white chickens

[Daysi]

ok my white polish are turning yellowish and i read somewhere that feeding them corn will turn their feathers yellow... what should i feed them? and is there anything else i should be doing to keep them from turning yellow?
please help!

 

[Shannon's Chix]

Not sure about the corn but I heard the sun will do that too. Probably does because my whites are turning yellowish around neck feathers and I don't give them corn...

 

[charlieschickens]

Feed them layer pellets if they are old enough (can be layer mash) or chick starter. In the heat of the summer, the do not need the corn or any of the other stuff. Corn is virtually useless to chickens except for making them fat.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

My white chickens do not eat corn and they still turn yellow. I do not keep mine up away from the sun and it will certainly cause the feathers to turn yellow. I can flip them over to check for mites and see a snowy white abdomen where the sun doesn't cause the problem.

 

[Redcatcher]

I once color fed a tiny white OEG bantam once and she turned a peach color. Anything with carotenoids in it can turn a white bird yellow. Someone else posted in another thread that a particular brand of Neutrena turns his/her white birds yellow. Sunlight can also play a part in yellowing white birds, particularly around the hackles and saddle feathers. For this reason, white show birds are kept indoors and away from windows where they are subject to direct sunlight.

 

[Chris09]

There are a few things that could be doing that to your birds,
Sunlight,
Feed that is high in Yellow corn and or Soybean,
Gold based bird (Silver based bird tend not to "yellow")

Chris

 

[Daysi]

thanks for all the advice i really appreciate it!!

 

[Redcatcher]

Once the feathers turn yellow, it is irreversible. It will not do you any good to change feed or keep them indoors now (although sunlight might make them even yellower). You will have to wait until they molt in the fall. Once they molt and the new feathers come in, then it is safe to resume feeding them corn. The exception might be show birds since birds drop and regrow an occasional feather throughout the year. In a flock of birds you would probably not notice a stray yellow tinged feather but you might on a show bird in tough competition.

 

[Daysi]

ok wait one more question..... how long will it be if i get the chickens out of sunlight and switch to a different food before they turn white again? if they will turn white again?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

They have to molt and then start over with those new pretty white feathers.