why is my hen getting white feathers

[chickenmama109]

hi thanks for looking in to this forum so i have a rhode island red and she is getting white feathers next to her tail feathers i will post photos tomorrow she will be a year old next month thanks for any and all tips and help

 

[Squishychicken]

where did you get her? my rir often get white tail feathers occasionally. they just happen. probuly an oops in the feather coding system...

 

[Farm life101]

Yeah I had the same problem with my Buffs they has black tail feathers. I think it’s just a coloring thing.

 

[Chelseyb123]

I have two rir haven't had any white feathers but they do have like a black fade on their tail feathers. I posted about coloring in rir an I guess its common for them to come in different shades other than heritage. So maybe that has something to do with it? Not sure.. But it is strange.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... i have a rhode island red... getting white feathers next to her tail feathers...

i will post photos tomorrow she will be a year old next month thanks for any and all tips and help

While there is such a thing as a Rhode Island White... a Rhode Island Red should not have a single white feather anywhere. Someone somewhere obviously let a little strange DNA creep into their brood pen or pens. It is not a problem but I kinda doubt that your hen will be allowed in the show ring if that matters to you?

 

[Chelseyb123]

I never knew there was a Rhode island white . they look similar to leghorns. They dont even look like the reds.

 

[Teila]

Anything like this?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-white-tipped-feathers.1137910/#post-17646314

As you can see, I did not get a response [which is OK]. Dusty is now 5 and still, on occasions, has white in her feathers and other times she is all black.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

My RIR gets white feathers occasionally.

 

[lomine]

I think I read somewhere a long while ago that damaged feathers will grow back as white. But I can’t find anything about it now so I might have misremembered.

While I was looking, I did find that some illnesses and nutritional problems can causes feathers to change color.
https://www.petcha.com/bird-health-and-feather-color-changes/

 

[Ravynscroft]

Yes, black feathers damaged or plucked out violently can grow back white, or partially white... actually, this can happen in any feather color... and in chickens, ducks, geese, etc...

Some just get whiter as they age as well... Cayuga ducks are well known for going 'white' as they get older...