Black silkies

[renovationmom]

Can anyone please tell me, what color my Roo might be? Even though his picture was taken inside, and my hen, for comparision, was taken outside, the photos very closely represent their natural colors. When I compare him to my greys, he looks black, and he does have the green sheen. When I compare him to my only other black, my hen, he looks more like brown, or chocolate? She also has the green sheen, but she seems darker and has more shine to her feathers then he does.




My Boy

Mama

 

[CarolinaChickenKeeper]

Are black Silkie chicks lighter on their belly ?

 

[chickendales]

 

[renovationmom]

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Too cute!

 

[chickendales]

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looks like a pretty nice black rooster

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Yes, blacks are typically lighter on their underside...sometimes marked with a bit of yellow on their wings or chest.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Suze...a question about slow feathering and extended black.

I've noticed that my blacks tend to be slow feathering in as compared to my white or blue/splash chicks. This is particularly true of the males. I know about the slow feathering gene but wonder if it is related to the extended black or is it completely random?

From Kippenjungle:

Feathering Rate Genes k+ Sometimes called rapid feathering. Recessive.
K Late feathering gene
Ks Slow feathering gene
Kn Very slow feathering or 'delayed' feathering gene. The order of dominance among the genes allelic to this locus is Kn>Ks>K>k+. The slow feathering gene is believed to be associated with a bald patch on the back of the adolescent bird. The feathers do come in given enough time. Since this is likely due to a dose effect of the slow feathering gene, the homozygous males should be the most likely to exhibit the trait. In my personal flocks, I have both males and females exhibiting this. Many novice poultry keepers wrongly attribute the bald back phenotype with a picking problem.

I would say that my blacks would probably be a Ks. It does mention that the homozygous males are most likely to exhibit the Kn gene. Is that true of the Ks gene as well?

I'm fairly certain that my blacks are E as they are inky black with no brown tones anywhere.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I do not know of linkage between E and K, but there may be. That's a question Henk may be able to answer, or ask on The Coop, and any number of people can give a reliable answer.

 

[Skittlez]

looks like a pretty nice black rooster

Thank you! I'm glad he looks pretty good. He is very quiet. When he does crow, he sounds like a turkey. He GOBBLES! I literaly went and checked the coop today looking for a lost wild turkey, and it was him.​

 

[renovationmom]

Quote:
Thank you! I'm glad he looks pretty good. He is very quiet. When he does crow, he sounds like a turkey. He GOBBLES! I literaly went and checked the coop today looking for a lost wild turkey, and it was him.

Lol. I wonder if he was kept near some turkeys, and picked it up. I had a hen who's coop was near horses, and she sounded just like one.