Inos

INO – Lutino and Albino

Ino is the name given to a gene in Budgerigars that masks the underlying colour of the bird, including the Green and Blue series.

Lutino

The Green series appears yellow when affected by the INO gene and is known as Lutino. Beneath the yellow masking is an actual Green-series Budgerigar, which may be a Normal, Opaline, Cinnamonwing or any other variety.

Albino

The Blue series appears white and is known as Albino. Similar to the Lutino, the white masking covers the underlying Blue-series colour, whether it is Skyblue, Cobalt, Mauve or Grey.

These birds can also carry other varieties, such as Normal, Greywing, Opaline or any other variety.

The Sex-Linked INO Gene

The INO gene is sex-linked and is carried on the X chromosome. Therefore, male Budgerigars, having two X chromosomes, can carry the INO gene in a hidden form, or be split for INO.

The female has only one X chromosome, so she is either INO or she is not; she cannot be split for INO.

When an INO cock is mated to a Normal hen, the resulting hens will be INO.

Conversely, when an INO hen is mated to a Normal cock, the resulting cocks will be split for INO, while the hens will be Normal. This is one of the reasons why many breeders use the INO cock when outcrossing.

Lutinos and Albinos – Then and Now

The Lutinos of yesteryear tended to have more of an orange colouration compared with the yellow appearance generally seen today.

Albinos also appear to have changed over the years, with today’s birds seemingly having lost some of the colour suffusion seen in earlier generations.

One of the Albino breeders of the past believed he had found a way of addressing the problem of suffusion. His method involved mating a Lutino to an Albino and then selecting very pale-coloured Lutinos to mate back to the Albinos.

I wonder what modern-day Albino breeders are doing to combat suffusion?

Characteristic Features of the INO

There are several features of the INO that help identify the variety, including the eyes, cere and beak.

The beak could best be described as a honey colour, rather than the cow-horn colour normally associated with other varieties.

The cere also differs, lacking the deeper cobalt colouring seen in Normal males and instead displaying more of a flesh colour.

The eyes are red rather than black, another distinctive feature of the INO.

In my opinion, the INO has stood the test of time better than many other varieties.

Colour and Breeding Observations

In the past, breeders tried to produce Lutinos masking Olive and Yellow Faced Greens, thereby carrying the Yellow Faced factor.

I found that some of the best-coloured Lutinos were those masking Greywing Olives.

Once again, I wonder what today’s Lutino breeders are doing in their breeding programs to achieve the best possible colour?

The best Lutinos today can have quite good colour, but in my opinion they do not approach the bright, almost orange colouration that was seen in some of the Lutinos of the past.

Ron Hunt

 

Cock × Hen	Cock Offspring	Hen Offspring
INO × Normal	100% Normal / INO	100% INO
INO × INO	100% INO	100% INO
Normal / INO × Normal	50% Normal / 50% Normal / INO	100% Normal
Normal × INO	100% Normal / INO	100% Normal
Normal / INO × INO	50% INO / 50% Normal / INO	50% INO / 50% Normal