BHC Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 My Plymouth Rock has some white on the whattles around her ear. I have tried looking at it and it doesn't seem to be powdery, ie it doesn't s"Ooops, word censored!"e off,but just looks white. Has anybody any ideas as to what this is and what I should do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 It is nothing to worry about. Bleaching of the earlobe as pigment is withdrawn from the body and laid into the egg is all perfectly normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHC Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 That's a relief, thank you. Does this mean she will always be like this, will it affect other parts of her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 They lose their pigmentation in a set order. When they have a moult and a rest from laying, it builds up again. From 'tinterweb: "As the hen produces eggs, she diverts yellow color from certain portions of her body and deposits it into the yolks of the eggs. Bleaching of various parts of the hen's body is a very good indicator of the time the hen has been in production. The loss of color is easily seen in yellow-skinned breeds such as the white leghorns and birds on diets containing sources of the coloring agents. In the white-skinned breeds the bleaching effect is less pronounced and more difficult to detect. Bleaching of Yellow Coloring Body Part Time After First Egg Vent 4-7 days Eye Ring 7-10 days Ear Lobes 14-21 days Base of Beak 4-6 weeks Tip of Beak 6-8 weeks Bottom of Feet 8-10 weeks Front of Shanks 15-18 weeks Rear of Shanks 20-24 weeks Hock Joint about 24 weeks The vent is the first site of color bleaching. When a pullet begins to lay, the color fades from the vent within the first week of lay. A good producing hen will have a white, pink, or bluish-white vent. The eye rings start to bleach soon after the vent and are usually completely bleached within the first two weeks of lay. In leghorn strains the eye ring bleaching is closely followed by bleaching of the ear lobes. The beak is the first significant portion of the body generally used to judge the bleaching effect of egg production. The beak will lose its color, progressing from the base to the tip. It takes from four to eight weeks for the beak to bleach after the hen begins laying eggs. The beak will often have a striped appearance then. The lower beak loses color more rapidly than the upper beak. If is often used as a bleaching indicator when the upper beak has a heavy brown or black pigment. A hen whose beak is fully pigmented has not laid for at least four weeks. Bleaching of pigment from the shanks is a good indicator of a long production time. The pigment bleaches from the shanks in this order: bottom of feet, front of shank, back of shank, and hock joint. The shanks have no coloring between two and six months after the onset of continuous lay. When the hen ceases to lay, the body parts are recolored in the same order as they were bleached, with the vent first and the shanks last. The speed at which the color returns depends on the type of feed and the state of the bird's health, but it usually returns in about half the time required to bleach." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Well, you learn something new every day on this forum . I never knew that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Well, you learn something new every day on this forum . I never knew that . yes I was thinking that thak you Egluntine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
