Peafowl Genetics Calculator Q&A
Q: Why can't I add a split color?
A: You can! To add splits, you must click on the drop down section to edit the genome directly, and select the correct drop down for your given split. The top section is for phenotypes only, and phenotypes cannot be split colors (for example, a "split" opal is not visually different than a blue phenotype).
Q: Why is my color/pattern not on the calculator?
A: Either I don't have proof of the genetic inheritance method, you are using the wrong color name (for example "oaten" instead of "cameo blackshoulder" or someone made up a fake name for an existing color), or it's not actually a color. For example, "white" is not a color, it's a genetic mutation for total leucism, and is located in the "pied" section of the drop downs. Alternately, the color or pattern is not a harmless color/pattern mutation, but a serious medical condition. "Progressive pied" is not a pattern mutation in peafowl, it's a serious autoimmune disease.
Mutations I KNOW are missing, but do not have detailed genetics info on yet: Brown Wing (USA), Cream Bronze (EU), Fawn (AUS), Holla Metallic (AFR), Ivory (EU), Onyx (BR), and Raw Umber (EU). You are welcome to submit other known mutations, but if you do NOT have detailed enough genetic info, they will only be added to this list of missing mutations.
Q: Why are there no green or Spalding peafowl options?
A: Because this is a calculator for Pavo cristatus (Indian Blue Peafowl) birds, not Pavo muticus (Green Peafowl) or hybrids (Pavo sp. aka Spaldings). However, the calculator will still work fine for calculating mutations in most Spaldings, as the genes all still move the same way for hybrids as they do for blues. The only difference is that the artwork may not be accurate to what you see, as hybridization causes huge variances in phenotype, and Spaldings with too much green blood may or may not display the mutation at all, as the mutation is a mutant gene in the cristatus genotype that may not exist in a green bird's genotype. The artists simply could not reasonably account for every phenotype variation in hybrids and I have no interest in making them. They already volunteered a huge chunk of their time and skill in the name of education.
Q: Why is there no "emerald" option?
A: "Emerald" is an outdated and no longer accurate term for a Spalding whose genome is 75% green. Since there's no way to prove this is actually the case without genetic testing that is not available publicly and is prohibitively expensive, terminology has switched to using "low/mid/high percent" to indicate the percent of the phenotype that appears green. Anyone claiming a hard percentage (ie: 75% vs "High" percent) is either guessing off phenotype, or using math based on how many times the offspring's lineage was bred back to "pure" greens in order to calculate percentage (which may or may not be scientifically accurate to the actual gene percentage, but is better than random guessing based on phenotypes). See above for additional explanation.
Q: Why does the calculator have an error message for Progressive Pied?
A: As the error message states, "progressive pied" is not actually a type of pied in peafowl. What we call "progressive pied" is actually a genetic autoimmune disorder called vitiligo. In peafowl, this causes a shortened lifespan and a variety of health issues including blindness in peafowl. The spreading white is the result of pigment cell death. We do not want to support the propagation of unhealthy animals.
Q: Why does my bird not match the sprite for that color?
A: Either you don't have that color, I could not find good reference photos for the artists, or you have a Spalding (likely low percentage of green blood) that is altering the phenotype. Many backyard breeders don't actually know what birds they have, and will sell birds of one color as a different color. Some of the sprites here were colored off of one photo of one sole individual of that color/pattern that I could locate, across thousands of photos. Hybridization alters phenotype so the "same" bird (color/pattern wise) can look very different based on their individual mix of species genes. In addition, iridescence can drastically change how a bird looks in different lights, but the art can only be one color.
Q: When I bred my birds, I didn't get the results this calculator predicted! What gives?
A: If you mean your percentages were not the same, the percentages listed here are the percentages of the combination of the genes. If a breeding can produce 4 different offspring types, then each type is 1 of 4 (25%) of the possible outcomes, but this doesn't mean that type of baby will appear 25% of the time all the time.
