Silkie thread!

[Hinotori]

Looks like my partridge x black crosses have had

 

[Sylvester017]

@heatherbell2 -- @Hinotori has bred Partridge Silkies for a while and would be ideal to ask re: colors.

When we got our DNA-sexed Silkie chicks from buckaboofarm.com (in our State) our babies looked way different from the way they grew out. Once the crests and full body feathers grew in that's when we knew for sure what color variety they are.

Chicks change so rapidly from day-to-day, week-to-week. We thought one of our chicks was a Blue/Gold Partridge and she turned out to be a gorgeous Moorhead which I had secretly coveted owning for years. She has gold body feathers and very black crest, tail, and foot feathers. She is funny to watch and has a gentle disposition too which makes her even more adorable.

Another Silkie color I coveted for 13 years was a Blue Silkie but never able to find a DNA-breeder. Here today is our teenage Blue chick that we got from Buckaboo Farm:

Blue chick as a baby -- she's the gray chick piled on top of two other chicks in the take-home box from Buckaboo Farm:

The day after we brought chicks home -- the Blue chick was easy to identify but it was guess about the other two chick varieties for another few days:

The 3rd Silkie chick we thought was a Partridge from the photos the breeder sent us turned out instead to be all Black when her new feathers grew in. I had ordered a Blue, plus either a Partridge or a Black for a 2nd chick -- we couldn't resist ordering all THREE chicks once the breeder sent pics! Here today is our teenage Black Silkie. We need to get better pics of her. She doesn't like the camera lens.

This is the Black Silkie a couple weeks after we brought her home. She looked like she was Black yet never sure till she grew out more, She was so scruffy with a lot of white in her face but she turned out with gorgeous Black skin/fluffy feathers (above).

Keep us posted on your show progress. Pics are always welcome!

 

[heatherbell2]

Nice looking birds! This is my first time owning silkies & Showgirls.. Ive always had the usual layer breeds. .frankly.. until I ran into this breeder at the trades day, I was completely unaware of the showgirls..

 

[Sylvester017]

Nice looking birds! This is my first time owning silkies & Showgirls.. Ive always had the usual layer breeds. .frankly.. until I ran into this breeder at the trades day, I was completely unaware of the showgirls..

Silkies are the absolute dolls and teddy bears of the chicken world. Although bantam Cochin owners would say their bantams are the dolls and teddy bears too. Never had Cochins so can't vouch for 'em but they are adorable -- just not as fluffy/soft as Silkies.

It's just that we've had a total of 9 Silkies over the years and got accustomed to having them -- all were bearded except for one non-bearded Moorhead chick we got in January. Never thought I would want a non-bearded Silkie but she is probably the funniest, best temperament Silkie we've ever had and she's such a striking Moorhead that she catches attention from visitors.

A BYC friend bought two Showgirls and the breeder gave her two cockerels instead of pullets so she gave them back and got two regular bearded Silkies and made sure to DNA-sex them as females right away.

Buying DNA-sexed Silkies is by far the BEST way to assure baby Silkies are the sex wanted. I personally love to raise and work with chicks as early as possible so DNA-sexing is the only way to obtain female Silkie chicks.

I found a fairly local private NPIP breeder that did DNA-sexing and Marek's vaccinations on their Silkies but to fill my specific order for a Blue Silkie with the 2nd Silkie as a Black or Partridge took them almost 9 months to fill my order -- they had to wait for the right color mating of parents, wait for laying cycles and hatches, and then DNA-test for females specifically for me. Buckaboo Farm is confirmed to ship birds too but we lived close enough to pickup our order and save on shipping cost. Buckaboo Farm offers regular Silkies, Showgirls, Satin Silkies, Laced Satin Silkies, Frizzles, Marans, Olive Eggers, Sky Eggers, and much more. Buckaboo has even been showcased in the news. I was willing to wait the time it took to fill my order.

https://buckaboofarm.com/

 

[Hinotori]

I don't think I took pictures of what looked like a little black chick with leakage when he was small. He's a very dark partridge who doesn't have proper colored saddle feathers now but has so good of a black. I'm going to see what I get when I breed him to some good partridge hens. Hopefully I'll get a nice son or two from him.

 

[Sylvester017]

@Hinotori -- From Amber Waves Silkies (no longer in business) nearly 4 yrs ago I obtained what they advertised as a "Dark Partridge". Unbeknownst to me or caught by them is that altho she was correctly a DNA-sexed female she also was deformed. Amber Waves did the right thing to replace her but we kept her to nurture her until she passed at about 2-3 months.

