EE cross with weird hairdew

[E flowers]

So my EE cross that I've had for 3 years or so has a weird hairdew. She has the beard and muffs like typical EE's but also the feathers at the sides of the base of her skull curl and slick back like a greasers hairstyle.

Her father is a Golden duckwing pheonix x Golden Comet cross and her mother was an Easter egger. I'd be interested in seeing if anyone else has an Easter egger cross with something similar.

 

[Amer]

I've never seen it quite like that, but one of the things that the beard gene does is cause the feathers to ruffle on the back of the neck. The official term for this is a "boule" and breeders of Belgian Bantams and Orloffs select for this characteristic.
My birds only have minor ones.

 

[StinkyAcres]

One of my EEs has some curling of her neck feathers like that. I thought she damaged them somehow but I guess it's just genetics!

 

[E flowers]

I've never seen it quite like that, but one of the things that the beard gene does is cause the feathers to ruffle on the back of the neck. The official term for this is a "boule" and breeders of Belgian Bantams and Orloffs select for this characteristic.
My birds only have minor

Yeah I can see it a little bit in some pictures. I wonder if because her feathers are so tight to her body it just emphasizes the curled feathers more. Lots of the birds in the pictures have thicker neck feathering.

I'm already busy with a breeding project right now but maybe I can breed her back to her father and see if the chicks come out similar in the future.

 

[Amer]

Yeah I can see it a little bit in some pictures. I wonder if because her feathers are so tight to her body it just emphasizes the curled feathers more. Lots of the birds in the pictures have thicker neck feathering.

I'm already busy with a breeding project right now but maybe I can breed her back to her father and see if the chicks come out similar in the future.

That's my thought as well. On Orloffs it is emphasized due to their tighter feathering also.

 

[E flowers]

That's my thought as well. On Orloffs it is emphasized due to their tighter feathering also.

I was just looking through old photos and found one from November of 2024. She doesn't seem to have the curled feathers at all in these photos but maybe it's just how thick her winter plumage is.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I was just looking through old photos and found one from November of 2024. She doesn't seem to have the curled feathers at all in these photos but maybe it's just how thick her winter plumage is.

Mine also didn't have the curled feathers until she was older.

 

[E flowers]

Mine also didn't have the curled feathers until she was older.

Maybe it's with age then. Do you remember how old yours was when she got it? I feel like this might be the first year for my girl to have it. She's like 3 years old now.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Maybe it's with age then. Do you remember how old yours was when she got it? I feel like this might be the first year for my girl to have it. She's like 3 years old now.

Looking back at photos mine didn't have the curled feathers as a pullet but it appears she had them at about a year old. I guess I didn't notice them back then.

 

[E flowers]

Looking back at photos mine didn't have the curled feathers as a pullet but it appears she had them at about a year old. I guess I didn't notice them back then.

Maybe it was the same with mine? I honestly can't remember and I don't think I have pictures of her very far back.