- Sep 23, 2014
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Are you on UPA forum or a UPA member? I just went and searched "blind" (not sure if you can use search function if not member? Worth trying anyway) and found a couple old posts which said it turns up in purple and peach as well as cameo... used to be called the "death gene" or "cameo death gene." Because the blind birds died...
Apparently it is fairly rare. Affected birds should not be bred, of course.
Me? Or the OP? If me, I've used that forum occasionally.
Was thinking if you were on there, you could maybe find the posts... that's where I found the info about it occurring in purple... I remember reading the threads a couple years ago, so went looking to see if I could find them again.
I did a search here on BYC and found this old thread (may Deerman rest in peace

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/559096/is-he-a-cameo-or-peach-he-has-gone-blind-already
Both this thread and the ones on UPA mention the birds going white around the head area, and that somehow being associated with the onset of the blindness.
I'm really curious to hear whether this is becoming more rare as affected birds are removed from the gene pool? I don't think it was ever really common, but I've only been a pea-brain for a few years...