Pekin Bantam Feathers turning orange/gold

[Anonymous]

Hi

I am a little confused as to what has turned my pekin bantams feathers orange/gold on the tips and roughly 3-5cm inwards, along their backs and tails feathers. I gave them potassium permanganate crystals as they had a viral infection recently and roughly 3/4 weeks later the feathers changed. Is this possibly the cause. I have stopped the potassium permanganate in the mean time. Any ideas would be helpful cant find much info on the web.

Thanks
Jim.

 

[ccm]

What colour are the birds meant to be and how old are they? also a pic would be helpful.

 

[Marigold]

A bit more info would be helpful. What sort of viral infection did they have, - (symptoms?) and did they get better? Did you give them potassium permanganate on the advice of your vet? If not, where did you find the information that suggested it would be helpful, and did this source suggest there might be side effects? What dosage? How did they take it, ie in their water or as crystals in their food? How long did the course of treatment last, and how long is it since you stopped it? How old are the birds?

(Edit I've just Googled 'potassium permanganate + side effects' and a lot of stuff came up to suggest you need to be very careful with it, at least on humans eg http://www.livestrong.com/article/190433-what-are-the-dangers-of-potassium-permanganate/ Apparently it must only be used as a weak solution on unbroken skin as a mild disinfectant, can cause skin irritation, and should never be taken internally as it may cause intestinal burning and kidney damage. As the article was about humans it didn't mention feathers turning yellow, (or even hair!) As it's purple in solution, I'm wondering if your girls have eaten or drunk any of it, as if you'd been using it to disinfect their skin I would think it would have made white birds go pinkish-purple, like antiseptic chicken spray does?

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah hi they viral infection was cured with meds from the vet but then was told I could add potassium permanganate to their water once a weak about 1/5 of a teaspoon to 5 litres in order to keep them in tip top shape. So they have ingested, my father was a farmer and he said they used to use it as well. Thanks for the link. I have stopped using ... although they do kinda look pretty with their golden glow

 

[Marigold]

Glad they're OK, indeed, glowing with health- a pic. would be very interesting! Did it make any difference to egg or shell colour?
Maybe stick to ACV in drinking water as a tonic in future? (but not in a galvanised drinker as it reacts with the galvanisation.)