Feathers and their Markings

I thought I would explain and illustrate the different types of feather markings. This is useful if you are new to keeping or exhibiting poultry. I also explain about some of the breeds and varieties that are associated with the markings.

Barring

It is very simple to state that a Plymouth Rock is barred in colour without explaining about that bar. Their barring is made by the feather having alternate bands of black and white across their feathering. These bands are to be of equal widths.

The breed of Campine also has barred feathering. Here the bars are required that the black one is three times the width of the other colour. In a gold Campine would obviously be gold, whilst in a silver version it would be pure white.

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How good are your eggs?

Most of us enjoy eating eggs. You can prepare them in different ways; boiled, scrambled, poached, and my favourite fried. Sunny side up, sunny side down, hard or runny, and they’re healthy as well. At least … most of the time.

But not all egg yolks look the same. Some eggs have dark orange yolks while other eggs have yolks that are much lighter in colour. So have you ever thought what could this mean?

• Does the colour of the yolk say anything about the chicken or about the nutritional value of the egg?
• And is the colour of the shell a contributing factor, or just a ‘designer’ egg?

Well, let’s have a look;

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