[cammi]

Our Bluebell seems to be changing colour!! Is this normal?  Her grey feathers seem to be changing brown. I dont mean warren brown, but Like old black cats fur starts turning brown.  Why is this?  Doesn't it mean she is going to moult? Should she moult now? Has the sun changed her colour?  Is it something to worry about?

[GrannieAnnie]

Haven't the faintest idea sorry Cammi, the only 2 bluebelles we've ever had stayed the same colour throughout their moult.

[cammi]

I dont think she is a Bluebell from the bluebell farm, if you know what i mean her colour have never quite as pictures you see where they have very much darker heads. perhaps i should try take a pic

[Helenaj]

It sounds as if she is a cross and her truer colour is coming out after her moult. Another thing it may be is red soil staining - I think it was mentioned on here somewhere. White hens can develop a dirty brown colour if they are kept on red soil, but I don't know if this applies to non white hens.

[Casey76]

How old is your bluebelle?  Is she laying?

A bluebelle is a cross between a RIR and a copper blue marans.  Red leakage into the feathers comes from the "autosomal red" gene... however red leakage is more common in cockerels 

If your pullet isn't a Bluebelle (i.e. from the official hatchery strain) then you may find leakage occurs because the breeders don't have the correct lines of parents.

otherwise it's nothing to worry about

[wendyg]

Cammi, our Chicken House Blue ia also going a brownish colour on her chest.  She is about 28 weeks old and has been laying for a few weeks.

Wendy

[Laydies]

Hi We have a bluebelle and she started off as a POL just plain silvery grey - she's now about 18months old, and her head is quite dark grey and she has mottled darker grey feathers on her neck and shoulders - and they did look quite brown at one stage.  she is really pretty, perfectly healthy - she hasn't moulted to any great extent and had a really thick plume of feathers - so I don't think that there is anything untoward with your laydie... seems quite normal to this hybrid