Curly hackle feathers on my 4 month old cockerel

[- Serama Mama -]

Hello BYC!

I just have a quick question; does anyone know why my 4 month old Serama cockerel has these incredibly curly hackle feathers? I've tried searching online and on here and haven't been able to find much about it. He's obviously not a frizzle but I have a feeling that he and my frizzle hen (from the same clutch and seller) share some parentage. My friend who also keeps chickens said she's never seen anything like it, even in all the years she worked at the National Aviary. I don't believe they're harmful or messed up or anything but we are both incredibly intrigued as to why his have curled so much and what that could mean in terms of his genetics.

Here are some photos:

Some are so curly that they straight up look like the Dali mustache! He looks really magnificent when those feathers stand up and he puffs out his lion's mane and if it's something that he might be able to pass on, I'd love to know that!

Anyhow, thank you in advance for any comments or ideas about why he's got such a unique hairdo

Have a great day and thank you for reading!

 

[nchls school]

I also have had serama with curled feathers on just a part of their body. My guess is that frizzle is more than just a gene; that there are modifying genes that produce curled feathers as well.

Yes, it is a trait that COULD be passed on to the next generation depending on who he's paired with and if the gene is dominant, recessive, incomplete dominant, etc.

In another month he will be sexually mature and you could always get him a hen to see what happens.

 

[- Serama Mama -]

I also have had serama with curled feathers on just a part of their body. My guess is that frizzle is more than just a gene; that there are modifying genes that produce curled feathers as well.

Yes, it is a trait that COULD be passed on to the next generation depending on who he's paired with and if the gene is dominant, recessive, incomplete dominant, etc.

In another month he will be sexually mature and you could always get him a hen to see what happens.

Thank you much for responding! Heh, he and his brother, Rusty (*the curly boy is named Rowdy so they're quite the pair ) have already started mounting the hens and the hens have already started to let them do it! So I'm excited to see what happens. These guys are about 2 weeks behind my oldest Serama hens but I've noticed that my Early Bird (the first to hatch and a blue splash frizzle hen) has taken to hanging out in the nesting box and is now setting it up to her liking. As of 8/29 she will be 5 months old and I've seen both boys try to mount her already (though I'm not sure if they made contact due to their size difference; she's class B and Rowdy is a micro and Rusty is JUST barely a class A).

(*Early Bird on the left, Rusty on the right, and the back of Rowdy's tail behind Early, haha, plus my black silkie and a small glance at my little micro cuckoo silkie Serama hen behind Early and Rowdy's tail, Obama the Serama is the black/bluish dark hen, and then Maui the little lemon blue Serama in the background on the left)

But woo! I really do hope it's something that he will pass onto his babies. I've never seen feathers curl SO much because even the frizzles aren't curled that far, so I wonder if there's something to what you said about it possibly presenting in other ways, even if the chicken doesn't display the characteristic frizzling all over their body. We suspect that he does carry the frizzle gene so perhaps it is only being expressed on his hackle feathers? I don't know. If I may ask, on what other parts of the body have you seen the curls expressed? There doesn't seem to be very much information about it anywhere that I've really looked so I'm quite interested to know what your experiences with the super curls have been like.

Anyhow, I appreciate your taking the time to comment and respond, thank you! And have a nice day

 

[Chookwagn]

Hello BYC!

I just have a quick question; does anyone know why my 4 month old Serama cockerel has these incredibly curly hackle feathers? I've tried searching online and on here and haven't been able to find much about it. He's obviously not a frizzle but I have a feeling that he and my frizzle hen (from the same clutch and seller) share some parentage. My friend who also keeps chickens said she's never seen anything like it, even in all the years she worked at the National Aviary. I don't believe they're harmful or messed up or anything but we are both incredibly intrigued as to why his have curled so much and what that could mean in terms of his genetics.

Here are some photos:

View attachment 2305475
View attachment 2305476
View attachment 2305477
View attachment 2305480

Some are so curly that they straight up look like the Dali mustache! He looks really magnificent when those feathers stand up and he puffs out his lion's mane and if it's something that he might be able to pass on, I'd love to know that!

Anyhow, thank you in advance for any comments or ideas about why he's got such a unique hairdo

Have a great day and thank you for reading!

hes a super awesome looking guy!

 

[nchls school]

Expand to see full reply.

Thank you much for responding! Heh, he and his brother, Rusty (*the curly boy is named Rowdy so they're quite the pair ) have already started mounting the hens and the hens have already started to let them do it! So I'm excited to see what happens. These guys are about 2 weeks behind my oldest Serama hens but I've noticed that my Early Bird (the first to hatch and a blue splash frizzle hen) has taken to hanging out in the nesting box and is now setting it up to her liking. As of 8/29 she will be 5 months old and I've seen both boys try to mount her already (though I'm not sure if they made contact due to their size difference; she's class B and Rowdy is a micro and Rusty is JUST barely a class A).I doubt the size difference will prevent mating as I have had small bantam roosters mate with hen three times their size and the eggs were fertile. How long have you had serama? If the pullets' combs have grown and turned a brighter red you can expect eggs at any time and, even though the cockerels are young, they probably will be fertile. Many of my pullets are brooding and leading chicks by the time they are 6 months old.

(*Early Bird on the left, Rusty on the right, and the back of Rowdy's tail behind Early, haha, plus my black silkie and a small glance at my little micro cuckoo silkie Serama hen behind Early and Rowdy's tail, Obama the Serama is the black/bluish dark hen, and then Maui the little lemon blue Serama in the background on the left)One of the nice things about serama are the many colors and variations they come in.

But woo! I really do hope it's something that he will pass onto his babies. I've never seen feathers curl SO much because even the frizzles aren't curled that , so I wonder if there's something to what you said about it possibly presenting in other ways, even if the chicken doesn't display the characteristic frizzling all over their body.
Should your pullets look ready to lay, consider setting up a breeding situation. I am always experimenting with genetics in one way or another. If I had your cockerel I'd set him up with two pullets/hens; one smooth and one frizzle. It would be most interesting to see the results. Where did you get him? Do you know where the parent birds are? I wonder if either of them has the same type of feathering. If you had the mother (with super curls-of course they'd be a lot smaller on a hen), she could be paired to the son. Then the trait WOULD come through in the offspring.

We suspect that he does carry the frizzle gene so perhaps it is only being expressed on his hackle feathers? I don't know. If I may ask, on what other parts of the body have you seen the curls expressed?
Saddle, breast, and shoulders; just a few feathers or small patches of feathers with each bird.

There doesn't seem to be very much information about it anywhere that I've really looked so I'm quite interested to know what your experiences with the super curls have been like. At the time I did not think much of them. With the serama I had, with the few curled feathers, it was not attractive as is yours. I did research it and found nothing. This was several years ago and even info on frizzle was confusing and often contradictory.

I still have the same line of serama, but the "super curls" has not showed up since the three birds I had years ago.

Anyhow, I appreciate your taking the time to comment and respond, thank you! And have a nice day You too.