkly create more black barring on each feather, and extend the chest spots down the breast of both males and females. Quail can still be feather sexed by the mask and overall coloration on most forms.

With one copy of the gene, Sparkly is much less prominent but still easily seen. It will still extend the patterning through the back and wingspread, but less patterning overall through the breast.

It is on the E locus of the MC1R gene, which is the same as Extended Brown (Tibetan and Rosetta) and Calico.

The splash mutation in coturnix quail, located on the S locus (EDNRB2), was first recognized, isolated, and named by Tamara Rowsell in late 2019 to early 2020 in Australia. This mutation has likely existed for much longer but was only recently identified.

In homozygous form, splash will have some color through the head and face, and then the entire back will be one strip of color, with some mottling of color through the wings. The majority of the face and breast will be white, with some possible smut throughout.

Split wing, or a gene that causes the absence of the axial feather on one or both of the wings in poultry is an under-researched mutation in the industry. It is believed by breeders to have a simple autosomal recessive inheritance, making it hard to breed out of flocks, but has not been confirmed in a lab.

The axial feather itself is crucial to the structural development of the wing, as one of the first parts of the wing to develop on the embryo. It is important enough that the APA considers almost all split wing to be a disqualification.

Interestingly enough, it has been shown that having two copies of split wing increases the overall growth and carcass traits of broilers in the Asian tropics. This may be the reasoning behind some breeds requiring the split wing.

The APA only recognizes split wing in the Ko Shamo and Aseel, though it is naturally found in the O Shamo and Nankin Shamo as well. It is considered a disqualification in all other breeds.

The Spot mutation in pigs causes the pig to be the typical base color, with large patches of black spots. These spots can often be covered up with another gene like Dominant White, which is why most of the white breeds are on the Spot base coat. The Blue Spot is also a common color pattern from spot with a lightening gene.

The Yorkshire, Landrace, Gloucester Old Spot, Pietrans, and Lindrod breeds all have the spot gene, but may not be spotted due to the dominant white that covers the spotting pattern.

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Strawberry is a proposed and under-studied mutation discovered by Tamara Rowsell with Kamilah Quail in Australia in 2022. It is currently believed to be recessive, and appeared in a line of Oz Calico (1). It causes the bird to have a much lighter and pale red/pink tint when compared to typical calico or Oz calico.

It has not been isolated on pharaoh and is unknown how it affects other colors or how prevalent it is in Australia or across the world. More testing is also needed to confirm the gene, locus, and other information.

Throat Tuft is a mutation in Coturnix quail that causes them to grow one or two feathers from the side of their throat. It is a separate gene from both the Ear Tuft mutation also found in Coturnix, and the overall Tufted mutation found in chickens.

It can cause some mild facial structure issues in homozygous form, but doesn't typically affect the health of the bird and isn't lethal. I also is not recommended to breed it with Ear Tufts because it causes a host of growth deformities. It is not currently believed to be in public hands, though breeders have reported birds with feathers on their face.

The ear tuft gene creates a group of feathers that stick out sideways from the chicken's head near the ear canal. It is not the same mutation that causes beards or muffs in Ameruacanas and a few other chicken breeds. It is lethal in homozygous form, and almost all embroyos will die in the shell at about day 17. In heterozygous form, it still can lead to low hatch rates and trouble hatching.

Despite the high mortality rate, it is still common in some breeds of chicken, most notably the Araucana fowl, the Quetros, and other lesser known breeds.

Araucanas are the only breed recognized by the APA.

Vulture hocks are a gene found in both pigeons and chickens that causes the feathering down the thigh and shank to come to a point well past the hock. It is likely correlated to the ptilopody (foot feathering) gene, but is not the same. Not all breeds with the foot feathering gene have vulture hocks, but all bird with vulture hocks are ptilopodyl.

While it is not believed to cause any health or growth issues in poultry, it is only recognized in certain breeds for aesthetic purposes. It also is linked to possible musculoskeletal development from dinosaurs.

