Black To White Experiment

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yeah, but this is where it gets weirder.

Post in thread 'Black To White Experiment' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/black-to-white-experiment.1545531/post-26466135

I have a large fowl Splash Cochin hen who actually gets feathers like that all the time! Any blue in their background?

I can't remember if I've saved back any of her feathers, I'll have to look in my feather collection. She is not cooperative for pictures so would be hard to get any pictures of feathers still attached to her.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have a large fowl Splash Cochin hen who actually gets feathers like that all the time! Any blue in their background?

I can't remember if I've saved back any of her feathers, I'll have to look in my feather collection. She is not cooperative for pictures so would be hard to get any pictures of feathers still attached to her.

No blue in their background. Just black, red/gold, Barring, & Silver at one point, but I bred out the silver.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Interesting. Maybe instead of a genetic relationship it's simply a matter of the mechanism through which pigment is distributed in a partially pigmented feather?

Here's the feather from my Splash Cochin hen, I knew I saved one back! Hard to get a good picture as I didn't want to take it out of the baggy, but it's not only split down the middle, but paler at the tip. I've seen the sort of arrow-shape-marked feathers on her as well, but I guess I haven't managed to save any of those back.

Also grabbed a picture of these feathers because they're interesting and, I don't know, maybe somewhat related. I had a Wyandotte hen almost 12 years old who stopped producing pigment in some of her feathers part way through growing them. Most likely age-related rather than anything genetic, though.

Slight grammar edit, whoops​

 

[MysteryChicken]

Interesting. Maybe instead of a genetic relationship it's simply a matter of using the mechanism through which pigment is distributed in a partially pigmented feather?

Here's the feather from my Splash Cochin hen, I knew I saved one back! Hard to get a good picture as I didn't want to take it out of the baggy, but it's not only split down the middle, but paler at the tip. I've seen the sort of arrow-shape-marked feathers on her as well, but I guess I haven't managed to save any of those back.

View attachment 3383248


Also grabbed a picture of these feathers because they're interesting and, I don't know, maybe somewhat related. I had a Wyandotte hen almost 12 years old who stopped producing pigment in some of her feathers part way through growing them. Most likely age-related more than anything genetic, though.

View attachment 3383250

Seems genetic, since it was passed down to the daughter.

That seems common with Splash though, my Splash Wheaten Malay rooster has some split color feathers too.

Yes, old age more likely for the Wyandotte.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Seems genetic, since it was passed down to the daughter.

Oh, I meant the split color feathers for being a pigment distribution mechanism versus something genetic, not the white splotches like your birds are getting! As you pointed out as well, the split-colored feathers seem common to Splash-colored birds, which is why I'm thinking that.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh, I meant the split color feathers for being a pigment distribution mechanism versus something genetic, not the white splotches like your birds are getting! As you pointed out as well, the split-colored feathers seem common to Splash-colored birds, which is why I'm thinking that.

Oh, okay.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh, I meant the split color feathers for being a pigment distribution mechanism versus something genetic, not the white splotches like your birds are getting! As you pointed out as well, the split-colored feathers seem common to Splash-colored birds, which is why I'm thinking that.

My original Chameleon Hen developed Barred feathers during her transformation. This was taken pretty much at the beginning.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hmm, I don't see barring, not in the sense of the barring gene anyway. Looks more like the follicle was struggling to apply an even coat of pigment to me. It sort of reminds me of how there's a black line between the white and reddish parts on mille fleur feathers, but much lower down on the feather of course. Trying to think if I've seen anything like that on splash before... Might have to give my Splash Cochin hen a once-over, too, today, something she'll be thrilled for I'm sure.


Oh, I had forgotten by the way that I put some of the feathers belonging to some of my most cherished birds on my headboard, so I looked in that group this morning because one of them was a Splash Marans, and wouldn't you know, I kept one of her feathers that had that center arrow shape going on!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hmm, I don't see barring, not in the sense of the barring gene anyway. Looks more like the follicle was struggling to apply an even coat of pigment to me. It sort of reminds me of how there's a black line between the white and reddish parts on mille fleur feathers, but much lower down on the feather of course. Trying to think if I've seen anything like that on splash before... Might have to give my Splash Cochin hen a once-over, too, today, something she'll be thrilled for I'm sure.


Oh, I had forgotten by the way that I put some of the feathers belonging to some of my most cherished birds on my headboard, so I looked in that group this morning because one of them was a Splash Marans, and wouldn't you know, I kept one of her feathers that had that center arrow shape going on!

View attachment 3383535

The sloppy unevenness of the striping would basically be referred to as Cuckoo since it's smudgy. The feathers are on her tail, & upper rump in the tail area.
Barring is a gene that causes an absence of color resulting in white bars. The appearance is very similar.


A triangle is different from a straight streak, though.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I still can rule out vitiligo, cause a high percentage of those infected by it have visual impairments, like decreased vision, & blindness. Mine don't exhibit those symptoms.
Apart from the Chameleon hen's Mother being half blind in one eye from an injury she got when she was young. Took along time to treat that. She was pierced right in the pupil, by what, I haven't figured out yet.