Wire-haired pullet?

[Sunny Flowers]

Can you folks educate me about this SFH's feathers? Snowbell is four months old and has started to get texture for want of a better word.

 

[chooks4life]

If that's 4 months old it's almost certainly a cockerel.

The type of feathering showing through could be down to a few things but thyroid problems is one.

Best wishes.

 

[Sunny Flowers]

Thank you Chooks4life. I will look into the potential thyroid issue. I was hoping to get more feedback in case this is a health problem I need to know about so I appreciate your comment. We'll know soon about sex, either way

 

[chooks4life]

You're welcome. Hope it's nothing serious.

Thank you Chooks4life. I will look into the potential thyroid issue. I was hoping to get more feedback in case this is a health problem I need to know about so I appreciate your comment. We'll know soon about sex, either way

Not necessarily; if it's a thyroid problem, complete absence of sexual characteristics and traits, fertility, etc can occur, or you can get mixed traits. Just worth being aware of the possibility.

Generally thyroid issues are largely caused by lack of iodine in the diet but either way there's a good chance it's either genetic or endocrine issues you're seeing here; and it can be both, too, i.e. a genetic issue with the thyroid or endocrine system; could be a nutrition deficiency as well, even if it is the other problems too. Gets interconnected and complicated, lol. There's a lot of ways this result could come about.

Best wishes with it. The wattles and comb are red so it's not in dire straits necessarily.

 

[Sunny Flowers]

You're welcome. Hope it's nothing serious.


Not necessarily; if it's a thyroid problem, complete absence of sexual characteristics and traits, fertility, etc can occur, or you can get mixed traits. Just worth being aware of the possibility.

Generally thyroid issues are largely caused by lack of iodine in the diet but either way there's a good chance it's either genetic or endocrine issues you're seeing here; and it can be both, too, i.e. a genetic issue with the thyroid or endocrine system; could be a nutrition deficiency as well, even if it is the other problems too. Gets interconnected and complicated, lol. There's a lot of ways this result could come about.

Best wishes with it. The wattles and comb are red so it's not in dire straits necessarily.

Chooks4life: this is helpful info. Thank you again! I checked and I bought she/he 5.5 weeks ago as a 3 month old, so maybe a 4.5 month old? As to sex it does have some Roo behaviors but so did some of my other pullets at that age. I do seem to have the magic touch to buy girls and change them to Roos It's not a useful talent.

I have no idea what I'm doing but I put vitamins in free choice water and added losol iodine to one waterer this morning. Interestingly the whole flock of 9 are gulping down the iodine water and ignoring the other waterers. I feed Scratch & Peck fermented and dry, and they free range daily.

Any more you might share with me to help my pullets/cockerels? It does look like yet another call to the vet is in order.

 

[chooks4life]

Chooks4life: this is helpful info. Thank you again! I checked and I bought she/he 5.5 weeks ago as a 3 month old, so maybe a 4.5 month old? As to sex it does have some Roo behaviors but so did some of my other pullets at that age. I do seem to have the magic touch to buy girls and change them to Roos It's not a useful talent.

lol, lots of people have that talent. You're not alone there.

You're very right about the behaviors being no indication of gender, too, I've had some real confusing birds.

I breed my pullets and cockerels before their first year precisely to get almost entirely male clutches for eating purposes, since lower iodine levels contribute to gender imbalance, favoring male offspring, and younger parents are lower in iodine.

In extreme cases of iodine deficiency females are either not born at all, or born hairless and dying. Lesser iodine deficiency levels cause things like imbalanced gender ratios. This has somehow fallen out of the average modern farmer's awareness, but it's been known for a long time. Generally you find most information about it under terms like 'goitrogenic feeds'; goitrogenic feeds include legumes (alfalfa, peas, etc) which rob the body of iodine.

If you're overfeeding stuff like lucerne cubes, or peas, or beans, or have legumes on the property which they're accessing at will, that could be the issue, but generally it's not overly common for this to cause such a problem. Worth reviewing what you're feeding them though, and what they may be able to access while freeranging, in case they're accessing toxins, whether artificial or natural, or are on a low value feed, or something like that.

