White Earlobe?

[NWchickenherder]

I wanted to follow up on my previous post asking about the white earlobe issue that came up in one of my Buff Orpintons. For several days I treated it like Favus and applied a topical anti-fungal creme. However, I discontinued this practice because 1) there was not change in the color of her earlobe and 2) the somewhat sticky creme would allow dirt to stick to her head, which didn't seem like a good practice. So I've left it alone. Her comb and waddle have not changed colors and are actually dark red and healthy looking. She is also acting normal (if anything she's more active and "in your face" when I walk outside), so I'm doubting that it's Favus. None of the hens are exhibiting the same earlobe lightening.

So I have another question: Could this be a prelude to molting? These hens were hatched March 1, 2013, so the are ~11 months old and have never molted before. I understand molting typically occurs in the Spring or Fall, but maybe it's "warm" enough here in the Northwest that they feel it is Spring-like? What sort of signs should I be paying attention for to determine if a molt is coming on or not?

Thanks for helping this Montana (but now "urban") cowboy

 

[Lora Indy]

I had posted about my white eared Orps before with the same suggestion of Favus. I doubted it at the time and had it confirmed by a vet this Fall as not being Favus. It takes some pretty wet and unsanitary conditions to promote Favus . It presents with a widespread blotching of the face, head, and ears. The skin is roughened and face & head feathers fall out in patches. In very bad untreated cases the beak can even be deformed. It can also be secondary to a compromised immune system.

In my Orps case the white ears are from mixed breeding. My smaller Orps weigh in the 4-5 pound range, lay like fiends and are Buff Leghorn mixes. The larger girls that weigh in the 7 pound range have beautiful Minorca combs.

As she explained it to me, the hatcheries are crossbreeding to increase egg production and to breed out broodiness. They will use a Buff Leghorn rooster over a Buff Orpington hen to produce the breeder hens. The breeder hens are then covered by a Buff Orpington rooster to produce a higher number of hatching eggs. That makes a 3/4ths Buff Orpington that will show some of the traits of the grand-rooster. They have a smaller, narrower frame, larger comb and bits of the white ear pigment. They also lay a lot earlier and a lot more.

I hope that helps explain the mystery of the white eared Orps. It's most likely not a disease or any other problem, just a matter of breeding.

 

[NWchickenherder]

Thanks for the additional information/explanation Lora Indy. My two Orpingtons where purchased from a commercial breeder at the local coop, however as you said about cross-breeding I truly have no way to verify the purity of the lineage of my Orpingtons. Of course I bought the very last two available and they came from the same batch, but they are fairly dissimilar in looks (so at least I can tell them apart!).

Thanks again!

 

[Eggnog101]

I apologize for abandoning this thread.
Q is completely back to normal, no idea what happened, but it hasn't come back. Thank you all for your time!

 

[kristinaluna]

Our Buff is 8 months old and also recently developed matching white earlobes. I'm going to have a vet check her since I would like to rule out Favus before starting any treatment at home. Feel free to check out the photo and let me know your thoughts. I hope she's ok. Her temperament is normal, lays at the same time every day. Our hens free-range during the day and get cooped at night.

 

[xyzp]

The white earlobes on healthy chickens are usually a genetic trait, not necessarily disease. And the color doesn't always denote the egg color. True Blues often have white earlobes & lay blue eggs.

 

[StandzStrong]

Does the type of rooster or their earlobe color play into what color egg the hen will lay at all?

 

[Rugbygainz]

Almost every chicken I have had has had this regardless of the species. At first just like here, someone suggested it was favus. But favus looks very different. If your chicken starts loosing feathers around the neck or develops crusty skin you might want to look into it being favus. Alot of people however confuse favus with molt.
If you want to be on the safe side it would not hurt to use an over the counter antigfungal agent for athletes foot. If there is no improvement then you are mos likely not dealing with a fungal issue.