Disadvantages of raising white feathered chickens?

[ISSOLA]

Quote:
Thanks! That's good to know....

 

[GardenGranny]

Check out the Delaware thread. Hundreds of posts from people who love their Dellies, and no mention of dirty looking birds.

 

[MakNat]

I'read once that if you feed allot of corn to white birds it will give them a tint of yellow color.. I think it is true, my leghorn roo is tinted yellow. Anyone else head this?

 

[The Sheriff]

White feathers all over my nice, clean yard looks like trash.

 

[gryeyes]

My preference for birds colored other than white is entirely based on fears they may be more visible to predators. My EE roo turned out to have quite a bit of white on him.

But I'm not getting rid of him.


I will continue to want darker colors, although I DO have a Buff Orpington, and that's quite a light color, probably just as visible as is white.

 

[Country Heart]

My white birds had no trouble staying clean. I think the white makes the color that they do have that much more vibrant.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I've heard it, but I still don't believe it. Only my roo has problems with yellowing hackle and saddle feathers, not my white hens and they all eat corn.
As I said before, I was told it's called bronzing and is a result of large amounts of sun exposure. When my roo gets wet, his feathers are all white again.

 

[ISSOLA]

Thanks for your comments guys.

I am heartened to know that white feathered birds can do well looking preened and clean. Visibility to predators is not an issue here since all birds stay inside the coop.

I am truly enamoured by some of these beautiful breeds, and hope to add some to my flock in the future.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

I have white rocks, and if there is a fight or i have to put blu-kote on one of them, then...well.. they are either bluish purple, or red, also they do get dirty sometimes also

 

[Ariel301]

I have one white hen, and she is fine unless she goes free-ranging. Then she rolls in the dirt so much that she looks nasty for several days. Or if it rains, she is all muddy looking. (Hopefully that will not be a problem now with their new rain-proof pen roof!) The others get just as dirty, but don't show it as much.

I used to have a white horse, and will not ever get another that color, because of all the work to keep them clean looking, and I find the same issue with white chickens. I like all my animals to look clean and neat, since family tends to drop by at random with their kids, and I want the kids to stay fairly clean petting everything, and also for them to look appealing to my guests. Since I live with my in-laws, who aren't really farming types, I try to keep everything as spotless as I can to impress them, too. (I don't want them suddenly deciding they don't like smelly dirty animals everywhere!)

I also just don't like the color that much on chickens...I find other colors more attractive. Ironically, I have an incubator full of white plymouth rocks right now...