Your chook in question is pale, and pale birds/animals/humans require up to 6 times less copper, iodine, etc than dark ones, as pigmentation is comprised of nutrients including copper, sulfur, iodine etc. This is one reason people often tout dark animals as having superior flavor; they actually overall do have more nutritive value, all things being equal (i.e. a malnourished dark animal won't necessarily be 'richer' than a well nourished pale one). Pale animals and humans are generally adapted to very low nutrition diets and regions. That said it's not a golden rule and when it comes to modern breeds, especially commercial ones, you can safely toss some usually commonsense rules out the window, lol.

Iodine deficiency affects females of all species more than males as females need more, partly because long before reproductive age they're already storing the nutrients required to form offspring. Interestingly, all over the world and without much distinction between 'first and third worlds', iodine deficiency is epidemic in humans and our animals, and in humans it can cause an IQ drop of around 16 points. Iodine deficiency in mothers causes lifelong brain damage in offspring yet most of them will continue to appear normal and be considered for all intents and purposes normal; worth remembering next time you're on some internet forum and someone drags out that old derogatory quote: "most people have an IQ score below 100". Not that an IQ test is really a reliable measure of actual intelligence though, but poor diets have a lot to answer for in terms of causing many poor behaviors and illnesses in both humans and animals.

I use kelp on all my animals to improve them --- dogs, cats, livestock of various species, birds, etc. It makes them healthier, smarter, calmer, more fertile, gives them more robust immune systems, more efficient digestive systems, and after a few generations of using kelp in their diets, you see each generation surpass the previous one in all ways.

It can, though, change white birds/animals to different colors. Even older birds being put onto a diet with kelp can change coloration completely in everything: eggshell color, beak, irises, feathers, skin, scales, etc. Such birds are only pale because they lack sufficient nutrients, not because they are genetically supposed to be pale; however if you never gave them complete nutrition you could be wasting years of a breeding program not knowing what your animals are actually passing on. Complete nutrition is invaluable to ensure correct genetic inheritance and expression. You don't actually know what you're breeding until they're receiving complete nutrition, not the dozen or so nutrients deemed a 'complete' diet by most commercial feed manufacturers.

Another thing people use for proper inheritance and genetic expression is Apple Cider Vinegar (with 'the mother' in it)... Sounds weird until you realize the science behind it; ACV is high in natural potassium, which is anti-cancer, anti-radiation, and pro-heritability fidelity.

Hypokalemia causes garbled transmission or even non-transmission of hereditary characteristics. When you see a family of humans, for example, in which one parent is over-represented phenotypically, the one not represented is in fact low in potassium (vitamin K) also known as hypokalemia, which can cause them to offer no visible genetic input to their offspring. Same is true for animals. Nutrition is incredibly important but still too often dismissed.

We'll have to wait and see what gender your chook is, it seems, all bets are off when the hormone system is compromised, provided that's what is going on here. But there's probably many dozens of other things it could be. Still, giving them iodine and/or increased nutrition will only be good for them, unless you do something unnecessary like forcefeed megadoses of multivitamins for long stretches of time which could be fatal, as malnutrition is a term that includes both under and over nutrition.

I have no idea what I'm doing but I put vitamins in free choice water and added losol iodine to one waterer this morning. Interestingly the whole flock of 9 are gulping down the iodine water and ignoring the other waterers. I feed Scratch & Peck fermented and dry, and they free range daily.

Sounds like that may be just what they need then. They may well overdose for a bit, if they're gorging, so while short term overdose shouldn't hurt them it would be worth keeping an eye on them and possibly removing the iodine-water for every second day or so to allow their systems to register the input and settle their desperate consumption to more sustainable levels. Apparently iodine and B12 are synergists specifically interdependent so you may need an additional dose of B12 to help them digest it properly. Brewer's Yeast can do that. Most nutrients are processed or synthesized in conjunction with a spectrum of others so the more complete the spectrum of nutrients, and the more natural, the better.

I don't know what 'Scratch & Peck' is. What's the ingredients list? Most poultry feeds should contain kelp or some other source of iodine. If it doesn't, that may well be your problem right there. If it does, then this may not be your problem at all.

Any more you might share with me to help my pullets/cockerels? It does look like yet another call to the vet is in order.

Hopefully this will be some helpful info, but at this stage I'm still only able to offer theories of what the cause of incorrect feathering is, the vet will hopefully be able to offer you a sure answer.

Best wishes.

 

[chooks4life]

The vitamins you're offering may well cover the iodine assimilation requirements, should do, really... May not need to use the Brewer's Yeast at all. Just a thought.