The APA requires vulture hocks in the Booted Bantam, d'Uccles, and Sultan. It is also naturally found in the unrecognized Breda fowl and both the rare Ispemic and Bulgarian Dzhinka breeds. It is considered an extreme defect to the point of being a disqualification in all other breeds.

The wheaten gene in chickens is characterized by a range of colors from creamy white to yellowish-white, salmon, or pale tan. This pattern is similar in palette to ripe wheat heads, hence the name "wheaten."

Males will often be darker, with a black breast and bright reddish orange saddle and hackles, while females will be a pale tan with the same reddish head color. Black primaries and tail feathers are common.

The APA currently recognizes wheaten as an acceptable variety in Malays, Shamo (Ko and O), Ameraucana, Aseel, Japanese Bantam, Marans, Modern Game, and Old English Game. It is also naturally found in the Favorelles and New Hampshires.

White in button quail is a mutation that creates an all-white colored quail, similar to Dotted/English White in coturnix. It was originally classified as a recessive gene, however test breeding proves that there is a heterozygous phenotype.

With one copy of white, the bird can have white across the breast, face, and wingtips. The amount of white can vary depending on the line, and it is possible to breed for more or less white. "Tuxedo" and "Splash" are the nicknames given to differing amounts of white.

With two copies of the gene, the bird will be white from head to tail, with black eyes. It is not possible to feather sex an all-white bird, sexing must be done by behavior or vent sexing. It is also likely that you can breed for a bird to have colored patches with two copies of the gene.

More research needs to be done on this mutation to determine if it the same gene as the Dotted White in coturnix quail, and to see how many white mutations there are in button quail.

White bib is a possible mutation that causes coturnix quail to have white feathers underneath the chin. It has not been well-studied, and some breeders believe it to be a natural expression of EB instead of a separate mutation altogether.

Birds with a white bib appear to have a fairly consistent phenotype when not selected for, though it can be bred to show more or less white across the face. More research is needed across the board with this potential mutation.

The White Crescent gene in Coturnix quail is described to be a simple autosomal recessive mutation that causes the bird to have a thin white band of feathers across the breast. It is linked to the EB mutation, meaning that it affects primarily birds with a Tibetan or Rosetta base, though it is not on the same locus and can be found on other varieties as well.

It was discovered in Canada in the late 1970s among a line of tuxedo EB. It is unknown if it currently exists in public hands, but could be a contributing factor for the "banded" look seen in some lines of black and EB in the United States, and overall white leakage in quail internationally.

The white eggshell gene in coturnix causes the quail to lay a white-colored egg. Both the outer shell and the inner membrane will be a chalky white color, and while the outside may have spots, hens generally lay spotted eggs at the beginning and then phase to all white.

Much like celadon, it is a completely recessive gene that is not linked to any plumage color or type. It has not been well studied or documented, and it is unclear whether the mutation is currently in public hands or not, or how the gene interacts with Red Egg or Celadon.

White Winged Pied is an understudied mutation in Coturnix quail that causes the primary feathers of the quail to be white. In heterozygous form, the white will be limited to the wingtips. In homozygous form, the white will extend into the entire wing and through the breast and face. The back of the bird will still typically be the underlying pattern.

It is believed to be on the S locus with the other base patterns, but has never been formally tested in a lab. It is fairly common in backyard flocks.

Wildtype is the natural color of button quail, also called Chinese Painted Quail or Coturnix Chinesis. It is what you get if you strip away any other genes or mutations, and thus will always breed true.

Males will have a brown and black patterned back with yellow shafting. They will have blue starting at the face and extending through the front, stomach, and vent of the bird. The breast will be a reddish orange color, and the face on the males is a striking black and white "bib" of stripes through and under the beak.

Females will be mostly brown, with a lighter tan undercolor and black barring through the breast. Their face will be a light cream color with black markings, and a possible faint bib, but no white or blue that is found in the males.

The yellow skin gene in chickens most notably