Thanks again. I wasn't sure if the black coming through was called leakage.Gold, Silver and Red are leakage. They show up on the neck (hackles), wings and back (saddle) (red mostly on wings)- all at the same time. That yellow on yours could be sunburn - it isn't on every feather. Lavender is stripped black - really stripped - so I am sure the feathers suffer from sun exposure pretty badly. I have one grooming hen too - when I figure out who she is she may go in with the beardless boys!
I do not know if they call darkness on a Lavender "leakage". The one boy I have has fretting on his feathers (black lines) and a dark gray head - its caused when the feathers grow and stop - they are black when they stop - when they grow they are Lavender. The Silver Leakage boy doesn't have the fretting or the dark head - he is much lighter.
Its possible the darker ones are not as desirable for breeding - but that's what I have. My Light boy shows silver, the darker one is a single color but darker with a dark head and fretting. I know the fretting is not desirable - the one Lav hen I have does not have it...
Anybody?
Thanks Jean. He is my only Smith roo so I am going to hang on to him for a while longer. I haven't noticed any barring. Just the darker feathers and he seems a little small. He also has a bad attitude. Very aggressive for a youngster.He's a pewter looking lavender, he may have a lot of that "barring" looking thing going on.