14 week Lavender Orpies - shredded feather??

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

Do my 14 week old lavender orpingtons have shredded feathers?

And while we're at it, are they all hens? I've assumed they are because they look like it to me and no one is crowing but their combs and wattles are varied between each other. Two of them are redder and more distinct while others are almost non existent. Thank you!

 

[realenthusiast]

Yes all of these are pullets, and yes they do have the feather shredding gene. A way to fix this in later generations would be to get yourself a black orpington rooster. The first generation of Black x Lavender should give you a bunch of black birds split for lavender. In the next generation breed those black birds split for lavender back to your Lavenders and you should get some pure lavenders without any feather shredding. Breeding Lavender back to black improves feather quality.

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

Yes all of these are pullets, and yes they do have the feather shredding gene. A way to fix this in later generations would be to get yourself a black orpington rooster. The first generation of Black x Lavender should give you a bunch of black birds split for lavender. In the next generation breed those black birds split for lavender back to your Lavenders and you should get some pure lavenders without any feather shredding. Breeding Lavender back to black improves feather quality.

Thank you! I am new to chickens and have felt an interest in breeding them; so, this is very interesting. How would lavender orpies (an "ultra rare" chick) with shredded feather make it to TSC? That's were I bought them - at a premium price! Should I even bother letting them know?

Is there a good beginner's thread or article on breeding that you could point me towards?
Thank you so much!

 

[realenthusiast]

Thank you! I am new to chickens and have felt an interest in breeding them; so, this is very interesting. How would lavender orpies (an "ultra rare" chick) with shredded feather make it to TSC? That's were I bought them - at a premium price! Should I even bother letting them know?

Is there a good beginner's thread or article on breeding that you could point me towards?
Thank you so much!

Unfortunately, hatcheries are more focused on quantity over quality, so they tend not to care much about something like the feather shredding gene.

In the future when buying chicks or eggs to hatch, I would look for a breeder on facebook with the breed you are looking for. They are going to be better quality, and match up with the standard of the breed you’re trying to get much better. Hatcheries don’t usually have birds that match up to breed standards.

As far as the shredding gene goes, it is extremely common in lavender or “self- blue” birds. I have almost never seen a lavender orpington in person that did not have the feather shredding gene because almost all of them come from hatcheries. But any bird that has the lavender gene is susceptible to the feather shredding gene, including isabel varieties. It isn’t a hard fix at all though.

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

Unfortunately, hatcheries are more focused on quantity over quality, so they tend not to care much about something like the feather shredding gene.

In the future when buying chicks or eggs to hatch, I would look for a breeder on facebook with the breed you are looking for. They are going to be better quality, and match up with the standard of the breed you’re trying to get much better. Hatcheries don’t usually have birds that match up to breed standards.

As far as the shredding gene goes, it is extremely common in lavender or “self- blue” birds. I have almost never seen a lavender orpington in person that did not have the feather shredding gene because almost all of them come from hatcheries. But any bird that has the lavender gene is susceptible to the feather shredding gene, including isabel varieties. It isn’t a hard fix at all though.

Oh my goodness, this is so enlightening. I'm feeling gullible I knew it was quite the process to get lavender orpingtons but I didn't know how prevalent the shredder gene is or how unreliable hatcheries/TSC can be.

Would it be a worthwhile project for me to try and produce my own shredder free lav oprpies as a newbie? In the breeder community, is this a divisive breed because it does seem a little controversial. For instance, what happens to all the birds with the shredder gene?

 

[AinaWGSD]

The shredder gene, from what little I know of it, only affects feather quality. It's no more controversial than silkied feathers and probably way less controversial than frizzled feathers because it isn't linked to metabolic issues.

All the birds with the shredder gene just have less than perfect feathers. They wouldn't do well at a poultry show (although lav orps wouldn't do well anyway since they aren't a standard APA color for orpingtons)

As to whether it would be a "worthwhile project" for you to work on improving your birds that depends on your goals. It's gonna be a lot of work but it can be rewarding.

 

[realenthusiast]

Oh my goodness, this is so enlightening. I'm feeling gullible I knew it was quite the process to get lavender orpingtons but I didn't know how prevalent the shredder gene is or how unreliable hatcheries/TSC can be.

Would it be a worthwhile project for me to try and produce my own shredder free lav oprpies as a newbie? In the breeder community, is this a divisive breed because it does seem a little controversial. For instance, what happens to all the birds with the shredder gene?

You can use the birds you have with the feather shredding gene to produce birds without it. If you can find a Black Orpington rooster breed him to your lavender hens. The offspring they produce would be all black in appearance but all would carry the lavender gene. You’d call these “split” for lavender. You’d take your birds split for lavender and breed them together.

Lav Split X Lav Split = 25% Pure Lavenders with no feather shredding 25% Pure Black (Not split for Lav) and 50% Black split for Lav

I think this would be a really good beginner breeding project.

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

The shredder gene, from what little I know of it, only affects feather quality. It's no more controversial than silkied feathers and probably way less controversial than frizzled feathers because it isn't linked to metabolic issues.

All the birds with the shredder gene just have less than perfect feathers. They wouldn't do well at a poultry show (although lav orps wouldn't do well anyway since they aren't a standard APA color for orpingtons)

As to whether it would be a "worthwhile project" for you to work on improving your birds that depends on your goals. It's gonna be a lot of work but it can be rewarding.

Thank you!

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

You can use the birds you have with the feather shredding gene to produce birds without it. If you can find a Black Orpington rooster breed him to your lavender hens. The offspring they produce would be all black in appearance but all would carry the lavender gene. You’d call these “split” for lavender. You’d take your birds split for lavender and breed them together.

Lav Split X Lav Split = 25% Pure Lavenders with no feather shredding 25% Pure Black (Not split for Lav) and 50% Black split for Lav

I think this would be a really good beginner breeding project.

This has been so helpful, thank you!