The aim of this study was to describe the early feather appearance of chicks obtained from phenotypically red mosaic canaries kept under routine breeder feeding without added canthaxanthin or beta-carotene, and also to summarize first-clutch reproductive data. Ten breeding pairs of red mosaic canaries kept under private breeder conditions were included. The parent birds were purchased after the adult mask and red color pattern had already become visible, and pairing was made around 15 February. During the study, birds received ad libitum a standard ration composed of imported egg soft food and an imported canary seed mixture. No external red pigment source was added in any period. Egg and hatch records from the first clutch were taken from breeder logs and converted into reproductive indicators. During early feathering, all chicks were checked for visible red mask and for any reddish tone in the plumage. From the first clutch of 10 pairs, 37 eggs and 26 hatched chicks were recorded, giving an overall hatchability of 70.3%. Mean egg number and hatched chick number per pair were 3.7 and 2.6, respectively. In none of the 26 chicks, visible red facial mask or general reddish feathering was seen during early feathering. All chicks showed a yellowish-white early feather appearance. These findings suggest that, under routine breeder feeding without added pigment supplementation, the adult-type red mask of red mosaic canaries is not visibly expressed in the early feathering period of first-clutch chicks.
Ercan Mevliyaoğulları (2026) studied this question.