Anyway, she was labeled a Dark Partridge but she grew to be all Black in appearance except for 3 Partridge wing feathers on each wing. Such a sweet chick but because of her disability she became very needy and spent all her time being held by one of us humans. We committed to her care but sadly at about 3 months old she passed.

Amber Waves' replacement chick was also labeled a Dark Partridge but that one actually grew out as Silver Partridge. Her hatchmate is a Blue/Gold Partridge also from Amber Waves. I guess "Partridge" indicates the genes are there but the colors and patterns vary?

 

[heatherbell2]

Does the DNA test results tell you anything else besides just the sex? I'll find out for sure when they lay or don't lay I suppose, but apparently there are some that just don't lay. I'm actually looking some to hatch other chickens eggs besides just being companion birds for just to pet on. Oh goodness! That sounds like she had a good place for a good life while she lived. Sorry to hear that! What was deformed about her?

 

[Hinotori]

Ignore their wings. They are usually tucked properly but this isnt a very good perch and they kept flapping to be stable.

This gentleman who's about a year old is the one I was talking about. His great grandfather was where the black came from. He's a bit sun bleached.

This man is about 5 months old I believe. Not mature yet. He is from just partridge on partridge breeding. Needs better saddle and hackle as well. Comb color isn't bad but it's also not full size yet. Will be nice to see his adult self. Thought he'd be moorhead but he's getting very redheaded.

This was a sport. He was full partridge and came out looking like this. Was super friendly and I would have kept him just for that but I was contacted for a kid friendly rooster so he went to a home to be a pampered lawn ornament.

 

[Sylvester017]

Does the DNA test results tell you anything else besides just the sex? I'll find out for sure when they lay or don't lay I suppose, but apparently there are some that just don't lay. I'm actually looking some to hatch other chickens eggs besides just being companion birds for just to pet on. Oh goodness! That sounds like she had a good place for a good life while she lived. Sorry to hear that! What was deformed about her?

The deformed chick wasn't quite right from the start. She didn't run around like baby chicks usually do. To begin with we didn't notice how crooked and bent some of her toes were because of all the fluffy Silkie feathers on legs and toes. We soon noticed that she was missing a fifth toe which SOP for Silkies is 5. The reputable breeder was mortified to have passed her on to us and gave us a new replacement chick. They're reputable private Silkie breeders we bought from them before.

If we gave the deformed chick back to the breeder they would've just culled her but we agreed to keep and nurse her for as long as needed. She gradually ate less and less and her new growth feathers were strange. She was not absorbing nutrients and there was nothing we or our vet could do for malformed internal organs. She was so tiny we didn't want to put her through a bevy of tests. She was content to be a lap baby till she passed. Vet said she probably would've died sooner in a clutch of new hatches on a farm but human care made her life last a little longer.

I have no idea what DNA-sexing does other than tell you if it's a male or female chick. If you are curious look up chicken DNA testing on the internet to see if any of your questions get answered

 

[Sylvester017]

Ignore their wings. They are usually tucked properly but this isnt a very good perch and they kept flapping to be stable.

This gentleman who's about a year old is the one I was talking about. His great grandfather was where the black came from. He's a bit sun bleached.

View attachment 3767894

This man is about 5 months old I believe. Not mature yet. He is from just partridge on partridge breeding. Needs better saddle and hackle as well. Comb color isn't bad but it's also not full size yet. Will be nice to see his adult self. Thought he'd be moorhead but he's getting very redheaded.
View attachment 3767897


This was a sport. He was full partridge and came out looking like this. Was super friendly and I would have kept him just for that but I was contacted for a kid friendly rooster so he went to a home to be a pampered lawn ornament.
View attachment 3767903

Your sweeties are always gorgeous! I've always loved the Black contrast Partridges -- but of course I love all Partridges -- from the pale Blues, bright Golds, to our sweet new Moorhead. LOVE them all! 4 of our Silkies are Partridge varieties except our 5th new all Black chick. But I suspect she has Partridge lineage since she has two Blue feathers in her cushion? She's still little so I'll have to see if that changes later. Silkies seem to be at their best, fullest, and brightest colors around 6 to 7 months old. After living outdoors, foraging, and dustbathing the colors seems to change with their new molt feathers. Our Silver Partridge gradually changed to more gold feathers. She's still gorgeous -- just looks so different from her pullet days.

SILVER PARTRIDGE & BLUE/GOLD PARTRIDGE PULLETS

ONE-&-1/2 YEARS LATER

3 YEARS LATER