Lavender Orpington feathers

[corviidae]

I’m here with my girlie, Tofu. She’s 12 weeks old and her feathers look TERRIBLE. like. Stress bars all over, really ragged and shredded feathers since day one. Im not sure if it’s diet related as all my other pullets and my cockerel do not have this issue.

We didn’t cull because we don’t know if it’s just an aesthetic issue with the lavender gene or a health problem. She eats fine and drinks fine and is active and has normal poops. Is this common in lavender chickens?? We don’t breed, so if it’s just an aesthetic problem, I’ll be okay with that. (please disregard the swelling, trying to figure out if it’s sinus related in another forum or if it’s just another bug bite )

It’s the worst around her tail and wings and it goes up her back/saddle feathers. Stress bars were all over and prevalent since she was just a hatchling. She’s also a hatchery girl.

Edit: I added more photos of when she was younger because she’s cute and it’s for reference.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Lavender (particularly males) and lavender+other colored birds have an issue called shredding, where certain feathers like the wing, tail and saddle feathers appear ragged or stunted

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@RoostersAreAwesome @Amer
Both of these very knowledgeable members have helped me understand wing patch aka shredder gene. I'm sure they'll have some helpful information for you Your hen is gorgeous

 

[corviidae]

Lavender (particularly males) and lavender+other colored birds have an issue called shredding, where certain feathers like the wing, tail and saddle feathers appear ragged or stunted

It looks so rough. I was so worried she was sick

Do you know if stress barring tends to go hand in hand with it or might I need to keep an eye on that? I’m going to be treating for worms just in case and seeing what I can do to make sure she’s healthy, but I’m not sure since they’ve always been like this.

 

[corviidae]

@RoostersAreAwesome @Amer
Both of these very knowledgeable members have helped me understand wing patch aka shredder gene. I'm sure they'll have some helpful information for you Your hen is gorgeous

Thank you <3 she’s my scrungly girl. I love her very much. The older ladies seemed to have accepted her quicker than the other pullets and my boy

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@nicalandia
Is another one that is knowledgeable about this but I haven't spoken with them personally. I believe amer mentioned them whenever we were talking about wing patch in self blue birds
@Overo Mare I know that moony knows all about this stuff too, so tagging you if you think he'd like to join

 

[Amer]

^^^Yeah this is caused by the wing patch gene which is linked to the lavender. I think all that needed to be said was said.

 

[corviidae]

^^^Yeah this is caused by the wing patch gene which is linked to the lavender. I think all that needed to be said was said.

Thanks! I won’t sweat too much about it then. Gonna see if the stress bars are a different thing, but I sort of doubt it since it’s been a since-hatching sort of thing.

 

[kurby22]

Stress bars are common in lavenders too. I had two Lav Orp roosters with the shredded feather gene and they both had a ton of stress bars, especially in their hackle feathers. My lavender Ameraucanas don’t have as many, but there are some. I think lavender feathers are a bit more fragile and the stress bars are common. They are/were all very healthy birds, just lots of issues with their feathers! She’s very pretty!

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Overo Mare I know that moony knows all about this stuff too, so tagging you if you think he'd like to join