Breda Fowl thread

[Sylvester017]

Hatching season is now in progress. One of this year's first Breda hatchlings.

View attachment 1282400

OMG! So-o-o-o adorable! I'll never be able to enjoy Breda chicks since they don't ship well and I don't want to hatch eggs. Enjoy your babies for me!!!

Is this a BBS or Cuckoo chick? So cute!

 

[critterbug]

Is this a BBS or Cuckoo chick? So cute!

Cuckoo. I have a few BBS hatching in a couple of weeks

 

[boskelli1571]

I have a question for you all - I have a Breda hen around 10 months old. She was a nice steely blue color. Over he last few weeks her feathers have started to turn white/very pale blue. She appears well, is eating/drinking ok. All have had Poultry Cell etc. for the winter blahs....any ideas??

 

[chicken danz]

So after we last talked, boskelli, I did some more research. Apparently this could be a sex linked gene which is only seen in the Z chromosones (females). It's a gene which has something to do with slow feathering and silver feathering. But the fading occurs when there is a reduction in the production of tyrosinase. Tyrosinase is found in all living organisms. I haven't had time to look further to see if you can use plant based treatments to increase this. You might research Tyrosinase and see if there is a way to out source it to see if you can help her coloring.
Unfortunately this lack of production can also be linked to avian leukosis but she should be past the age of being infected, so I think you are good there. I've not ever seen this occur in any of my chickens, Breda or otherwise so I don't believe it is all that common.
I do know that with some self blue chickens that after breeding back a few generations they start loosing their blue color. But this occurs as they are hatched and not as they age. So I don't know if that would be a factor at all or not.
In your case I tend to believe that this may have had more to do with winter stress than anything. Perhaps if you could get her on a diet of more fresh veggies and fruit this may help. I wish I knew for sure. At least I was able to find what is probably causing it. It's just finding time to do some further research to see if it can be reversed.

 

[boskelli1571]

So after we last talked, boskelli, I did some more research. Apparently this could be a sex linked gene which is only seen in the Z chromosones (females). It's a gene which has something to do with slow feathering and silver feathering. But the fading occurs when there is a reduction in the production of tyrosinase. Tyrosinase is found in all living organisms. I haven't had time to look further to see if you can use plant based treatments to increase this. You might research Tyrosinase and see if there is a way to out source it to see if you can help her coloring.
Unfortunately this lack of production can also be linked to avian leukosis but she should be past the age of being infected, so I think you are good there. I've not ever seen this occur in any of my chickens, Breda or otherwise so I don't believe it is all that common.
I do know that with some self blue chickens that after breeding back a few generations they start loosing their blue color. But this occurs as they are hatched and not as they age. So I don't know if that would be a factor at all or not.
In your case I tend to believe that this may have had more to do with winter stress than anything. Perhaps if you could get her on a diet of more fresh veggies and fruit this may help. I wish I knew for sure. At least I was able to find what is probably causing it. It's just finding time to do some further research to see if it can be reversed.

Thanks - gives me somewhere to start. Someone on FB has a blue Breda that used to be dark blue and is now pale blue - apparently she got lighter with each molt.

 

[chicken danz]

I saw that as well after I posted this. If that is the case it seems to be what I first suggested that she is going through her first major molt and she is going to end up lighter colored. Which I think would be much nicer. The only research I could find however pointed to the gene thing. Raising lots of chickens though I do know that if they have some mottling genes those do show up more each molt....which I would think was that birds color explanation. Time will tell for sure.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks - gives me somewhere to start. Someone on FB has a blue Breda that used to be dark blue and is now pale blue - apparently she got lighter with each molt.

I was reading on feathersite.com where they had a cuckoo chicken that would turn more white with every molt until the chicken turned pure white by age 6. Wonder if its the genetic reason why cuckoo Dominiques came in a white variety back at the turn of the 20th century?

 

[boskelli1571]

I was reading on feathersite.com where they had a cuckoo chicken that would turn more white with every molt until the chicken turned pure white by age 6. Wonder if its the genetic reason why cuckoo Dominiques came in a white variety back at the turn of the 20th century?

I didn't realize there was a white strain of Doms..

 

[Sylvester017]

I find all sorts of little gem stories when I research. The Dominique photo page on feathersite.com has the white Doms on it. Have no idea where the whites came from but the photographer seemed excited to have come across them! I figure it's a genetic fluke that Doms can turn white.

 

[SilkiesForEver]