Giant Silkie Project.

[MysteryChicken]

Got a video of the group today.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Guess I can produce some Chameleon Giant Silkies. This is the Silkie/Malay Cross cockerel if I decide to use him.
I'm still ruling out water contamination(Now in Maine), & Vitiligo, there's No way I can have Vitiligo in all my unrelated birds.

 

[MysteryChicken]

@NatJ

 

[NatJ]

Guess I can produce some Chameleon Giant Silkies. This is the Silkie/Malay Cross cockerel if I decide to use him.
I'm still ruling out water contamination(Now in Maine), & Vitiligo, there's No way I can have Vitiligo in all my unrelated birds.

For the number of unrelated birds you are finding with this, I think it either must be caused by some genes that are pretty common in quite a few different breeds, or by something in their environment. That could be something specific that is present or absent in the feed or water or air, or it could be something more general like stress (possibly even different causes of stress for different birds.)

 

[Amer]

For the number of unrelated birds you are finding with this, I think it either must be caused by some genes that are pretty common in quite a few different breeds, or by something in their environment. That could be something specific that is present or absent in the feed or water or air, or it could be something more general like stress (possibly even different causes of stress for different birds.)

I think so too. White undercolor is a common fault in many breeds.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I think so too. White undercolor is a common fault in many breeds.

He had gray underfloor, just recently started turning white.

 

[MysteryChicken]

For the number of unrelated birds you are finding with this, I think it either must be caused by some genes that are pretty common in quite a few different breeds, or by something in their environment. That could be something specific that is present or absent in the feed or water or air, or it could be something more general like stress (possibly even different causes of stress for different birds.)

I did find some link to this with nutrition, but it's when they have excellent nutrition though. Like something their diet is rich in, seems to trigger it. So I think it maybe caused by some sort of gene.

It reminds me of that bird in Alaska, a type of Partridge that turns white for the winter. The Ptarmigan.

 

[NatJ]

I did find some link to this with nutrition, but it's when they have excellent nutrition though. Like something their diet is rich in, seems to trigger it. So I think it maybe caused by some sort of gene.

It reminds me of that bird in Alaska, a type of Partridge that turns white for the winter. The Ptarmigan.

Are yours changing color seasonally? Or getting progressively more white as they get older and never going back? Or getting more or less white with different molts, presumably affected by something that happens at the time they are regrowing their feathers that year?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Are yours changing color seasonally? Or getting progressively more white as they get older and never going back? Or getting more or less white with different molts, presumably affected by something that happens at the time they are regrowing their feathers that year?

I've never had this happen when I was just feeding Flock Raiser, or All Flock only, just the Chick Feed, & All Flock.
They do tend to get some color back, SmartyPants is getting some cuckoo patches, but is still pretty solid white. It's just starting to enter molting season here.

The roosters are staying patchy, no huge increase in white, & Sassy Pants is still multicolored/blacks/tans/white, & Red.

 

[NatJ]

I really don't know what is going on here but I'm continuing to watch to see what happens.