PURPLE hen???

[Blue]

Quote:
I never thought to call it that, but now that it's been mentioned, it really does fit. However, for some reason the term "Beetle Sheen" doesn't really make the coloration sound as attractive as it actually is. lol!

 

[gumbii]

i have a black serama/oegb crossed hen that has a lot of that purple beetle sheen... i grew her from a chick... my favorite little hen...

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:

I love this!!

 

[chickendiva25]

Quote:
My Austrolorps have a very pretty green sheen in their feathers, kinda sounds like what you are describing. Not sure about the violet sheen though, their feathers are just black with green in them.

 

[pgpoultry]

I have quite a lot of black birds and the males in particular have a lot of the green/blue beetle sheen on them....very pretty in the sunlight.

However I am not so familiar with purple sheen and wonder if folk would post some pics? (I know.....chickens don't pose and just the right amount of sun catching the feathers needed)

This is the nearest I have to purple.

Lavender probably, but keeping this colour as he gets bigger (now about 5 weeks old and still mauve).

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
It might be hard to photograph. Yes, usually black birds when the light hits just right. Here is a pic that I used a flash on. The green shows up great....but the purple is harder to see. This bird was an extra roo and I don't have him anymore. Later today I will see if any of my black birds have the purple sheen.

 

[kathyinmo]

Now I may be way off, but when I googled, "purple sheen in poultry," I found it was a problem, rather than an asset.

 

[watchdogps]

Quote:
How so?

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

I was talking to a judge at a fair I was recently at, and he said that purple barring on black feathers is undesirable. You want to see the green sheen.

 

[Illia]

It is a problem because it shows poor feather growth. Often the purple shows up in "bands," and those bands are unwanted. I don't know what causes it, I just know it's not a good thing, health-wise, for the feathers.


Now if a bird has a green sheen that may change a slight blueish purple from time to time, that's fine, but the bird needs to be green most of the time. Check the feathers.