Lavender Orpington feathers

[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.

 

[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!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Here's a picture showing what I'm talking about with Willow's hackles. Could the sun bleach the edges of feathers more since they're much more thin? I really don't know when this happened but I noticed it a couple of months ago. Willow is just over 2 years old.

 

[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]

Here's a picture showing what I'm talking about with Willow's hackles. Could the sun bleach the edges of feathers more since they're much more thin? I really don't know when this happened but I noticed it a couple of months ago. Willow is just over 2 years old.
View attachment 3140466

Yes the sun can bleach them, but some lavenders leak gold I’m told from some of the Ameraucana breeders that evaluated my birds. They both have yellowy feathers in their hackles and saddles that go beyond what you have so I’d guess yours may be bleaching from the sun

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Its normal for lavenders prolly to many lav to lav breeding is why its awful looking

 

[HeatherKellyB]

My self blue OEGB hen molted in nicer than normal during her last molt. Recently I've noticed some blonde lacing on her hackles. She's never had this before. I'm the first to admit that I'm about 5ft nothing, short of actually grasping this genetics stuff, but why am I just now seeing this and I wonder what's making her feathers look better. Don't get me wrong, they don't look great, but her feathers have been worse. I guess that could possibly be chalked up to feed or something nutritional. I believe she was free ranging during her molt last time. I'm certainly not trying to hijack this thread but I remember OP being interested in all of this stuff. I took a picture of Willow's hackles showing the other color. Is she no longer considered self blue or Lav or was she ever?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Yes the sun can bleach them, but some lavenders leak gold I’m told from some of the Ameraucana breeders that evaluated my birds. They both have yellowy feathers in their hackles and saddles that go beyond what you have so I’d guess yours may be bleaching from the sun

This is really interesting! I knew that blue could show leakage. My blue Dutch Bantam hen has some gold hackles (she also has gypsy face) but I didn't know that self blue/Lavender would show anything other than the steel blue color. Thank you for clarifying that. Since Willow is under a covered run and hasn't free ranged since early Feb. Of course she molted late 2021,but then only free ranged about an hour or two a day. I do wonder if it's leakage, but the sun can shine in through the sides of the run so bleaching is a possibility. Thanks again! I love this avian genetics stuff and hope to someday have a better grasp on it.

One more quick question @Overo Mare with Rona being Mottled Lavender, do she carry the wing patch gene? Seems like most Mottled lavs I see look nice. So I'm either not seeing many of them or something with the Mottled minimizes the wing patch gene. Then again, there's a chance that I am just completely in lala land and have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about

 

[Painted Calls]

probably my favorite way anyone has described it

Lol thanks!

 

[Painted Calls]

This is really interesting! I knew that blue could show leakage. My blue Dutch Bantam hen has some gold hackles (she also has gypsy face) but I didn't know that self blue/Lavender would show anything other than the steel blue color. Thank you for clarifying that. Since Willow is under a covered run and hasn't free ranged since early Feb. Of course she molted late 2021,but then only free ranged about an hour or two a day. I do wonder if it's leakage, but the sun can shine in through the sides of the run so bleaching is a possibility. Thanks again! I love this avian genetics stuff and hope to someday have a better grasp on it.

One more quick question @Overo Mare with Rona being Mottled Lavender, do she carry the wing patch gene? Seems like most Mottled lavs I see look nice. So I'm either not seeing many of them or something with the Mottled minimizes the wing patch gene. Then again, there's a chance that I am just completely in lala land and have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about

She's actually blue, so not that I'm aware of.

That's a great question for @The Moonshiner though!