If you mean you got different results in your offspring, barring any genetic anomalies, it means either a) your birds were carrying hets/splits you didn't know about, or b) your birds are not the birds you thought they were. Test breeding is one way to find out what genes a bird has. Peach and Cameo understandably look a LOT alike, and both of them kind of look like Taupe even though Taupe is unrelated. If, for example, you were sold a cameo boy that you thought was peach, and you bred it to a purple to get purples and got blues instead, either your bird randomly separated the two genes again OR you actually just had cameo and didn't know it. I can't help you with mis-identification, nor with one-off genetic anomalies. This calculator displays only what should happen in general.
Q: Why are there missing sprites for colors that exist?
A: Because, again, people hate taking photos of their hens, apparently. Getting photo references for hen peafowl was a nightmare of pulling teeth. The artists could only illustrate what they had photos for. If you own a hen in one of the missing colors, please feel free to submit photos of her!
Q: Will missing/new mutations ever be added?
A: Yes! If you have reference photos of a wild wing male and female, and a blackshoulder male and female, and can provide me with the genetic information of the mutation (mode of inheritance [dominant, recessive, incomplete dominant, sex-linked, etc], type of gene [de novo single gene, mutli-gene combo, newly-combined multi-gene, etc]), along with any other relevant genetic info (full name of the mutation, location, exceptions, etc), simply e-mail the information to me and I will contact you with any questions I have regarding the submitted info. If it checks out, then I can get any new mutation added to the calculator.
Submit the following info to my e-mail:
New mutation name:
Mutation Origin Location:
Mode of inheritance:
Type of gene:
Other relevant info/exceptions/notes:
Please describe how you determined mode of inheritance/created the new combination:
Please describe any test breeding you have done to check your work:
Q: How can I contribute photos for educational purposes, to be added to the Peafowl Image Database for reference?
A: Easy! Simply e-mail your photos with identification on them to [email protected]. Please include your name or farm name to be used as a watermark.
Q: I have located an error/bug in the calculator.
A: Error reports can be submitted to my email. Please make sure it IS a bug, not a feature, by reading the above Q&A and the home page of the calculator. Please also check back in 30-60 minutes and try again before contacting me, as sometimes technology farts and it's not something I can fix.
Q: I have a question about the calculator that isn't answered here, where should I ask?
A: You may e-mail me questions at any time. Please double-check your question has actually not been answered.
A: You can! To add splits, you must click on the drop down section to edit the genome directly, and select the correct drop down for your given split. The top section is for phenotypes only, and phenotypes cannot be split colors (for example, a "split" opal is not visually different than a blue phenotype).
Q: Why is my color/pattern not on the calculator?
A: Either I don't have proof of the genetic inheritance method, you are using the wrong color name (for example "oaten" instead of "cameo blackshoulder" or someone made up a fake name for an existing color), or it's not actually a color. For example, "white" is not a color, it's a genetic mutation for total leucism, and is located in the "pied" section of the drop downs. Alternately, the color or pattern is not a harmless color/pattern mutation, but a serious medical condition. "Progressive pied" is not a pattern mutation in peafowl, it's a serious autoimmune disease.
Mutations I KNOW are missing, but do not have detailed genetics info on yet: Brown Wing (USA), Cream Bronze (EU), Fawn (AUS), Holla Metallic (AFR), Ivory (EU), Onyx (BR), and Raw Umber (EU). You are welcome to submit other known mutations, but if you do NOT have detailed enough genetic info, they will only be added to this list of missing mutations.
Q: Why are there no green or Spalding peafowl options?
A: Because this is a calculator for Pavo cristatus (Indian Blue Peafowl) birds, not Pavo muticus (Green Peafowl) or hybrids (Pavo sp. aka Spaldings). However, the calculator will still work fine for calculating mutations in most Spaldings, as the genes all still move the same way for hybrids as they do for blues. The only difference is that the artwork may not be accurate to what you see, as hybridization causes huge variances in phenotype, and Spaldings with too much green blood may or may not display the mutation at all, as the mutation is a mutant gene in the cristatus genotype that may not exist in a green bird's genotype. The artists simply could not reasonably account for every phenotype variation in hybrids and I have no interest in making them. They already volunteered a huge chunk of their time and skill in the name of education.
Q: Why is there no "emerald" option?
