Which chicken breeds have herniated skulls?

[Shell from Zim]

Hi All

I know there are some real knowledgeable people out there.. so I thought I'd ask as Google is not my friend Does anyone know all the different breeds of chicken with skull herniation? My beautiful big crested birds have skull herniation and I'm more baffled as to their possible genetics than ever. I'm wondering if a deep dive into all the different crested breeds would yield some more clues. I would so appreciate your input. Cheers

 

[BantyChooks]

Sultans, Polish, and Silkies come to mind.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It's called Vaulted Skulls.

Silkies can be both Vaulted, & None Vaulted.

Polish, Vaulted

Sultans, Vaulted

Houdans, Vaulted

 

[Shell from Zim]

Thank you both for your responses. Sorry I used the wrong term Vaulted skull sounds a lot better. Skull herniation is how it is termed in a scientific paper I've just read.. it sounds rather painful

And the fact that silkies can be either vaulted or not vaulted does make me think perhaps that's whats in my birds genetics. Some are not vaulted. Thank you again

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you both for your responses. Sorry I used the wrong term Vaulted skull sounds a lot better. Skull herniation is how it is termed in a scientific paper I've just read.. it sounds rather painful

And the fact that silkies can be either vaulted or not vaulted does make me think perhaps that's whats in my birds genetics. Some are not vaulted. Thank you again

I like the None Vaulted silkies, since they're less fragile.

 

[Shell from Zim]

I like the None Vaulted silkies, since they're less fragile.

My vaulted skulled birds have a much larger crest which is more desirable

Here is an example of 2 hens from the same clutch.. one vaulted one not

 

[NatJ]

Spitzhaubens can have holes or thin spots in the top of the skull too, even without a great big vault.

(I had a few cockerels to butcher, and I was curious, so after they were dead I took the skin off the top of the skulls to get a good look, and I compared with some normal skulls from other breeds.)

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Silkie chicks with vaulted skulls will show it, silkie chicks without it will look like they don't have crests

 

[MysteryChicken]

My vaulted skulled birds have a much larger crest which is more desirable

Here is an example of 2 hens from the same clutch.. one vaulted one not

View attachment 2837312

None Vaulted can be just as full too.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I’ve been reading up on this recently myself. There seems to be an association between the crest gene (Cr) and vaulted skulls but it is not real clear. The crest is incomplete dominant as far as I understand. I too have non-vaulted silkies with awesome crests. I believe from what I have read that the vaulted skull was brought in using Polish in order to increase the appearance of the crest. I also have had both vaulted and non-vaulted in the same clutch of chicks.
Photo is two young pullets that I sold as chicks to the same person. The birds are full siblings. One had a vaulted skull and one didn’t, you can see the difference but both have nice crests.