Type of mutation:
Cameo is a color mutation, and can
also be combined with spaldings to create Cameo Spaldings.
Peacock Coloration:
At the beginning of the season,
males are dark brown in color, but by the time they begin to molt the sun has
bleached them to a much lighter "coffee milk color." The neck remains
a darker color than the rest of the body the entire year, and the train is
darker in color than the wings, which exhibit brown and tan barring. The ocelli
on the train have varying shades of brown, but no iridescence.
Peahen Coloration
Females are creamy brown and
lighter than the males in color. Their heads and neck are a darker rust, and
the color fades on the breast and back of the bird.
Peachick Coloration
Chicks look much like those of the
India Blue, but are lighter in color, and are a creamy brown.
Origin
Cameo was the first color mutation
discovered besides the white, and has been around for awhile. It was originally
called the silver dun. Cameos originated in Maine in the 1960s, and were first
bred by Oscar Mulloy. Sherman Cram, Dennis Cook, and Norman Waycott helped
perfect the mutation.
Do they breed true?
Yes, cameo x cameo will produce
100% cameo chicks. However, like the purple, cameo is a sex linked mutation.
This means that when a cameo cock is bred to any other type of hen, all the
female offspring will be cameo and the males offspring India Blue split to
cameo and the hen's color. Cameo hens cannot produce cameo offspring when bred
to other types of males, only offspring split to cameo. Since the mutation has
been along for many years, there is not a shortage of males like in the
purples.