Best wishes.

 

[Sunny Flowers]

Chooks4life - you are a dream come true! Nutrition is a very high priority for me but I have no formal education in it and it sounds like you do. Or certainly a wealth of experience.
I first got my Swedish Flower Hens (first chickens ever) this summer and I am feeding a highly recommended (by BYCers) feed while I sort out if I want to make my own. Meanwhile I have purchased 22 birds in order to end up with my little 5 (maybe 4) pullet flock. Specifically I purchased 11 four week olds from a breeder. Out of them I got 1 girl. I got four more 1 week olds, all boys. Then I drove two hours to another breeder to try my luck there. I got 1 girl whose toes were crooked (I didn’t see this). She subsequently broke her accessory toe (thumb) on the other foot jumping from the roost probably because her crooked toes couldn’t cushion the landing. She gimps around but maybe she’ll lay eggs. I also bought 3 newly hatched chicks and one two week old to keep them company. Of those 1 died from an infected yolk sac. Two are boys whom I adore and will do my best to keep, but our laws are against it. At that point, in desperation for girls I went back to breeder number 1 and bought 2 three month old pullets since surely you can sex them. One of those is Snowbell (Snowplow?).
Chickens as daytime soap opera?
I breed my pullets and cockerels before their first year precisely to get almost entirely male clutches for eating purposes, since lower iodine levels contribute to gender imbalance, favoring male offspring, and younger parents are lower in iodine.
During this too many males summer I read about the younger pullets and hens producing disproportionate males. I think that is what I am experiencing since Breeder 1 got SFH in late 2012 and Breeder 2 in late 2013.
If you're overfeeding stuff like lucerne cubes, or peas, or beans, or have legumes on the property which they're accessing at will, that could be the issue, but generally it's not overly common for this to cause such a problem. Worth reviewing what you're feeding them though, and what they may be able to access while freeranging, in case they're accessing toxins, whether artificial or natural, or are on a low value feed, or something like that.
The first ingredient in S&P Grow is peas. But since I got Snow as a three month old it seems as likely this issue came with her/him(?).
Your chook in question is pale, and pale birds/animals/humans require up to 6 times less copper, iodine, etc than dark ones, as pigmentation is comprised of nutrients including copper, sulfur, iodine etc. This is one reason people often tout dark animals as having superior flavor; they actually overall do have more nutritive value, all things being equal (i.e. a malnourished dark animal won't necessarily be 'richer' than a well nourished pale one). Pale animals and humans are generally adapted to very low nutrition diets and regions. That said it's not a golden rule and when it comes to modern breeds, especially commercial ones, you can safely toss some usually commonsense rules out the window, lol.
Fascinating and new information to me. SFH’s are a rare heritage breed, which is one of the reasons I chose them. I do my best to stay away from modern, commercial, single focus breeding ie:size in all my purchases. We’re real fond of big in America. My garden is all heirloom and organic and I believe it provides more nutrition than the alternative.
Health is an important factor to me. And interestingly I knew about pale= not so good in dogs, horses, many mammals. I just didn’t extrapolate it to chickens. Really I didn’t know exactly the nutrition angle you are talking about, only that white meant weakness – softer hooves, deafness, blindness, etc. Which does seem likely to correlate with less well nourished. I will keep this in mind.
Iodine deficiency affects females of all species more than males as females need more, partly because long before reproductive age they're already storing the nutrients required to form offspring. Interestingly, all over the world and without much distinction between 'first and third worlds', iodine deficiency is epidemic in humans and our animals, and in humans it can cause an IQ drop of around 16 points. Iodine deficiency in mothers causes lifelong brain damage in offspring yet most of them will continue to appear normal and be considered for all intents and purposes normal; worth remembering next time you're on some internet forum and someone drags out that old derogatory quote: "most people have an IQ score below 100". Not that an IQ test is really a reliable measure of actual intelligence though, but poor diets have a lot to answer for in terms of causing many poor behaviors and illnesses in both humans and animals.
I am one hundred percent on board with this. And I am hypothyroid. And I had iodine drops in my cupboard.
I use kelp on all my animals to improve them --- dogs, cats, livestock of various species, birds, etc. It makes them healthier, smarter, calmer, more fertile, gives them more robust immune systems, more efficient digestive systems, and after a few generations of using kelp in their diets, you see each generation surpass the previous one in all ways.
This makes good sense. I use kelp on all my plants and pets. Now I’m adding it to my diet and my chickies too.
