Urgent feather question GLW

[QueenOfBling72]

So I posted a thread asking about the green shimmer on my golden laced Wyandotte and someone said the green shimmer is so to good feed but the purple shimmer you don’t want I asked him what does the purple shimmer mean but got no response does anyone know a lot about golden laced Wyandotte’s and what the purple color means below you’ll see pics of my cute little chickpea

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I've heard that purple is bad too. I've wondered a lot about it, but have never found any answers.

 

[QueenOfBling72]

Hopefully we’ll get some answers now

 

[Shezadandy]

If your goal is to breed to the SOP (standard of perfection) it's probably worth looking up the description of how the feathers should be. Functionally - it means absolutely nothing- she's just a happy beautiful chicken, no health implications to green or purple ... whatever her genes have in store is what you'll get to experience over her lifetime.

 

[QueenOfBling72]

If your goal is to breed to the SOP (standard of perfection) it's probably worth looking up the description of how the feathers should be. Functionally - it means absolutely nothing- she's just a happy beautiful chicken, no health implications to green or purple ... whatever her genes have in store is what you'll get to experience over her lifetime.

Thank you that is so great to know as long as she’s healthy and gorgeous she’s my pet and I love her very much

 

[Shezadandy]

Yes she's just fine!

The minimum level of protein for laying hens is 16%. Some say there's a relationship between % of protein in feed and purple in feathers, but I haven't found that to be true as I feed 20% Flock Raiser and see plenty of purple - the purple is more a genetics thing IMHO - and if your goal isn't showing and breeding, it doesn't matter one tiny bit. Maybe it's feed influenced over some really specific set of genes?!? Dunno.

 

[raingarden]

J Exp Biol. 2012 Aug 15; 215(16): 2742–2750.
doi: 10.1242/jeb.069351
PMCID: PMC3404802
PMID: 22837446

Dietary protein level affects iridescent coloration in Anna's hummingbirds, Calypte anna​

Melissa G. Meadows,1,* Thomas E. Roudybush,2 and Kevin J. McGraw1
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

SUMMARY​

Many animal displays involve colorful ornamental traits that signal an individual's quality as a mate or rival. Brilliant iridescent ornaments are common, but little is currently known about their production cost and signaling value. One potential cost of colorful ornaments is the acquisition of limited dietary resources that may be involved, directly or indirectly, in their production. Protein, the primary component of bird feathers and of many nanostructural components of iridescent traits, is naturally restricted in hummingbird diets (comprised mostly of sugars), suggesting that iridescent coloration may be especially challenging to produce in these animals. In this study, we experimentally investigated the effect of dietary protein availability during molt on iridescent color expression in male Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna). We fed captive birds either a 6% (high) or a 3% (low) protein diet and stimulated molt by plucking half the gorget and crown ornaments on each bird as well as the non-ornamental iridescent green tail feathers. We found that birds receiving more protein grew significantly more colorful crown feathers (higher red chroma and redder hue) than those fed the low-protein diet. Diet did not affect gorget coloration, but regrowth of feathers in captivity affected both gorget and crown coloration. Additionally, birds on the high-protein diet grew yellower (higher hue) green tail feathers than birds on the low-protein diet. These results indicate that iridescent ornamental feathers are sensitive to diet quality and may serve as honest signals of nutrition to mates or rivals. Further, because both ornamental and non-ornamental iridescent coloration were affected by conditions during their growth, iridescent color in these birds appears to be generally condition dependent.