white feather in black bird - disqualification question

[TinyBirds]

I have been hatching eggs over the past year from BYC members and also raising chicks from breeders I contacted directly from breeder-lists at the breeder club websites. I haven't yet been to any shows though, so my question is this.... (and please be nice to me - I'm new to the breeder-scene and just wanting to learn from the pros!)

A few of my black birds that are around 3 months old, have a white feather-tip in the wings. Should I remove those from my list of possible breeders? I purchased 75+ chicks of this particular breed, so I can afford to be picky and assume I should remove them. But.... if they happen to be quite large and healthy (things I personally like to select for with any dual-purpose chicken), what should I do? Should I wait until after the first molt to see if the white disappears? Or just take them out of the breeding pen right now?

ETA: I didn't post the breed name here because I'd like to gather responses from various people who raise black-color birds (regardless of the specific breed - since I assume the white feather-tip situation could show up in any black color chicken).

Thanks so much!
Jenny

 

[muddyhorse]

they will probably molt out before they hit 6 months. If they are laying and have the white feather then cull them. right now I wouldn't worry about it

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Exactly. They are still in their juvenile plumage. It's not at all uncommon for black birds to show some white at this point in their development.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

since you didn't want to talk breeds, the black langshan will have white till they have there adult feathers, what you also need to watch for is purple luster in the black feather, you need green, purple will get you disqualified faster then a stray white feather

 

[catwalk]

Used to have black bantam Cochins. I was telling everyone that I was hatching out mottleds, untill they molted...

I think it'll go away.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

And if you get one or two white feathers in a black bird (or black in a white) pluck it out and chances are it will grow back the correct colour.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
Exactly. They are still in their juvenile plumage. It's not at all uncommon for black birds to show some white at this point in their development.

I do agree!!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
If you have black fowl and pluck out an adult white feather it will grow back as white 99 % of the time in the wing and tail section.

 

[hinkjc]

Quote:
Exactly. They are still in their juvenile plumage. It's not at all uncommon for black birds to show some white at this point in their development.

I do agree!!

I agree too. It is perfectly normal to see white feathers on black chicks as they grow out. When they go into their adult plumage they should be completely black.

 

[EweSheep]

Pretty normal for Aussies and Orps to have white tip on their feathers, wait for them to molt out their adult feathers before you cull them out.