It can, though, change white birds/animals to different colors. Even older birds being put onto a diet with kelp can change coloration completely in everything: eggshell color, beak, irises, feathers, skin, scales, etc. Such birds are only pale because they lack sufficient nutrients, not because they are genetically supposed to be pale; however if you never gave them complete nutrition you could be wasting years of a breeding program not knowing what your animals are actually passing on. Complete nutrition is invaluable to ensure correct genetic inheritance and expression. You don't actually know what you're breeding until they're receiving complete nutrition, not the dozen or so nutrients deemed a 'complete' diet by most commercial feed manufacturers.
I do have black based and blue based birds but only the one white. I am going to keep notes while I add kelp and see what happens with color. That said, I am only a back yard chicken keeper, for bug patrol and eggs. Although at this point I am considering breeding my own to get the healthiest birds possible. My two little boys are from a different import or line than most of my girls. I just have to keep them from bothering the neighbors to be successful.
Another thing people use for proper inheritance and genetic expression is Apple Cider Vinegar (with 'the mother' in it)... Sounds weird until you realize the science behind it; ACV is high in natural potassium, which is anti-cancer, anti-radiation, and pro-heritability fidelity.
I am familiar with this, have Braggs in my fridge and now am giving it to my chicks.
Hypokalemia causes garbled transmission or even non-transmission of hereditary characteristics. When you see a family of humans, for example, in which one parent is over-represented phenotypically, the one not represented is in fact low in potassium (vitamin K) also known as hypokalemia, which can cause them to offer no visible genetic input to their offspring. Same is
true for animals. Nutrition is incredibly important but still too often dismissed.
One reason I am asking you all these questions ifs that my vet’s and my Dr. (not the current one) have traditionally been dismissive of talk of nutrition. I have come to believe they simply are not taught nutrition and I know the dog food companies often teach the nutrition class to vet students.
I do supplement homemade raw milk kefir at a teaspoon or so a week each. It is supposed to be a good source of Vit K. I do hear lactose is not good for them, or me for that matter.
We'll have to wait and see what gender your chook is, it seems, all bets are off when the hormone system is compromised, provided that's what is going on here. But there's probably many dozens of other things it could be. Still, giving them iodine and/or increased nutrition will only be good for them, unless you do something unnecessary like forcefeed megadoses of multivitamins for long stretches of time which could be fatal, as malnutrition is a term that includes both under and over nutrition.
What were you seeing in saying Snow was likely male? I have seen the pointy feathers but chocked it up to the feather problem. But with your insight I remember when the breeder first held her out – her head was and is quite masculine. And her upright posture. She/he is now smaller than the hatch mate who came with her, which would speak to nutrition also. I now suspect Snow is as much male as he’s able to be right now. It will be interesting to see what change I can effect.
I will follow your lead and give iodine as you suggest. I don’t force anything except an initial two drops of multi vitamin when they first get here. I plan to also add kelp for us all and keep a water dish out with multi vitamins in it. That has B-12. I also grow meal worms for them – they get a few a day. I mostly want them to free range for their bugs.
Sounds like that may be just what they need then. They may well overdose for a bit, if they're gorging, so while short term overdose shouldn't hurt them it would be worth keeping an eye on them and possibly removing the iodine-water for every second day or so to allow their systems to register the input and settle their desperate consumption to more sustainable levels. Apparently iodine and B12 are synergists specifically interdependent so you may need an additional dose of B12 to help them digest it properly. Brewer's Yeast can do that. Most nutrients are processed or synthesized in conjunction with a spectrum of others so the more complete the spectrum of nutrients, and the more natural, the better.
S&P Grower Ingredients: won’t allow me to copy and paste, grrr.
http://www.scratchandpeck.com/product/naturally-free-grower/#
Another note: Breeder 1 keeps all his chickens in small cages stacked. They are on wire and the SFH’s who have rich yellow legs and beaks when I raise them have white legs and beaks. They are in a barn without sunlight. Their leg color is changing since I have had Snow and sister Dahlia. At first they had trouble walking on the ground and it took a couple of weeks for that to look normal. I like to get my pets as early as possible because of my beliefs in the nutrition and exercise benefits. These two are the oldest chickens I have gotten and I wonder how much of a part that played in Snow’s situation.
That said all my dogs are rescues whom I got older from shelters. They had clearly been fed crap kibble (tooth quality) and I just do the best I can for the rest of their lives. But I am not planning to eat their eggsJ
I can’t thank you enough. I feel like I’ve just been to class and for me that’s a wonderful feeling! I have learned so much and I intend to put it into practice immediately and track the results, with Snow at least.

