Black silkies

[Gordonhillfarm]

Just wondering if anyone has pics they could share . Maybe pics of chicks and young stock , maybe seeing the difference in the fluff colour and shafts would help . I wish I had thought of this back awhile . my camera is down or i would take some now --- hmmm maybe my blackberry cam . Well just a thought anyway ---- Tammy

 

[destiny_56085]

Honestly.... the best way to tell is as day old chicks or to breed them as adults. The chicks will be a jet black color, not a coal or smutty looking color. By the time they are a week and feathering out, you better have marked them or the dark blues/blacks look alike by then. On the adults, feather shaft color is no guarantee. This is going to vary based on who's bloodline you have. The only one I know of that used to have the JET black ones all the way to the down used to be Eddie Travers. I have some blacks that I know are at least 5-6th generation solid blacks that will have white on the feather shafting. When you get into the longer and almost double density downed birds like Premier has, then you see the lighter underfluff too. If you really want to know for sure, you do test breedings. Put that bird on a black and you should get 100% blacks. Put it on a splash and if any of the offspring come out splash at all, then you know you have a dark blue instead.

Take a look at this pic.... There are 2 BLACKS and a BLUE in between them.

Now by 2-3 weeks of age, those blues look like this. If you don't already have them marked, its really hard to tell them apart.

There are a few other ways to get a guess.... Take them out in bright sunlight. The blacks will stand out with the jet green sheen and the dark blues will look duller coal black. Bathe them and you will see the silvery down on the blues. Otherwise until you breed them and keep accurate records, it is a guess.

Now the one in the middle here is obviously a blue.... the one to her left may be too though. Don't know unless I check the records for that growout pen.

Here's another good example. Same exact bird, different stage of molt and times of the year. It is a dark blue, but sure looks black right after a molt....

the flash helps alot on this same bird...

Here's a good example too... This gal is 100% black and has white shafting especially noticeable on her foot feathers:

 

[destiny_56085]

Quote:
They are annoying if you have them in an all black pen and are expecting 100% black babies. If you have them in a BBS or just blue/splash pen, they can really help improve the coloring of your resulting splash. I really don't like the washed out looking almost white splashes.

 

[destiny_56085]

Quote:
Not always so.... You put a black bird out in direct sunlight long enough and they will sunbleach to a smutty brownish/smoky burnt look too. Different bloodlines also play a role.

 

[ultasol]

I see you haven't popped yet.

I'm battling the paler feather shafts, which I think almost everyone is.

Traver donated a pair to the Western National, but they've being auctioned to youth only. Do you know if his current bloodline retains the dark? I have one girl I held back from last year because she has the dark, but she's not nearly as full as I would like. She's from a particular Calesta hen which I sold in the fall.

Now, Amy, when are you going to do a tutorial on how to get those darn wing bands on? I think I might have to call you and have you coach me through it. I tried to get someone at a show to teach me, but they all said "Why, when you can leg band them". Gah,.. I want it for more permanent id that is less $$ than the solid bands... also not as immediately visible.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Here is a pic of a recent hatch at 3 days of age. You can sure tell the blacks from the blues, even though some of the blues are a bit dark. The underfluff color is markedly different.

 

[destiny_56085]

Not sure if Eddy still has them. I just remember about 5-6 years ago when he used to list a few on Eggbid. I always drooled over them but they always went way out of my price range. For a while he cut way back on birds it seemed.

If you wingband at only a few weeks of age or less, its super easy. The sharp pointed end of the band pokes right through the skin. Poke it in, slip it around, and clasp the 2 ends together to pinch with the pliers. On older birds, I take a sharp nail and make a hole first. Otherwise you just keep bending the bands and ruining a bunch before you ever get one in. I also legband the ones I plan on keeping. Some of the older birds are also identified in other ways too. The wingbands are super easy once you get the hang of it. I get the ones from Randall Burkey with the farm name and serial number on each band.

I know it sounds wierd....I'm looking forward to the hospital visit now. Just want to get it over with at this point.

 

[cityslickers]

Quote:
We need a u-tube tutorial on wing banding

 

[Teresaann24]

Here is some picture of some of my chicks from my black & blue pen...Also in this pic is some chicks from my white pen & some cochin chicks in there too..LOL

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
We need a u-tube tutorial on wing banding

When I first got the wing bands, this helped me figure out what to do. With the chicks I hold the bird in my left hand with their wing spread out and being held by my thumb and pointer finger.

http://www.nationalband.com/wingbanding.htm

http://www.nationalband.com/WingBandingDirections.mov

That sounds like a really good idea to use a sharp nail on the older birds. I tried to get the bands through by themselves and it was a pain.