Young Cochins with curling feathers?

[Goose and Fig]

I have had cochin banties for a while- but got them as adults. I now have several 3+ week old chicks of theirs, and a few standard bbs & partridge cochins that are 5-6 weeks. Some (not all) have feathers that are curling up. Is this normal for cochins? Is it a sign of gender? Or maybe a deficiency? They all eat the same medicated feed from the co-op and snacks like fruits & greens& pasta.

 

[becky3086]

It is a frizzle, do a search and you will see. It's a good thing.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I have the banty cochin parents - they aren't frizzle! Can they be frizzle without one of the parents being that way? I love cochins either way!

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
Maybe one of the parents carries the gene...? Not sure, but that's my guess

 

[Holly O]

One would have the gene.
I read if you have a Male frizzle they will produce More frizzles. But a Frizzle Hen is not a guaranteed to produce more frizzled chicks. She will pass the gene on though.

 

[Marlinchaser]

When you order frizzled no gaurantees as to whether they will or wont frizzle, so the frizzle gene may be masked. Did you get them as adults, maybe they were the ones that didnt show the frizzle gene.

will it look like this??

 

[Goose and Fig]

So the curly ones COULD be frizzle, even though parents are not visibly frizzle? That's pretty cool. The banty chicks are coming out some crazy black & white mottled too.

Wow- if they grow up to be salt & pepper frizzle they'd kinda look like ME!

 

[Goose and Fig]

I never ordered frizzles- here's a pict of the banty mom & dad (white & black)

The standard partridge cochins are not supposed to be prizzle either- got them from someone on byc as chicks. She had bought eggs from someone and was unaware of any frizzle in the line.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
A male frizzle can produce more because he can have a whole flock of hens. A hen has fewer becuase she can only lay one egg a day.

Frizzle is an incompletely dominant gene. And there is also a recessive "unfrizzling" modifier gene.

A bird who has two copies of the gene will pass the gene to all offspring. A bird with only one copy will pass it to half it's offspring.

In the absence of two copies of the modifier gene, a frizzle with two doses of the frizzle gene is overly frizzled, aka curley. This same bird, with two copies of the modifier gene will have the appearance of a bird with one copy of frizzle, and a bird with one copy of the frizzle gene, but two copies of the modifier will not appeat to be frizzled at all. I am guessing this later case is what is going on here. The parent from whom the chick inherited his frizzle gene also has two copies of the modifier, and therefore doesn't appear frizzled.

 

[Msbear]

Some of my babies' wings curl like that around that age then smooth back out... maybe it's not a frizzle