 

[chooks4life]

Chooks4life - you are a dream come true! Nutrition is a very high priority for me but I have no formal education in it and it sounds like you do. Or certainly a wealth of experience.

No formal education there but it's on the agenda, the more I learn about nutrition the more apparent its importance. But I'm still very much a student. I expect I will be for life, there's so much to learn.

The first ingredient in S&P Grow is peas. But since I got Snow as a three month old it seems as likely this issue came with her/him(?).

Yes, the problem probably came with Snow... If none of the others are showing the same issue, it may just be a genetic mutation in that chook. I've had a few random feather mutations among mine, with varying degrees of heritability.

Fascinating and new information to me. SFH’s are a rare heritage breed, which is one of the reasons I chose them. I do my best to stay away from modern, commercial, single focus breeding ie:size in all my purchases. We’re real fond of big in America. My garden is all heirloom and organic and I believe it provides more nutrition than the alternative.

I'm with you there, nothing compares to homegrown and the more natural the better, for sure.

On this note, about SFH's being a rare heritage breed, it's worth noting some of the more ancient types, generally those which look more like their ancestral type or which are genetically very similar to them, can be very sensitive to legumes. Just having peas in the diet is enough to render them sterile, and give them other health problems. I don't know if Snow's breed is like that, though.

Health is an important factor to me. And interestingly I knew about pale= not so good in dogs, horses, many mammals. I just didn’t extrapolate it to chickens. Really I didn’t know exactly the nutrition angle you are talking about, only that white meant weakness – softer hooves, deafness, blindness, etc. Which does seem likely to correlate with less well nourished. I will keep this in mind.

White certainly comes with a whole host of lower value traits, generally. Over the course of selecting for the healthiest birds I've ended up with a mainly black flock, lol. If any species is not naturally white, but its domestic version is, generally a safe bet it's not a beneficial mutation.

I do have black based and blue based birds but only the one white. I am going to keep notes while I add kelp and see what happens with color. That said, I am only a back yard chicken keeper, for bug patrol and eggs. Although at this point I am considering breeding my own to get the healthiest birds possible. My two little boys are from a different import or line than most of my girls. I just have to keep them from bothering the neighbors to be successful.

Full color change can take a year, but if you start breeding your own you'll see better and better results with each generation, even improvements over the previous clutch with your breeders, within one generation. Best wishes with your project.

One reason I am asking you all these questions ifs that my vet’s and my Dr. (not the current one) have traditionally been dismissive of talk of nutrition. I have come to believe they simply are not taught nutrition and I know the dog food companies often teach the nutrition class to vet students.

I know what you mean, many doctors and vets have no idea how important nutrition is or even what effects it has. There's always been those who research nutrition and come to understand its importance, and those who are more 'mechanical' about health --- 'give it drugs when it has problems, cut out the abnormal growths when they appear' sort of mentality, rather than thinking of why those problems or abnormal growths are in there in the first place, or how to prevent them from occurring. Proactive healthcare and post-problem healthcare mentalities, really. One wants to deal with problems when they happen, the other wants to stop the problems from happening. Nutrition's a massive part of stopping problems from happening but still quite scorned.

I had a recent discussion with a wannabe-neurosurgeon and she agreed it's a bit ignorant how some doctors look down on anyone who's not a surgeon, since true healthcare has to be holistic but there's this culture of surgeon-celebrity among many doctors --- yet she couldn't hide her scorn at the notion that anyone would want to become a licensed nutritionist. Almost a reflexive reaction.

One doctor I read of a while back had a good quote on this subject: "Performing surgery doesn't help them at all if their body cannot heal after surgery; nutrition is what enables their body to actually heal."

I do supplement homemade raw milk kefir at a teaspoon or so a week each. It is supposed to be a good source of Vit K. I do hear lactose is not good for them, or me for that matter.

