Feather quality

[Livinzoo]

I have generally heard of hard and soft feathers talking about the flexibility of the feather shaft. But someone I know that shows poultry referred to hard feathers as the feathers that the barbs don’t stick together like normal. So is this indeed a feather quality issue or perhaps a result of things like mites and lice or other poor husbandry? Can anyone provide articles or books that talk about feather quality in show birds?
Thanks

 

[Amer]

That person would be wrong. The hardness of feathers shouldn’t prevent the barbs connecting properly. However, hard feathers tend to be slightly more brittle than soft feathers. For example, if you back a Cochin into the cage bars, no big deal, but if you do the same with an OEGB, it may cause some breakage. I’ve never seen article about feather quality other than about lavenders and some special genes not really present in show flocks, but there is this:
http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/mutations2.html#gen_mut_feathtype
That’s about all.

 

[Livinzoo]

Thank you!

I suspect that this person has no idea what they are talking about but they say it with confidence that makes people believe them.
This is the wing of a “hard feathered” black Marans pullet they culled from their breeding flock. She is now here and has been treated for lice that she had.
Thank you for the article. Definitely educational!