How to breed fallow budgies? [+Expectation Table]

A fallow budgie has a rare recessive mutation called the “Fallow”. To produce a fallow budgie, the breeder requires mating budgies that have the fallow mutation genes.

To be able to produce a visually fallow budgie, the fallow gene must come from both parents. For a fallow chick, a breeder needs visual fallow budgies or split fallow budgies as parents.

But, breeding with a split fallow parent or parents reduces the chance of producing a fallow budgie.

Mating of two visual fallow budgies produces fallow budgie chicks with a 100% chance.

Mating of a split fallow budgie and a visual fallow budgie produces fallow budgie chicks with a 50% chance.

Mating of two split fallow budgies produces fallow budgie chicks with a 25% chance.

A breeder can produce a variety of fallow budgies. Currently, known fallow budgie varieties: English, German, Scottish, Australian, Japanese, bronze, pale, dun, smokey and ashen, light green, dark green, olive green, gray-green, sky blue (light blue), cobalt (dark blue), mauve, violet, gray-blue.

These varieties can be considered as a combination of different mutations with the fallow mutation.

A breeder typically gets pastel-colored and reddish-colored-eyed budgies.

Reproductivity and fallow gene

There is a study about the reproductivity of budgies that have the fallow gene.

The study’s results data include clutch size and the number of chicks of 213 mating of 107 budgies that have the fallow gene.

Pairs in the study: pairs with one visual fallow (37 pairs, 59 rounds), pairs with one split fallow (9 pairs, 22 rounds), and pairs with normals only (61 pairs, 132 rounds)

Does fallow gene mutation delay maturity?

The fallow gene doesn’t cause a delay in maturity (like exhibition budgies). Female fallow budgies begin to have brown cere at six months old.

Fallow budgies breeding expectations table

Here is a table that includes breeding expectations of mating fallow budgies.

Male	Female	Result (Chicks)
Fallow	Fallow	100% Fallow
Normal	Fallow	100% Normal/Fallow
Normal	Normal/Fallow	50% Normal 50% Normal/Fallow
Normal/Fallow	Normal/Fallow	25% Normal 50% Normal/Fallow 25% Fallow
Normal/Fallow	Fallow	50% Normal/Fallow 50% Fallow
Normal	Normal	100% Normal

How to increase fallow budgies breed quality

Experts use techniques and disciplines to improve and keep the current quality of budgies.

Breeders want to keep the high-quality fallow budgies, and they want them to be passed down from generation to generation.

Here are listed techniques and disciplines to improve fallow budgie and breed quality:

1. Obtaining the best quality fallow birds in the beginning.
2. Having a good quality fertile and prepotent fallow males.
3. Choosing the best quality birds to be parents in every bird pairing.
4. Aunt to nephew, uncle to niece, or cousin to cousin selection is preferred for mating.
5. Avoid pairing birds with similar faults such as flecked birds, birds with hinged tails, or small masks.

There are different technics to improve general breeding quality, but the list that is above is especially for fallow budgie breeding.