Any idea why half of one of my Rhode Island Red chickens's feathers became white?

[fisher39]

This is from last year's batch of chicks. One of them is half white. Any ideas why?

Album: http://imgur.com/a/FrGWo

As long as she lays eggs (which she does, I think), I don't really care, but I'm just wondering why/how this happened.

 

[newchicks5]

diet lacking of something what i cant think of.

 

[Fred's Hens]

First, these are not true bred, bred to the Standard Rhode Island Reds. These are what hatcheries may call Reds, but they are reds, small "r". They are sometimes known as production reds. They carry the genes of birds that were mixed into them, years ago, to speed up how fast they mature and to lay more eggs.

She's fine. She simply moulted back and many times, other colors show through when a bird of diverse genetic background moults. If she's healthy and laying well for you, then it's all good. I'm sure she is well cared for by you.

 

[fisher39]

First, these are not true bred, bred to the Standard Rhode Island Reds. These are what hatcheries may call Reds, but they are reds, small "r". They are sometimes known as production reds. They carry the genes of birds that were mixed into them, years ago, to speed up how fast they mature and to lay more eggs.

She's fine. She simply moulted back and many times, other colors show through when a bird of diverse genetic background moults. If she's healthy and laying well for you, then it's all good. I'm sure she is well cared for by you.

Interesting! There were 16 chicks total, all from the same rooster and 3 hens which I bought from the local Menonnites. They claimed that they were Rhode Islands. Is there any other way to tell if if they are production reds or rhode island reds? How do you know personally that they're production reds? Is the white feathers on one of them the only clue?

This was the only one out of 16 that this happened to, and it happened early on, probably at about 3 or 4 months old. I'm not sure how only one out of 16 siblings could get it. I'm not worred at all as she seems fine otherwise. The feathers aren't as uniform and don't seem as "fluffy", but she's healthy otherwise. Thanks for the info!

 

[Fred's Hens]

OK,

Here are some bred to Standard, heritage Rhode Island Reds.

To be a "breed", a bird has to be intentionally bred to the breed's Standard. The Standard for the RIR calls for many aspects of body shape, weight, leg color, feather type, comb type, feather color, feathering and angle of the tail and so much more. The birds you got are fine for layers. Just fine.

But they're not Rhode Island Reds. Folks who sell chickens, even the hatcheries, sell red birds and call them RIR but they just aren't. True Rhode Island Reds can only really be gotten from dedicated folks who love the breed, breed it faithfully to the Standard, preserving the heritage of this fine American bird.

Click on any photo to enlarge it

















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[fisher39]

Ah, gotcha. To be honest I don't see a difference but I'm no expert. Thanks for your time.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Fred's Hens Rhode Island are among the best in the country. AND, his barred rocks "rock"!