what color is she?

[Jean]

I bought a \"blue\" wheaten hen last fall who recently molted.  She is a very light color now, but the \"color\" in the tail looks black now instead of blue.

How can I determine whether she is blue wheaten or wheaten now?  I want to take her to a show since she is of good feather now, but I need to know for sure what color she is so I don\'t get DQ\'d.

Thanks,

Jean

[Mike Gilbert]

Jean, if an experienced breeder like yourself can\'t tell, do you think the judge will know the difference?   Check the tiny feathers growing next to the wing flight feathers.   There should be at least a few there that are clearly black or gray.
If not, the bird is probably not worth showing due to her color anyway.  

[Jean]

I grabbed her this afternoon and held her next to a blue wheaten and she is definately a wheaten....

I could have sworn she was a blue wheaten when I got her.

I\'m not going to this particular show to win anything....  It\'s more of a \"first outing\" for the year and there is going to be a big auction.

I just wanted to take a few of my birds that had feathers on their backs because I breed my show birds too!!

I have heard some people do not breed their show birds or they only get conjugal visits once a week to prevent feather damage.  Unfortunately I am not set up that way.

Thanks for the confidence in the judges though. :rolleyes:

Jean

[Guest]

Jean,
I have a few \"chicken saddles\" for sale if you\'d like one or more. I use one on our Wheaten hen that used to get baldish from breeding and was terrified of being bred. The hen now mixes far better with roos & others (Other hens can sure be conniving at spotting vulnerable places on their fellows)--she doesn\'t just hide out as much any more (She was getting pretty skinny doing that); with recovering feathers she was able to take Reserve LF Ameracauna at a show; I didn\'t have to build another pen; and her eggs in the incubator are showing good fertility. Lots of benefits!
Email me if you are interested.
Laura