ring necks and Melanistic Mutant

[spectrumranch]

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Whew JJMR-- I was getting worried about you........ this post had mentioned release and you hadn't given your release speech yet!

 

[spectrumranch]

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My QUESS would be one of two options:

that the tail was picked on at a young age and when it healed and grew.... the tail split or divided.

Or just a defect it was born with. I have had a chicken with the tail growing sideways, a guinea that had 4 legs, a chicken that died in the egg but had 2 beaks and 3 eyes.

I have a blue ringneck male that looks like he has two tails (but squashed together) which is from the tail cartilage getting picked on/damaged as a young bird.

 

[spectrumranch]

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So your hens look like the Green hen or the Black hen or inbetween?

Black (melanistic) hens should be dark/black base color with an irredescent purplish/greenish tint.

Green hens also get irredescent but have more of a brown base color, usually with lighter tips on the feathers. But remember there is a wide variance among greens some hens will be lighter brown to some being close to a black.

If you look at chseeads (i always think cheeseheads) post about Melanistics- he has some good pics and great melanistics. Another difference in Blacks and Greens......... Black chicks and black with yellowish white markings, usually on the throat, chest and wings. Green chicks are usually a milky chocolate brown with maybe some white markings but not always, they can be solid also.

 

[SamG347]

I would say mine are green. And I need to get some updated pics...the rooster I have is really beautiful.