A: "Emerald" is an outdated and no longer accurate term for a Spalding whose genome is 75% green. Since there's no way to prove this is actually the case without genetic testing that is not available publicly and is prohibitively expensive, terminology has switched to using "low/mid/high percent" to indicate the percent of the phenotype that appears green. Anyone claiming a hard percentage (ie: 75% vs "High" percent) is either guessing off phenotype, or using math based on how many times the offspring's lineage was bred back to "pure" greens in order to calculate percentage (which may or may not be scientifically accurate to the actual gene percentage, but is better than random guessing based on phenotypes). See above for additional explanation.
Q: Why does the calculator have an error message for Progressive Pied?
A: As the error message states, "progressive pied" is not actually a type of pied in peafowl. What we call "progressive pied" is actually a genetic autoimmune disorder called vitiligo. In peafowl, this causes a shortened lifespan and a variety of health issues including blindness in peafowl. The spreading white is the result of pigment cell death. We do not want to support the propagation of unhealthy animals.
Q: Why does my bird not match the sprite for that color?
A: Either you don't have that color, I could not find good reference photos for the artists, or you have a Spalding (likely low percentage of green blood) that is altering the phenotype. Many backyard breeders don't actually know what birds they have, and will sell birds of one color as a different color. Some of the sprites here were colored off of one photo of one sole individual of that color/pattern that I could locate, across thousands of photos. Hybridization alters phenotype so the "same" bird (color/pattern wise) can look very different based on their individual mix of species genes. In addition, iridescence can drastically change how a bird looks in different lights, but the art can only be one color.
Q: When I bred my birds, I didn't get the results this calculator predicted! What gives?
A: If you mean your percentages were not the same, the percentages listed here are the percentages of the combination of the genes. If a breeding can produce 4 different offspring types, then each type is 1 of 4 (25%) of the possible outcomes, but this doesn't mean that type of baby will appear 25% of the time all the time.
If you mean you got different results in your offspring, barring any genetic anomalies, it means either a) your birds were carrying hets/splits you didn't know about, or b) your birds are not the birds you thought they were. Test breeding is one way to find out what genes a bird has. Peach and Cameo understandably look a LOT alike, and both of them kind of look like Taupe even though Taupe is unrelated. If, for example, you were sold a cameo boy that you thought was peach, and you bred it to a purple to get purples and got blues instead, either your bird randomly separated the two genes again OR you actually just had cameo and didn't know it. I can't help you with mis-identification, nor with one-off genetic anomalies. This calculator displays only what should happen in general.
Q: Why are there missing sprites for colors that exist?
A: Because, again, people hate taking photos of their hens, apparently. Getting photo references for hen peafowl was a nightmare of pulling teeth. The artists could only illustrate what they had photos for. If you own a hen in one of the missing colors, please feel free to submit photos of her!
Q: Will missing/new mutations ever be added?
A: Yes! If you have reference photos of a wild wing male and female, and a blackshoulder male and female, and can provide me with the genetic information of the mutation (mode of inheritance [dominant, recessive, incomplete dominant, sex-linked, etc], type of gene [de novo single gene, mutli-gene combo, newly-combined multi-gene, etc]), along with any other relevant genetic info (full name of the mutation, location, exceptions, etc), simply e-mail the information to me and I will contact you with any questions I have regarding the submitted info. If it checks out, then I can get any new mutation added to the calculator.
Submit the following info to my e-mail:
New mutation name:
Mutation Origin Location:
Mode of inheritance:
Type of gene:
Other relevant info/exceptions/notes:
Please describe how you determined mode of inheritance/created the new combination:
Please describe any test breeding you have done to check your work:
Q: How can I contribute photos for educational purposes, to be added to the Peafowl Image Database for reference?
A: Easy! Simply e-mail your photos with identification on them to [email protected]. Please include your name or farm name to be used as a watermark.
Q: I have located an error/bug in the calculator.
A: Error reports can be submitted to my email. Please make sure it IS a bug, not a feature, by reading the above Q&A and the home page of the calculator. Please also check back in 30-60 minutes and try again before contacting me, as sometimes technology farts and it's not something I can fix.
Q: I have a question about the calculator that isn't answered here, where should I ask?
A: You may e-mail me questions at any time. Please double-check your question has actually not been answered.