Black Austrolorp feathers turning white?

[orangescribblehead]

My Veronica has had a bit of trauma, we think she dislocated her hip. She was getting around well and eating, and she seemed okay, even happy. Then her feathers started turning white and she doesn't seem herself. Veronica is at the top and her sister Austrolorp who we got at the same time, is at the bottom the picture. No change in diet? Thoughts?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not sure but I used to raise a totally black breed. After hens would molt, when feathers regrew, some would develop white spots like that. Some were subtle, just a few feathers and a couple had so much white they almost resembled Anconas. I had a discussion about this with a lady in the EU who was a geneticist with a specialty in poultry colors. One interesting thing she impressed upon me is that, unlike all other colors, white isn't actually, when it comes to feathers, a color. It is an absence of color.
I never could get to the bottom of why as the bird aged (but still fairly young) had an absence of color in its plumage.

 

[Paz]

How old is she?
This could be related to trauma. If the trauma was severe enough, this could cause her to lose some feathers, and if the trauma hasn't passed yet once the new feathers are ready to grow, they can grow white, just like in cats. Even if the trauma was gone by the time the feathers regrew, they can still grow white if the hen is of certain breeds and of certain age. Many older black hens, would have white spots of them when they're old.
My suggestion would be:
Treat her leg and make sure it heals up. The feather colour doesn't seem like a big concern to me. You can wait for next autom, when she sheds her feathers, to see if they grow back black.

 

[Just Ranchin]

I just processed some hatchery black austrolorps that nearly all out of the group ended up with some white feathers for a while. They were day old when I bought them and put under a broody hen who raised them until it was time to feed them out. Never had that happen before and as their winter feathers grew in they all lost the white feathers. That was a first and we've raised a fair amount of them. Yours does have more than ours did though.

 

[orangescribblehead]

How old is she?
This could be related to trauma. If the trauma was severe enough, this could cause her to lose some feathers, and if the trauma hasn't passed yet once the new feathers are ready to grow, they can grow white, just like in cats. Even if the trauma was gone by the time the feathers regrew, they can still grow white if the hen is of certain breeds and of certain age. Many older black hens, would have white spots of them when they're old.
My suggestion would be:
Treat her leg and make sure it heals up. The feather colour doesn't seem like a big concern to me. You can wait for next autom, when she sheds her feathers, to see if they grow back black.

Thank you! She's is perking up and I think she is molting as well, not the best time

 

[orangescribblehead]

I'm not sure but I used to raise a totally black breed. After hens would molt, when feathers regrew, some would develop white spots like that. Some were subtle, just a few feathers and a couple had so much white they almost resembled Anconas. I had a discussion about this with a lady in the EU who was a geneticist with a specialty in poultry colors. One interesting thing she impressed upon me is that, unlike all other colors, white isn't actually, when it comes to feathers, a color. It is an absence of color.
I never could get to the bottom of why as the bird aged (but still fairly young) had an absence of color in its plumage.

Thank you! I was hoping that it wasn't because of the trauma. She is perking up and I think she'll be ok.

 

[orangescribblehead]

I just processed some hatchery black austrolorps that nearly all out of the group ended up with some white feathers for a while. They were day old when I bought them and put under a broody hen who raised them until it was time to feed them out. Never had that happen before and as their winter feathers grew in they all lost the white feathers. That was a first and we've raised a fair amount of them. Yours does have more than ours did though.

Interesting and Thank you. I was hoping that it wasn't because of the trauma. She is perking up and I think she'll be ok.