I think it's very individual, personally, some animals and some humans don't cope with lactose and others do. Yet to see the animal or human that doesn't cope with raw milk, though, even lactose intolerant people aren't known to have problems with raw milk, to the best of my current knowledge... Fairly limited knowledge in this area, though.

It's cooked milk that's the issue it seems, in most cases. My chooks always used to get milk leftovers from the dairy cows and never had problems from it; likewise a family member with severe Coeliac's disease copes well, thrives actually, on raw milk, but can't stomach pasteurized milk.

What were you seeing in saying Snow was likely male? I have seen the pointy feathers but chocked it up to the feather problem. But with your insight I remember when the breeder first held her out – her head was and is quite masculine. And her upright posture. She/he is now smaller than the hatch mate who came with her, which would speak to nutrition also. I now suspect Snow is as much male as he’s able to be right now. It will be interesting to see what change I can effect.

It gets confusing seeing the vast discrepancies on this forum. I'm used to reliably seeing gender in chicks as young as being within their first week; on this forum it seems most of them only begin showing gender traits around 6 weeks, some even only around point of lay... The crest and wattles were the more seemingly male traits, the pointy feathers just looked aberrant due to whatever is happening with the chook. The thickness of skull is also generally only seen in males, as you state, but of course some breeds of hens have that, but generally they're commercial meat breeds or similar. Something about Snow's overall appearance just looks quite male to me, but time will tell. I've had hens with multiple male characteristics before.

S&P Grower Ingredients: won’t allow me to copy and paste, grrr.
http://www.scratchandpeck.com/product/naturally-free-grower/#

This may be onto something... I didn't know what 'Camelina' is so I looked it up. It's used as an industrial lubricant and biofuel, which are generally not recommendations of a plant as a food source; since it's in the brassica family there's a good chance it's goitrogenic, so I searched those terms, and yes, it's goitrogenic.

So now we know the feed you're giving them contains two known goitrogens (peas and camelina sativa) and we don't know if the 'vitamin and mineral premix' contains any countering nutrients, or sufficient of them; might be worth asking the manufacturers if their feed contains kelp, or iodine, or stinging nettle (all sources of iodine), and how much. I'm of the opinion cooked kelp such as one tends to get in pelletized feeds is not of the same value as raw kelp; the results just don't look the same.
Quote: AUTHOR(S): Langer, P.
TITLE: Naturally occurring food toxicants: goitrogens.
YEAR: 1983 CITATION: Rechcigl M Jr (ed) CRC handbook of naturally occurring food toxicants. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florid, -(), 101-129 [English]
FDA #: F10135

