Explain different Feather types and genetics please? someone??

[ESofVA]

I know what silkie feathers look like and I think hard feathered means very little to no down???
OK...I am not sure at all about what "fluffy feathered" means unless it is like a breed that has fluffier feathers underneath than usual?? Like a Salmon Faverolles or Wyandotte???
So what do you get when crossing fluffy feathered chickens with Silkies? Are they fluffier than Wyandottes or Faverolles and less fluffy than Silkies or is it just dominant/recessive genes??
I know that hookless feathers is recessive to hooked. So, why do my Silkie crosses have feathers that are partially hookless?
My chickens are all purebred except for my red sex-link hens/pullets. I don't hatch their eggs, they are only for consumption.


I have asked a couple of questions on here before and I want everyone to know how thankful for their help. I continue to learn more about fowl genetics by reading /asking here, online and books I have purchased on chicken genetics.

Debbie in VA
I am a biologist but not a geneticist. My work was in the field and not a gel jock in the lab. LOL!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hard feathers are stiff; soft feathers are more pliable. Game breeds, Rhode Island Reds, leghorns, etc. are hard feathered breeds; cochins, brahmas, and silkies are soft feathered breeds. Silkie feathers lack the barbicels that hold the webbing together.

I'd have to see what you mean by your crosses having some silkie feathering. My understanding is that that cannot happen without two copies of the gene. Now the fluff is downlike, regardless of breed and silkie feathering or its lack. Here is a picture that shows where the fluff is:


http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/mutations2.html#gen_mut_feathtype gives a fair amount of information on feather genetics.

 

[ESofVA]

TY for the link!! I copied the 3 pages and added them to my file folder on chicken genetics
Will get some photos today.

 

[ESofVA]

All feathers that are not wing feather are like this. They don't seem to hook the closer to the ends they get. They don't lay down and some tend to stick out from their bodies .



Here are some photos of the feathers and a few of the chicks... the white ones seem to be fluffier tham the darker ones...

All of the chicks have the same fluffy salmon purebred father and although some have different mothers, all of the hens are purebred Silkies.

So...are their feathers still just like those on a fluffy chicken or are they different? They look different to me.
TY!!

 

[ESofVA]

OK...took some pictures of the feathers from a black chick.
The first is from its breast and the other two from the top of its wing...not the flight feathers.


This pic is of a few of the black chicks:



I guess they actually look like the white chicks' but the black ones feathers don't stick out near as much as the white ones .
The dark chicks have black skin for the most part ( a few have a few small light areas, mostly on their toes) and the light chicks have yellow skin ( some have a few small black spots).
There are a couple of light chicks I really like and want to keep. I also like the black ones with the spangles??? on their breasts and want to keep a couple of those. But the questions I have about the black ones will keep for another post.
Thanks a million!

 

[ESofVA]

I was just reading about poor feather quality associated with the lavender gene. I also saw that the colors buff, white, painted, black, and blue as well as salmon have L/L and not l/l genes for lavender. So, my question here is: it possible to get lavender chicks with salmon crossed with any of the other above colors? Or, maybe just the same poor feather quality that is usually associated with lavender?
What would cause feather shafts to break easier than normal feathers? Not mites or lice or other external factors. They look like they are just having a bad "feather" day!

 

[ESofVA]

So, went and plucked a couple of feathers from mu big, hens and looked at them up close. Maybe those feathers ARE rather normal!!?? But, still why do they stick out all over?