Identification Help

[Kedreeva]

Okay, so this morning I went to the Imlay swap in Michigan. I picked up two peahens, a purple pied and a BS purple pied. Now, at home I have a purple pied peahen already, but she's NOT the same color visually as the purple pied I just picked up. So here's a picture of the three of them together, and maybe someone can tell me what might be going on here since I haven't dealt in purples much.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the terrible lighting in these photos, it's really overcast here and my phone's flash does jack to light an area. The new hen I'm 100% sure is an actual purple pied hen, she is a warm brownish color instead of the more grey of my blue pieds. Penny, on the other hand, is like this much brighter tan brown in comparison, so she's kind of what I'm wondering about.



The blackshoulder, obviously, is front right. The new purple pied is front left. Penny, the original purple pied, is in the background.



This is Penny when a friend of mine first purchased her:



And some of Penny next to my blue pied hens:




And finally the new hen for comparison:




So... what's going on here? Guesses?

 

[DylansMom]

Okay, so this morning I went to the Imlay swap in Michigan. I picked up two peahens, a purple pied and a BS purple pied. Now, at home I have a purple pied peahen already, but she's NOT the same color visually as the purple pied I just picked up. So here's a picture of the three of them together, and maybe someone can tell me what might be going on here since I haven't dealt in purples much.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the terrible lighting in these photos, it's really overcast here and my phone's flash does jack to light an area. The new hen I'm 100% sure is an actual purple pied hen, she is a warm brownish color instead of the more grey of my blue pieds. Penny, on the other hand, is like this much brighter tan brown in comparison, so she's kind of what I'm wondering about.



The blackshoulder, obviously, is front right. The new purple pied is front left. Penny, the original purple pied, is in the background.



This is Penny when a friend of mine first purchased her:



And some of Penny next to my blue pied hens:




And finally the new hen for comparison:




So... what's going on here? Guesses?

I am wondering if Penny may be a Cameo Pied, because the new one looks like a Purple, but Penny doesn't really.

 

[Kedreeva]

I am wondering if Penny may be a Cameo Pied, because the new one looks like a Purple, but Penny doesn't really.

That's what I was thinking, but I'm also fairly certain that my friend picked this up from the same guy I purchased the two new girls from, and he's usually got his stuff together and knows what everything is when he sells it. He's got separate pens for his colors, so if he said she was a purple, it was because she came out of a purple pen, which just makes it all the more confusing.

I found a photo from here that looks just like Penny did at 10 weeks that says the bird is a 10wk old purple pied:


And there are other pics of other birds that are listed as purple peahens:
Purple pied white eye:

Purple pied peahen:


Purple dark pied peahen:


And then there's darker purple peahens like my new girl:
purple pied peahen:


Purple peahens:


Purple pied w/e peahen:


Purple pied w/e:



So maybe there are there just two shades of purple peas?

 

[DylansMom]

That's what I was thinking, but I'm also fairly certain that my friend picked this up from the same guy I purchased the two new girls from, and he's usually got his stuff together and knows what everything is when he sells it. He's got separate pens for his colors, so if he said she was a purple, it was because she came out of a purple pen, which just makes it all the more confusing.

I found a photo from here that looks just like Penny did at 10 weeks that says the bird is a 10wk old purple pied:


And there are other pics of other birds that are listed as purple peahens:
Purple pied white eye:

Purple pied peahen:


Purple dark pied peahen:


And then there's darker purple peahens like my new girl:
purple pied peahen:


Purple peahens:


Purple pied w/e peahen:


Purple pied w/e:



So maybe there are there just two shades of purple peas?

Well, I know White Eye will lighten up the colored parts, I am seeing that on one of my pied males who appears to have 2 copies of White Eye. His barred wings are much lighter than my Pied male who isn't White Eye. Maybe Penny is a White Eye?

 

[Kedreeva]

Well, I know White Eye will lighten up the colored parts, I am seeing that on one of my pied males who appears to have 2 copies of White Eye. His barred wings are much lighter than my Pied male who isn't White Eye. Maybe Penny is a White Eye?

I'm going to ask about that, since I will see the guy next weekend at the Wolf's Creek swap, but I think the white eye gene tends more to... hm... dilute? the color, like it's more of an "added white" pastel effect (like in the last two white-eye pics above). I do have a w/e hen, Jade, and the effect on her doesn't appear to be the same as the difference between these two purple hens. This seems to be a color spectrum shift from flat grey-brown to bright tan-brown.

I thought originally, when I first saw them next to each other, that maybe it was an age thing- like if Penny was younger and would grow out of the tan color but she was 10 weeks old at the beginning of August last year and this new one wasn't hatched until Sept of last year. But, the guy did say that he kept the new girl inside over the winter, where it was warmer, while Penny lived outside through the winter- and Penny, while being older, is smaller than the new hen. So I'm wondering if it's possible that there's a growth factor at work?

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Your old hen looks cameo pied for me and she could be also w/e, this is my cameo pied w/e hen:


Maybe Penny father was split cameo?

 

[Kedreeva]

Your old hen looks cameo pied for me and she could be also w/e, this is my cameo pied w/e hen:


Maybe Penny father was split cameo?

It's possible, I know he does have cameo birds, which is why he should be able to know the difference. I'll be sure to ask about this as well when I see him, because that's a good idea too.

 

[AugeredIn]

Cameo pied white eye most likely on your third hen.

 

[nevsma]

My purple pied peahens are also light colored like Penny, and at times I was confused if they were purple or cameo. The key is to be able to spot color right behind their head at the top of their neck. Do you see any purple feathers there? Mine have varying amounts,depending on the bird. My purple hens have that color, while my cameo hens have brown.

What is interesting about the purples are that their feathers fade in the sun. Mine start out darker just after they molt, but by this time of year, they are already a much lighter shade. So keeping your new hen inside all winter, would leave her darker.

I would post a picture of my purple pieds on here, but I am not sure how to do it.

 

[Kedreeva]

I would post a picture of my purple pieds on here, but I am not sure how to do it.

Interesting on the fading color, I will check her out for purple neck feathers tomorrow when there's sunlight again.

As for the photos, if you have them on your computer, when you make a post there should be options buttons along the top for changing the text and stuff. there should be one button that is a box with a little mountain picture inside of it. If you don't see it on your button bar, look for the clicky thing that says "more" and click it and more options should appear. Once you locate the mountain/image button, click it and you'll get some options. You can post pics by using the link or you can upload them from your computer. Make sure you select the "large" size when you upload! Good luck! I'd love to see some photos!