Dotted White

Dotted White is a mutation in coturnix quail that increases the amount of white in a bird. It was originally noted in a 1978 lab study. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding history of Dotted White and the white mutations in general--originally, dotted white was thought to be entirely recessive (1). This was proven false as white wingtips and patterning in heterozygous form were recorded (1), and the recessive white was classified as a separate mutation and Dotted White was considered true incomplete dominant (2). Later, recessive white was generally absolved into both Dotted White and Andalusian. More white mutations were discovered, including Panda, Splash, White Winged Pied, Progressive Pied, and Dotted White became the "scapegoat" for all white mutations until these were separated a bit further. All of the white mutations are thought to be on the same locus as Dotted White and Panda, but haven't been proven (3).

In heterozygous form, 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. (4)When not selected for markings, the white will just be on the breast and wingtips of the bird, much more than with White Winged Pied or Panda.

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'). This dot can also be bred to be bigger (almost 1/3 of the bird) or smaller, and some lines do not have the dot at all (2)(3).

Dotted White are often mistakenly called Texas A&M. This is incorrect, as the true Texas A&M no longer exist. The line of true Texas A&M quail started as an experiment from Dr. Thornberry with the Texas A&M University in the 1980's. The goal was to create a line of jumbo English Whites that produced white meat. The project was quickly scrapped as the professor realized that white meat was not possible on the quail, and the line had become incredibly aggressive. When Dr. Thornberry got out of quail, some of his lines possibly went to Bear Bayou and other local friends and colleagues. Bear Bayou is no longer keeping any quail, and no records exist of the birds he had raised and if he kept the bloodline pure. There are is one business (Stellar Gamebirds) that claims to have gotten true Texas A&M birds from Bear Bayou when he sold all of his birds (5). The term "Texas A&M" has since been warped to mean any jumbo white bird, however this is incorrect and generally considered false advertising.

The gene symbol is Dw, and the of dominance on the S locus is suggested to be  Splash, Panda, Progressive Pied < Wildtype < White Winged Pied < Dotted White. It is unknown how Splash, Panda, and Progressive Pied interact with each other.

Breeding with English White: For more information about breeding with this kind of gene, including tips and tricks and a full explanation of how these results were calculated, please see here.

English White x English White = 100% English White

(Dw/Dw x Dw/Dw = 100% Dw/Dw)

English White x Wildtype= 100% Tuxedo

(Dw/Dw x dw+/dw+ = 100% Dw/dw+)

English White x Tuxedo = 50% English White, 50% Tuxedo

(Dw/Dw x Dw/dw+ = 50% Dw/Dw, 50% Dw/dw+)

Tuxedo x Tuxedo = 25% English White, 50% Tuxedo, 25% Wildtype

(Dw/dw+ x Dw/dw+ = 25% dw+/dw+, 50% Dw/dw+, 25% Dw/Dw)

Tuxedo x Wildtype = 50% Tuxedo, 50% Wildtype

(Dw/dw+ x dw+/dw+ = 50% Dw/dw+, 50% dw+/dw+)