3 week silkies are they old enough to tell if they're mixed? pics incl

[kentuckysilkies]

I think you have some hatchery quality Silkies there. They will develop small crests. Hatchery Silkies tend to have more hard feathers in the wings and tail. They tend not to be the big puffballs that breeders of Silkies produce. They also tend to have all sorts of flaws like only 4 toes on one foot and 5 on the other, wrong color eyes, little to no footfeathering, incorrect color and type of comb.

 

[stormylady]

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Yes all the Momma silkies I have are from Ideal, however these chicks were hatched from a mixed batch of eggs from my silkies and a salmon fav. Roo (He came from a breeder) as the possible father. So there either full silkies or Salmon Fav /silkie cross, Also all my silkies have the right amount of toes 5 on each foot. And all of the pure silkies all were very obviously silkies at 2 days old when I got them, but these babies look nothing like the Silkies I got from Ideal, hardly no topknots, but they have alot of feet feathers, also all the babies have 5 toes on each foot, not sure what color the eyes are supposed to be but my full silkies have dark brown eyes. Gonna have to look at the babies eyes to see what color they are I know that Oliver (Fav. Roo) has golden eyes. As far as the comb go, all of the adult hens and silkie Roos have the correct comb type, and the babies look like they do too, but not sure of the color being right on the babies though. But the skin color and leg and feet color are right on the adults, but Not right on the babies.
I had way too many Silkie Roos so the choices for the fathers are black, grey , red, partridge, and of course my salmon fav. the mothers were all pure silkies also, colors are white , blue, grey and black. Just let Diamond hatch them out and was hoping at least for a few mixes. I really dont' want anymore silkies. So if they are they will be rehomed or culled.

I only have one silkie roo left that I kept but I guess next time I will take him out of the pen and just leave oliver in with the girls that way I will know for sure who the daddy is. And your right about the hatchery silkies some are not as fluffy as the ones from breeders, but they are super sweet, Except for one Roo I had he was Just a plain Jerk! But as cute and sweet as these chicks are if there not the mixes I was wanting I guess the gotta go.

 

[kentuckysilkies]

Your latest info makes this a very easy choice. If all chicks have silkie feathering which it looks like they do in the pictures, they are pure Silkies. The only way your SF roo could be the daddy is if he were part Silkie carrying the recessive gene for Silkie type feathers. You have hatchery quality Silkies.

 

[Kitt]

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I didn't know that about hatchery Silkies. Thank you.

 

[Elite Silkies]

They appear pure silkie to me.

 

[stormylady]

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Thankyou, I guess I will try again next time with out the possibility of the father being a silkie.

So what your saying is that any silkie mixed chick has no possibility of inheritating the silkie feather gene if both parents don't have it right? Sorry for the questions but like I said I have no knowledge of genetics and really appriciate the info. Sandy