After molting, different plumage?

[MIChickandGuinea]

Our black Marans is just getting her feathers back in after a genuinely ugly 18-month first major molt. She had always been solid black, except for a tiny bit of white at the very tips of her tail feathers. The new feathers I see coming in have a little white dusting on EACH feather, all over her head, neck, and body. Is it possible/typical for post-molt feathers to be a fair bit different than the original first-year ones? Or are these sort of interim feathers that will be replaced by her original solid black?

 

[CCUK]

I have a cuckoo Marian that was turning a brown colour. She had a molt and her feathers came back black and white as they should be. I'm not sure about them actually changing though.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

I have a cuckoo Marian that was turning a brown colour. She had a molt and her feathers came back black and white as they should be. I'm not sure about them actually changing though.

I had actually expected our Marans to be cuckoo, based on what I read on the signs at Tractor Supply, but they both feathered out solid black (18+ months ago). So I assumed we had black Marans. But the new feathers coming in do look just like what I see in images of cuckoo Marans.

 

[CCUK]

This is my 4 month old cuckoo marans.

The black and white ones obviously! I can't say much about tsc as we don't have them here but I have heard that they can be a little inconsistent and pot luck.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

This is my 4 month old cuckoo marans. View attachment 1550431The black and white ones obviously! I can't say much about tsc as we don't have them here but I have heard that they can be a little inconsistent and pot luck.

Honestly, I like our local TSC. I have heard people have bad experiences with other branches, but the one near me has a couple employees who are AVID chicken hobbyists, and they are full of great information and help with any issues. And our local TSC gets its chicks from a hatchery that's literally 20 minutes away, so the chicks are usually in great shape, not stressed from lengthy time spent in shipping.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

This is my 4 month old cuckoo marans. View attachment 1550431The black and white ones obviously! I can't say much about tsc as we don't have them here but I have heard that they can be a little inconsistent and pot luck.

And ... I just love my chickens. I don't mind if they're not show quality or if they ended up in a mis-labeled bin. If she's a sweet, friendly little lady, that's good enough for me

 

[BY Bob]

My Patsy gets more red in her black feathers after each molt. I will try and go back and find pictures from a few years ago and then today to show the difference. She is going from all black with a red head to black with red tipped feathers very slowly.

 

[Folly's place]

I can't speak for your Marans hens, but some color varieties of chickens do tend to get 'whiter' every molt. My millie fleur Belgian d'Uccles, for example, and the Speckled Sussex. More white every molt, every year.
Mary

 

[aart]

Is it possible/typical for post-molt feathers to be a fair bit different than the original first-year ones?

Yes, this is when the 'hidden' genetics may show up.