opinions on breeding mutations

[*kimi*]

There is soo much negative speculation regarding the issue of mutation breeding It makes me ponder on the idea- Is it really a good thing to be doing? I know the ringnecks gene pool is limited, and has been for years, although some of the more rarer parrots & endangered native Australian parrots are beginning to show up some mutations that are becoming established such as the hooded & princess parrot.

Alot of people are against mutations which at first I couldn't understand why, because in the wild mutations show up in a natural 'act of god/nature' kind of way, all that happens in aviculture is the mutation is combined with other mutations which is still producing pure birds, whose colours came about naturally to begin with. There are some people on the net that make up claims that mutations are created by man, which is not right to say as they are just established by man- not created.

The only aspect of mutations that doesn't sit right with me is the inbreeding side. I understand that in-breeding is apparently nessesary to establish new mutations, although I can't understand why people would be doing it to already established mutations, as it is only going to weaken the genes of the birds over time, and could have bad effects after years & years of breeding this way. With the internet we have the ability to communicate with people all around the world at clubs & on forums such as this to share information on parrots such as ringnecks, & it is known that every time a new mutation shows up in one aviary it is usually showing up in another somewhere else. So wouldn't it be better for the birds future that people could communicate more about this and when new mutations show up, breeders could do trades to help keep bloodlines pure & still be able to make generous profits and also help the birds gene pool at the same time? I know it sounds like a difficult idea, but definitely possible If money wasn't the main interest to some rather than the species of parrot they breed.

Anyway i'll stop there before I upset people, but I still think mutations are definitely beautiful & interesting, and If people went about it the right way, they could destroy all the dissaproved peoples opinions, maybe instead of people trying to ban mutations they could try & create a non-inbreeding regulation, which would include some kind of pure-bloodline certificate for all mutation parrots, and ensure our parrot friends stay beautiful in colour, structure & personality for years to come.

[Molossus2]

Mutation breeding can benefit preservation of our natural species. Mutations that occur in the wild are handicapped to survive and mostly succumb to predation. Mans intervention in capturing and preserving these have assisted in taking away focus in continued trapping of birds to a degree. The combination of mutations result in the most beautiful of secondary mutations. These colors are locked into the genetic makeup of the primary mutation. Mans manipulation in combining brings out Gods hidden gift to the bird. This color result can not manifest unless gifted by our Creator into the genetic makeup of the bird and that's the bottom line.what we do with the birds in our care( mutation or normal) is what we will have to account for. That is my belief.