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If you ever thought of becoming a bird breeder, one of the “brass rings” you are always trying to grab is the ability to breed mutations. In other words, by breeding two birds you are trying to develop special colors or traits into birds.People that breed parakeets are well aware of this hobby. They spend years trying to create beautiful birds, and will travel for miles to show them off at shows.

Several years ago, we were introduced to a very unique little bird…the Blue Quaker. We never heard of them before. We were introduced to them by a breeder who was getting rid of her green Quakers so she could concentrate on breeding blues. Because they were very rare at the time, they were selling for many times the cost of a normal green Quaker. We researched this for a little while, and discovered that not only are there Blue Quakers, but also Yellow, White, Grey, and Cinnamons. They also have been bred into pearly, and pied mutations. All of these are quite rare, but as breeders continue to work on these different mutations, they are becoming available in greater quantities.

BACKGROUND

Blue Quakers started showing up in the wild many years ago. According to historic records, The Duke of Bedford in England began breeding them from a captured pairs, and all blue Quakers can be traced to this stock line.

In 1993, four pairs were imported into the US, where breeders started a breeding program to increase those numbers. At that time they were extremely rare, and cost nearly $5000. But after several years, and a successful breeding program, costs have come down to $300-$500.

FACTORS

So how exactly do you create a Blue Quaker? On the surface it sounds very simple, but doing it is complicated.

Quaker parrots are normally green. The green color comes from combining the blue coloring of the feather structure, and the yellow, which is the actual color of the feather. Through selective breeding, you select Quakers with a predominate blue gene, and breed it with another Quaker with a lesser yellow gene. Since a different gene is responsible for each, you can gradually produce a blue, or even a yellow, Quaker. By combining a weaker “blue” gene, you can produce a lighter “green” color, producing a cinnamon colored Quaker.

Today, because of this dedication of breeders, there is a large variety of color variations and splits. These unique birds are now widely available, especially from breeders. And new variations are still being worked on, such as Aqua colored Quakers. These are starting to appear at bird shows and getting great reviews from judges.