Black chicken turning white

[KronHjortn]

Update on my roo Lucifer, he's been molting for a while and he's almost completely white now!
I'm shocked at how much he's changed in just 3 months.. I'm still really confused over why though. Could he be a splash or something? or could it maybe be some skin disorder?
All the pinfeathers I've seen are white, except for like one or two black ones in his crest.
(dunno if this has much to say but his CCL mix offspring, turned out black with grey barring)
edit; forgot to mention his beak and feet have also changed color, in the first picture you can see they're quite a bit darker.

 

[ValerieJ]

That's fascinating.

 

[CatWhisperer]

He maybe needs a new name now?

 

[coach723]

How old is he? I've had random white feathers which often are replaced again with colored ones the next molt, but never gone to all white all over. Likewise I've had random dark feathers after molt. I think stress, diet and genetics are all possibilities for plumage changes. If this is his first molt then I would suspect genetics and this is a recessive gene coming out. Breeders don't usually breed until after the first adult molt for this very reason.

 

[KronHjortn]

@coach723 he's 1,5 years old, so he's going thru his first full molt right now

 

[ValerieJ]

He maybe needs a new name now?

Gabriel, perhaps?

 

[KronHjortn]

@CatWhisperer don't think I'm gonna change his name, Lucifer was after all a fallen angel. He's just simply returning to his original angel form now!
@ValerieJ that name is already taken by my white silkie roo haha

 

[ValerieJ]

Well, he was pretty as a black rooster, but he is quite strikingly beautiful as a white with those black streaks on his head.

 

[coach723]

I think he's been very handsome in all of his variations! Will be interesting to see if he stays mostly white from here on. Would be interesting to see his parent stock also, and even more interesting to see what any of his offspring look like. There are some really smart people on here about genetics and what crosses of particular breeds and colors will look like, I'm not one of them.
This might be interesting to you:
https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-breeding/poultry-genetics-black-and-white/

 

[KronHjortn]

@coach723
ended up with only one offspring due to a not so good hatch rate, typically it ended up being a male, he was a really cool guy though.
I do wanna try breeding Luci with my padovana and booted bantams(he absolutely LOVES them) as I'm quite curious to see what their mix would look like! Most likely not gonna happen until next year though
(mother was a crested cream legbar)