Ancona Pullet (8 Months Old)

[CoopedUpChicken]

Hi! My Ancona pullet, the leader of the bunch, is about 8 months old.
She had white earlobes...and now today I noticed they have turned YELLOW!!!

Is this normal, is this an illness...?

She seems normal otherwise.

Thanks!

 

[CMV]

It's normal. My anconas started with white earlobes, but they have been yellow for a few years.

 

[Eggcessive]

Last fall, I noticed my ancona had yellow earlobes during her molt. They returned to white afterward, and again during her molt this fall they became yellow again.

 

[CMV]

Last fall, I noticed my ancona had yellow earlobes during her molt. They returned to white afterward, and again during her molt this fall they became yellow again.

I wonder if it's because of a build up of yellow pigment that the birds would normally lose during egg laying. My remaining Ancona doesn't really lay due to a very hard childhood (she was super tiny from the start and then got stepped on, so...no eggs pretty much ever). She has had yellow lobes for most of her life where her sister (who laid just fine) didn't.

 

[Eggcessive]

I wonder if it's because of a build up of yellow pigment that the birds would normally lose during egg laying. My remaining Ancona doesn't really lay due to a very hard childhood (she was super tiny from the start and then got stepped on, so...no eggs pretty much ever). She has had yellow lobes for most of her life where her sister (who laid just fine) didn't.

That's a good thought. Another BYCer last year had it in his leghorns, relatives of anconas, and he tried to convince me that it was fungal or some other infection. She is one of my healthiest chickens close to 5 years old, lays daily when not molting, and when it went back to white, I didn't worry about it.

 

[CMV]

That's a good thought. Another BYCer last year had it in his leghorns, relatives of anconas, and he tried to convince me that it was fungal or some other infection. She is one of my healthiest chickens close to 5 years old, lays daily when not molting, and when it went back to white, I didn't worry about it.

Yeah, my girl for all her tiny size and lack of eggs has never shown the slightest sign of any infections, fungal or otherwise. I worried for years about the lack of eggs thinking she was laying internally, but she's going on 4 years and still going strong. She is about half the size of a normal Ancona- tiny, perfect and spritely. Her name is Splats.

I'll bet the yellow coloration is what would normally be used to color the yolks during egg laying and that's why you only see it during molt. I see it in mine all the time because she doesn't lay.

 

[CoopedUpChicken]

Awwww, Splats is a cute name!

Thank you for the input!

Is it possible for 8 month old pullets to molt?

By the way, I have another 8 month old Ancona hen (but don't know if they are related - but they were in a batch of chicks at the local farm store) - her earlobes are still white. It's really interesting.
This is our first year keeping chickens and we LOVE it - we learn new things all the time!

The strangest thing I didn't expect is our flock is free ranging during the day and they follow me around when I go outside. Unfortunately, they love our front porch and love to leave poop bombs... lol

 

[CMV]

8 month olds don't usually molt, but are they laying consistently?

 

[7littlegirls]

my 7 month ancona is molting and has stopped laying eggs. So has my 7 month brown leghorn.