My black Australorp changed colors! Weird...PiC HEAVY

[willowbranchfarm]

Well this isn't normal cause he has brow feathers...I wish he didn't cause it might mess up the breed if I breed him.

 

[Pharm Girl]

Wow! What kind of Roo is he?

 

[frostbite]

Breeding an imperfect bird only hurts the breed if you're breeding for the sake of creating and selling more of them in the breeding business. If you're only raising chickens for your own enjoyment to harvest their eggs and raise continuing generations of more egg layers for yourself, what kind of mutts you raise and enjoy won't have any effect on a breed. Have fun.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

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Black Australorp.

 

[Pharm Girl]

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I couldn't agree more, and was just joking around. I don't have a rooster anymore, but do have a breeder that I buy fertile eggs from if I want to hatch any under a broody. This Australorp was a feed store chick, so it's not too surprising she's really a mutt. She might hatch eggs for me one day, but they won't be her own.

 

[Pharm Girl]

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Black Australorp.

Do you have any pics? Id' love to see him.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Very interesting.


Brings to mind two things and I honestly don't have a clue if they even have anything to do with your bird. But I will spout them out anyway

I know in cats and dogs - after a high fever, you will often see dark hairs that are tipped in white.



In parrots - I have Congo African Greys - there are times when the red from the tail might show up in a body feather - just the tip being red or pink. This is believed to be cause by some type of deficiency in the feed - a missing vitamin or mineral. Often changing the bird's food (generally from seed based diet to a balanced pellet) will correct the coloring issue by the next molt.


Your girl is very interesting.

 

[Pharm Girl]

Well, I am not one to feed my chickens things like pancakes, meat, tacos and all the other crazy things people talk about. Mine are on layer pellet, but I do switch brands. Organic pellet is so expensive I usually buy one bag of each. I get an organic veggie delivery to my house and they do get the carrot tops and left over steamed veggies once in a while and I throw the occasional handful of cracked corn or oats. I had a deformed rooster that had issues, so I also have rooster booster vitamins which I add to the hens feed. They don't free range, but I do have a compost area next to their run where they go dig up worms and grub.
She hasn't seemed sick at all but hasn't laid an egg in a while. I figure that is due to the hard molt. All my hens had lice nearly all summer long. I think it's under control now. I'll keep an eye on her! Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I hope you don't think I was stating your feeding her incorrectly. I don't think you are, and sorry if it sounded that way.

Maybe she has some mottling in her background, and it has just taken a bit to "come out" so to say. I know my mottled cochin gets a bit more mottled after each molt.

 

[Pharm Girl]

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Not at all! I like free thinking and input. I really can't believe the things people feed their birds though. I had one choke to death, so mine won't be eating things that aren't cut up to bits.