Blue Orp feather color question.

[shortcake1806]

I have a blue orp pullet that's about 8 weeks old. I've noticed some of her feathers have an odd color to them. They're more brassy looking. Is this normal for blue orps and will they molt to all blue?

 

[speckledhen]

That seems to be an issue with my Blue Orp rooster. When he molts them out, they come back blue, then get increasingly goldish. Not sure why that is. Didn't start out that way. It's the hackles I'm talking about.

 

[Krys109uk]

Blue can sometimes look muddy though sun damage.....but the buff in the plumage of bird in question doesn't particularly look like sun damage.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Could be nutrition. Black feathers can turn red if the bird is lacking in something (don't remember what it is though), and since black and bue are related I would think it could happen to blue too. Also, she may have some Buff Orp blood in her. Or they're just old and damaged.

 

[shortcake1806]

Thanks for the answers everyone. She was hatched from MP's eggs so I don't think she has any buff blood. It could be sun damage she's been able to go in and out of the coop for about 2 weeks. She does seem to stay in the shade most of the time though.

 

[Krys109uk]

Is MP well known?
I'd have thought sun damage is unlikely to happen that quickly & it tends to make the blue look faded & brownish rather than buff....

 

[shortcake1806]

MP is MissPrissy.

 

[Krys109uk]

It might be an idea to ask whether she's seen others like it. It might just moult out as Speckled hen said.

 

[MissPrissy]

At first glance I would say she is very light with lacing however I can't say for sure what her coloring is without seeing her in better photos.

As far as I know no one has hatched anything like that color from my birds. I know I haven't.

What most people don't realize and fail to follow through with is most breeders, including myself, cull the imperfect specimens. You can never be sure what is in a birds genetic background.

Raising all pure bred chickens is a learning journey and if you don't like what a bird produces cull it and try again.

No matter how many chickens you hatch there will always be an anomoly in the breeding that pops up somewhere. Genetics is a roiulette wheel in many cases. Nothing I see in chickens over the last 20 years surprises me except for Big Red. LOL

I would suggest removing her from the orp pen and don't use her to breed further stock.

However 8 weeks is really young to be judging her feathering. I would wait. I have lots of splashes that never look nice until they are around 5 months old.

 

[speckledhen]

No matter how many chickens you hatch there will always be an anomoly in the breeding that pops up somewhere. Genetics is a roiulette wheel in many cases. Nothing I see in chickens over the last 20 years surprises me except for Big Red. LOL

Ain't that the truth?? When I got a barred chick from my Blue Orp over RIR/Buff Orp hen, both from reputable breeders, that was quite the shocker!​