Black Orpington w/red or yellow hackle feathers....

[Pick-a-LilyFarm]

Hackle feathers are the neck feathers right? Well I have 4 orpington roosters. One is splash, one blue, and 2 black. The blue and black each have hackle feathers that are either red, or yellow (that blend in with the black, but very noticeable). It's nice because I can tell them apart, but when I look up images on google for black orpingtons roos, they are completely one solid color. My hens don't have different colored hackles. How could I get rid of the red and yellow colors to get a solid color when breeding? These guys are breeding with my hens and I have not hatched any out yet this year, but will in the spring. Will a roo with a solid black hen hatch out better hackles??? I wish I knew more about this....

 

[Goose and Fig]

I've had this happen with a few BBS Cochin males. It doesn't show up until they are older, and though it seems like it's only in males, it can happen in the hens too. You don't want to use them for breeding, as the "bleeding red" will be passed on.

(I had it in my splash boys, and it totally messed up my breeding plans

)

 

[Goose and Fig]

Sorry- I should have put this all in one post. Here's a pic of my splash guy- see the red in his hackles and wings? I was going to do a blue brahma project, but I don't have time to grow out and cull all the ones that are bleeding red like that. What sucks is I got him from a breeder- and they weren't cheap to have shipped. Let alone wait until he got this big to find out all of his faults too.

 

[NYREDS]

Have to disagree. Many breeders of black birds will use a male with a bit of red in the hackle to preserve/strengthen the sheen on the feathers of female offspring.

 

[onthespot]

I had some of my mottled cochins do that last year. I don't have them any more because I am concentrating on the mille fleurs. I had some show in the cockerels and two of the hens got it too.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

It can and does happen in the best of Blacks or BBS.

 

[onthespot]

Come to think of it, one of my potential mottled java cockerels did that too, red streaked hackles. He made a nice pot of noodle soup though... mmmMMMmmmmmm....

 

[wilds of pa]

If breeding for good blacks to show avoid it if you can, you don't want that in your black orp lines.. but if its all you have or are just using for backyard chickens for fun then they are fine.. it will pass on to the off spring, maybe not all?

you may be able to see it in early chick stages, look very closely at the head area of the down.
the color is usually a brownish red tint in that area on chicks. Ive seen this in my freshly hatched & dried araucana chicks, but for them i didn't worry none.

 

[Pick-a-LilyFarm]

Well...as good as the noodle soup sounds, I just love my guys too much! They are the sweetest roosters I have ever had. Huge and handsome!! Guess I won't have perfect birds, but I will have happy ones!

 

[Goose and Fig]

I'm keeping my faulty roos as well. They are still good foragers, and I love the morning chorus. If you really want to have chicks without the red- roos are not hard to come by. You can probably find a nice one for free