GRIN #: 409456
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica campestris L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica rapa L. subsp. campestris (L.) A. R. Clapham
GRIN #: 8700
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Camelina sativa
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz
GRIN #: 157
COMMON NAME:
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FAMILY: Cleomaceae
LATIN NAME: Cleome spinosa
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Cleome spinosa Jacq.
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: 2743G
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Cochlearia
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Cochlearia sp.
GRIN #: 11275
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FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Conringia orientalis
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Conringia orientalis (L.) Dumort.
GRIN #: 12001
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Crambe abyssinica
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Crambe abyssinica Hochst. ex R. E. Fr.
GRIN #: 12007
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Crambe hispanica
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Crambe hispanica L.
GRIN #: 410962
COMMON NAME: cycad
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Cycadaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Cycadaceae
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: 3758G
COMMON NAME: yam
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Dioscoreaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Dioscorea sp.
GRIN #: 17711
COMMON NAME: soybean
STANDARD COMMON NAME: soy bean
FAMILY: Fabaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Glycine max (L.) Merr.
GRIN #: 20772
COMMON NAME: walnut
STANDARD COMMON NAME: English walnut
FAMILY: Juglandaceae
LATIN NAME: Juglans regia
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Juglans regia L.
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: 6833G
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Limnanthaceae
LATIN NAME: Limnanthes
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Limnanthes sp.
GRIN #: 22361
COMMON NAME: flax
STANDARD COMMON NAME: flax
FAMILY: Linaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Linum usitatissimum L.
GRIN #: 431678
COMMON NAME: cassava
STANDARD COMMON NAME: cassava
FAMILY: Euphorbiaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Manihot esculenta Crantz
GRIN #: 312013
COMMON NAME: bean
STANDARD COMMON NAME: common bean
FAMILY: Fabaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. vulgaris
GRIN #: 300472
COMMON NAME: pea
STANDARD COMMON NAME: pea
FAMILY: Fabaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Pisum sativum L.
GRIN #: 29841
COMMON NAME: apricot
STANDARD COMMON NAME: apricot
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Prunus armeniaca L.
GRIN #: 29888
COMMON NAME: prune
STANDARD COMMON NAME: plum
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Prunus domestica L.
GRIN #: 3785
COMMON NAME: groundnut
STANDARD COMMON NAME: peanut
FAMILY: Fabaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Arachis hypogaea L.
GRIN #: 3834
COMMON NAME: pinon
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Araucariaceae
LATIN NAME: Araucaria araucana
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Araucaria araucana (Molina) K. Koch
GRIN #: 29890
COMMON NAME: almond
STANDARD COMMON NAME: almond
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb
GRIN #: 30065
COMMON NAME: peach
STANDARD COMMON NAME: peach
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Prunus persica (L.) Batsch
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: 9887G
COMMON NAME: cherry
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Prunus sp.
GRIN #: 30474
COMMON NAME: pear
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Rosaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Pyrus communis L.
GRIN #: 30857
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME: radish
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Raphanus sativus
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Raphanus sativus L.
GRIN #: 30927
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Resedaceae
LATIN NAME: Reseda luteola
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Reseda luteola L.
GRIN #: 32617
COMMON NAME: sugar cane
STANDARD COMMON NAME: sugarcane
FAMILY: Poaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Saccharum officinarum L.
GRIN #: 33963
COMMON NAME: mustard
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica hirta
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Sinapis alba L.
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: USDA
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Sisymbrium austracum
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Sisymbrium austriacum Jacq.
GRIN #: 35092
COMMON NAME: sorghum
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Poaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
GRIN #: 300625
COMMON NAME: white clover
STANDARD COMMON NAME: white clover
FAMILY: Fabaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Trifolium repens L.
GRIN #: 311987
COMMON NAME: maize
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Poaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Zea mays L. subsp. mays
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: 1263G
COMMON NAME: bamboo
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Poaceae
LATIN NAME:
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Bambusa sp.
GRIN #: 6491
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Barbarea vulgaris
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Barbarea vulgaris R. Br.
GRIN #: 7654
COMMON NAME: mustard
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica juncea
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.
GRIN #: 7663
COMMON NAME: rutabaga
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica napus esculenta
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica napus L. var. napobrassica (L.) Rchb.
GRIN #: 311781
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica napus
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica napus L. var. napus
GRIN #: 7668
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L.
GRIN #: 7671
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME: cauliflower
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.
GRIN #: 7672
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME: cabbage
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: NoSource
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. cretica
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. cretica
GRIN #: 7675
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. gemmifer Zenker
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. gemmifera Zenker
GRIN #: 7676
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. gongyloides L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. gongylodes L.
GRIN #: 105447
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME: broccoli
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Planck
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck
GRIN #: 311416
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. saubauda L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. sabauda L.
FDA #: F10135
GRIN #: NoSource
COMMON NAME:
STANDARD COMMON NAME:
FAMILY: Brassicaceae
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. silvestris L.
STANDARD PLANT NAME: Brassica oleracea L. var. silvestris L.​

Another note: Breeder 1 keeps all his chickens in small cages stacked. They are on wire and the SFH’s who have rich yellow legs and beaks when I raise them have white legs and beaks. They are in a barn without sunlight. Their leg color is changing since I have had Snow and sister Dahlia. At first they had trouble walking on the ground and it took a couple of weeks for that to look normal. I like to get my pets as early as possible because of my beliefs in the nutrition and exercise benefits. These two are the oldest chickens I have gotten and I wonder how much of a part that played in Snow’s situation.

That's a sorry state of affairs, poor chooks. Rearing has a massive impact for sure, but so does multi generational rearing and living conditions; you can't fix in one generation what took a few generations to achieve, generally. You can however get them into a nice and happy state. The healthiest chicks you'll ever see will be those from chooks you've reared for a good few generations with good nutrition, sunshine and active lifestyles.

I can’t thank you enough. I feel like I’ve just been to class and for me that’s a wonderful feeling! I have learned so much and I intend to put it into practice immediately and track the results, with Snow at least.

You're welcome, wish you all the best with your projects.